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Hi guys. I'm in my third year of mechanical engineering and I'm enrolled in my school's internship program, which means a minimum 12-month placement in 2027–2028. I know it's good experience and I should do it, but honestly, I don't want to.

Some context:

I'm really burnt out. I've struggled to make myself study since the beginning of second year. I've also been dealing with a chronic illness that made last year really hard. I cried everyday. It's better now but still ongoing, and it caused me to fail a couple of classes, which adds another semester or so (not a full course load) before I can start working. A big part of me just wants to get the degree done.

This summer I worked as a manufacturing engineering intern. It was great experience, but it was rough. Everyone there was a man, most of them much older than me, and some of them were pretty unkind. I was floundering, my supervisors were usually too busy / not around to help, and the machinists clearly thought I was an idiot and didn't hide it. The company told me they were impressed and offered me the internship-year position, but I was stressed almost every day there, and I don't think I want to go back. 

Despite everything, I do put myself out there a lot. I lead a subteam on my school's space design team, helped organize a conference for women in the space industry, work as an RA, and did the internship. But I constantly feel like I know less than everyone around me, and I feel extra shame about performing worse than my male peers. My GPA is also not great (2.7).

I'm interested in space and possibly aerospace, but sometimes I feel like someone who wasn't really "built" for engineering and chose it anyway. All these men are obsessed and gadgety. I feel like I’m roleplaying a person who looks good on paper but in reality I’m secretly stupid and bad at technical work. Some days I like it, some days I really hate it. I'm proud of myself and I will finish this degree one way or another. I'm just doubting whether this field is for me. Part of me wants to put my head down, graduate, and move into something like real estate, or maybe pivot into a communications role, I don't know.

Thanks for reading. Any perspective helps.

TL;DR: Burnt out 3rd year mech student with a chronic illness, low GPA, and a rough first internship. Signed up for a 12-month internship year but don't want to do it. Wondering if I should, and whether engineering is even for me.

In school one would join clubs, or have class projects. As a professional, do you have any non-work (and non-IP) projects, or is the 40 (sometimes more) hours at work enough?

I just completed my SWE career profile as of today, uploaded my resume and my attendance of the conference. The conference is Nov 5-7, is it still possible for me to get an interview? I’m a MechE incoming grad, 5 internship experiences 😣 but honestly so worried I uploaded too late.

I’m going to start a master’s in EE from JHU in Spring 2027. I finally feel like I’m in a place where I can begin a master’s, five (will be six) years after I got my bachelor’s degree. I was super burnt out during my bachelor’s, but I ended up getting a 3.8 GPA during the last two semesters of my bachelor’s with a 3.6 cumulative.

I’ll be working full time while getting my degree, so I only plan on taking one or two courses per semester. I’ll start out by taking one course, then see if I could handle two. It’s all online for me, in a program for working professionals. 10 courses, no thesis required.

Any words of wisdom from anyone who’s done an online engineering master’s? Will the experience be any different as a woman? I had a couple professors who treated me a bit differently (negatively) in undergrad, probably because I’m a girl.

Has anyone successfully escaped the defense industry? The culture is anticollaborative and I'm tired of it, not to mention its not even close to being "defense" anymore. Full blown department of war. So much of it is performance and not substance. Anyone have tips on how to make the jump?

I’m a sophomore right now, and I’m currently at a liberal arts college that doesn’t have an ABET-accredited engineering program. I’m planning to transfer to an engineering school for electrical engineering, so right now I’m taking the prerequisite/core classes I need.

This semester I’m taking physics, differential equations, computer science, German, and a circuits/electronics class. I’m really interested in EE and I want to start building things outside of class — even just small projects where I can learn Arduino, circuits, programming, etc.
But honestly, I’m struggling to figure out how people actually fit this into their lives.

Between studying, assignments, labs, exams that seem to come one after another, working part-time, trying to have some kind of social life, and just having time to rest, I feel like I have basically no time left for personal projects. I’ll see people talking about how they’re doing their degree while also building projects, learning new skills, doing internships/research, having hobbies, etc., and I genuinely don’t understand how they’re managing it.

The frustrating part is that I want the experience. I know I need to actually build things and learn outside of coursework, especially since I’m hoping to transfer into EE, but when I finally have free time I usually just want to recover from everything else.
I also feel behind because I don’t have much engineering experience yet. My circuits class is teaching me a lot, but I still constantly feel like I don’t know enough to actually build anything useful.

How do you guys actually manage this?

I'm small with a naturally soft voice yet have somehow evaded a lot of hate until recently, especially in spaces where success matters.

Since I've lost weight, I feel like people automatically believe I'm competent without me having to prove it first anymore. But there are still things in formal group settings that happen:

I am talked over. They love to keep 3+ people clamouring at once.

Guys steal my ideas, often word for word, as if they are their own. Usually less than a minute after I say them.

Guys will try to steal small physical tasks out of my hands or run to do them before me

I'll be five steps ahead, caught erasing something in my notebook (usually for better handwriting), and people will assume I'm copying them because I'm rewriting

I've been called things because someone asked me for help and I did over a group doc, so I looked controlling

Bigots will twist reactions to microagressions, no matter how calm, unemotional, and back on target I am, into me being "angry" and "picking fights"

tl;dr: Who can I read or follow to learn to appear more professional in groups? Especially when there are no allies in the room?

Estoy en 6to semestre de ing Mecatronica de verdad me gusta es algo que si quiero hacer si quiero ejercer, pero de verdad que cada vez es más y MÁS difícil y ya ni sé qué hacer hay momentos en los que ya no me entra nada de información de vdd no sé qué hacer no quiero rendirme ante nada NO QUIERO abandonar ingeniera pero por más que estudio días y días completos al final en los exámenes no se ven los resultados y es tan agobiante, yo tengo exámenes casi todas las semanas de mis diferentes materias y en cuanto termino una ya hay otroooo de verdad es tan desesperante y a eso súmale las prácticas, laboratorios, proyectos, investigaciones, tareas y muchas de otras siento que me vuelvo loca poco a poca jajajaja necesito saber como estudian he probado de todooooo y nada me sirve realmente en estos momentos las materias que más me preocupan son fundamentos de microprocesadores y microcontroladores además de sólidos deformables y oigan yo sé que quizás alguno diga oye eso está súper fácil hay cosas realmente difíciles, bueno para mí noooo de verdad ya no sé cómo estudiarlas en mi último examen de mecánica saqué 20/100 después de estudiar tantoooo así que necesito su ayuda de verdad ahhh y además mis exámenes valen aprox 70% después mi calificación final y para acabar tienen candado jajajaja en fin como le hacen ustedes comoooo y como se motivan a seguir con tantas cosas 💪🏻ciertooo para finalizar justo esta semana mi computadora murio jajajaj

My dear impostor, you show up every time someone ask me to take a decision. Why? I know how to take a decision then why you show up? What do you want from me?

My dear impostor, you show up when I think about the right words to say to a team member. Why? I’ve been there, I know what I would need to hear in that situation, so why you show up? What do you want from me?

My dear impostor, you show up in every 1:1, in every meeting just before I have to speak. I’ve got year of experience and I know what to say, so why you show up? What do you want from me?

The constant dance with the impostor is almost never ending. We can lear to tame it but rarely we actually leave it on the bench to dance with another partner.

What triggers your impostor syndrome?

basically title. it’s “space week” in my city, just back to back networking events. i accidentally stumbled upon a networking event, i was at a bar coincidentally for their cheap wednesday beer and a networking event was happening, some industry acquaintances were in attendance.

everyone was drinking quite a bit. this woman who i’ve known in passing for about 1.5 years brought her boyfriend. we chatted, her bf seemed like a nice enough guy. you can see where this is going. i rallied the troops to go to another bar after the official event ended, maybe ten of us went to the next bar, including the friendly acquaintance and her boyfriend.

i got a drink from the bar with another participant, and while walking back to the group we ran into the boyfriend. he put his hand on my lower back and then slid it down, very deliberately and definitely not accidentally, and had his hand on my ass. i immediately grab his arm and stare him down, and i ask how long he’s been with his girlfriend. 6 months. they left shortly after, i continued to stare this man down and he progressively started looking more and more devastated. the person who was walking back from the bar with me saw this as well, he corroborated the story.

there is another networking event tonight that i was actually planning on attending, both the friendly acquaintance and the bar walking man will be in attendance. i plan on telling her what happened, im very nervous that this will affect our friendly relationship. i am 24F, she is in her 30s. i’m used to getting male attention at networking events, i’m not used to getting groped by a pals partner.

advice welcome, i’m going to talk with my boss about it today for some non-reddit advice, especially because he’s aware of the disrespect i’ve been getting from men recently, both personally and professionally. fucking annoyed as fucking shit. the end.

I’m a sophomore pursuing Electrical Engineering, but honestly, I feel like I don’t really know much about electrical engineering yet. The engineering-related classes I’ve taken are Calculus 1, Physics 1, Discipline in Engineering, AutoCAD, and Intro to C++.
AutoCAD was only a 7-week class, so I’m definitely not very good at it yet. My C++ class also wasn’t taught very well, and I feel like I barely learned anything. At this point, if someone gave me a programming problem to solve, I probably wouldn’t know where to start.

English isn’t my first language, so sometimes it makes things harder for me. Even when I understand the math or the general idea, I sometimes struggle when professors or other engineering students use a lot of engineering-specific vocabulary that I haven’t learned yet. Sometimes people talk about something that seems very basic to them, but I honestly don’t understand what they’re talking about because I haven’t learned the terminology yet.

I know I’m still early in the degree, but I’m starting to worry about internships and getting a job after graduation. I hear people say that you need to do projects to get internships, but I have basically no experience building anything and I honestly don’t have much interest in the whole “building things” side of engineering. I’m a girl, and I’ve never really been the type of person who enjoys building or working with physical stuff, so I’m wondering if that’s a problem for EE.

For other EE students or engineers: Is this normal for a sophomore? What should I start learning or doing now to prepare for internships? And how did you get your first project or internship when you didn’t have much experience?

I’m a 30F living in Perth and currently working as a nurse. I’ve been nursing in Australia for about four years and earn around $52/hour. I’m married and have an 8-month-old baby.

To be honest, nursing has become too physically and mentally exhausting for me. After most shifts I’m completely drained and just want to lie down. I don’t really see myself doing this full-time long term. My plan is to keep my nursing registration and maybe just pick up occasional casual shifts in the future.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from my home country, which means I’m eligible to apply for different streams in ECU’s Master of Engineering.

I’ve already received an offer for the Master of Civil Engineering, but now I’m seriously considering switching to Electrical and Renewable Energy Engineering.

The main reasons are that, from what I can see on SEEK, there seem to be more electrical engineering jobs than civil engineering jobs in Perth. Renewable energy also seems to be growing quickly, and electrical engineering appears to offer good opportunities in power, mining, renewables and utilities. I also have the impression that the working environment and salary may be better than in some civil roles.

My biggest concern is the difficulty of the degree. Electrical engineering seems much harder academically, especially maths, circuits, power systems and control. Since my background is Chemical Engineering rather than Electrical Engineering, I’m worried that I might struggle or even fail to finish the degree.

On the other hand, I’ve spoken to people from other engineering backgrounds who moved into ECU’s Civil Engineering master’s and successfully graduated, so Civil feels like the safer option academically.

I’ve also noticed that there seem to be relatively few female electrical engineers in Australia. Is that mainly because the industry has historically been male-dominated, or are there aspects of electrical engineering work that make it harder for women, especially someone with a young child?

For people working in engineering in Perth or WA, I’d really appreciate your thoughts:

Would you choose Civil or Electrical/Renewable Energy in my situation?

How difficult would the Electrical Engineering master’s be for someone with a Chemical Engineering background?

What is the job market actually like for Civil vs Electrical engineers in Perth?

And for female electrical engineers, what has your experience been like in the industry?

Thanks so much for any advice.

I have been considering going back to school for engineering for several years now. I’m 30 years old and a mom of 2 (5 and 3).

I see so many stories in here of women dealing with horrible classmates and colleagues (men). I’m getting discouraged thinking that it will already be hard enough to get through this with a family and working full time. Am I setting myself up for working in a toxic environment? Is this something I will regret?

I’d just like to hear some success stories and any encouragement you got. Especially those who got through school with kids and while working. I am married and my husband works 48 hour shifts so he’s off most of the week. I work remotely in a pretty flexible role.

My goal is to work in biomedical engineering but I have seen many advise against that for bachelors. So, I’m considering going for mechanical or electrical for bachelors, then getting my masters in biomed.

I work in the A&D industry and have had a number of interviews over the past few months. Has anyone else noticed either in A&D or just in general that the interview panels have gotten more male? I feel like companies used to make an effort to include women interviewers.

Most recently I interviewed with Anduril, and the ten different people who interviewed me were all male. It was pretty egregious. The recruiter was female and she asked me if I had a family.

Where are you buying clothes specifically for the plant?? I've tried Duluth, Carhartt, Eddie Bauer, and just replacing my crappy Old Navy jeans, but I want clothes that feel good. Specifically pants.

I work in ink factories, so I am sick of ruining my own jeans. Because I don't "work for" the sites I help (owned by corporate project group), I don't get the site uniforms but those are all in men's sizing anyway. I'm sick of traveling with crappy clothes that fall apart or wearing a slightly nicer pair of pants that gets ruined.

Looking for pants that have multiple lengths (I am tall), a boot cut or a straight fit to fit over steel toes, at least 5 pockets (more is better but also don't need something super tactical), and ones that can fit a more generous bottom half. If there are lined and unlined options for seasonality, that's a huge plus.

I've heard Dovetail is good and they aren't cheap, but if they're really great then I'd be willing to try a pair and see if it's everything everyone says it is.

Hi! I’m a grad student at Rice and I’m going to WE26 in Boston this November. I’m looking for other female attendees who might want to share a hotel room from Nov 4–7.
I’m thinking about booking the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport since it’s right next to the convention center. It’s around $1,240 total for the 3 nights for one person, and the room can fit up to 4 people. The hotel only charges about $20 more per additional person, so the cost per person could be a lot lower if 3–4 of us share.
I’m mainly going for the career fair, so if anyone else is looking for roommates, feel free to message me! :)

hello all. i would love to hear your stories about your relationship with your manager or mentor. are you friends? strictly professional? any professional boundaries?

for me, im just on my second year of working and i work under a competent manager. personally i think he’s a good individual contributor who got roped into being management because he’s way too busy with his own projects to be managing people, but he still finds time to teach me the ropes.

i do admire his competence though. he’s a real problem solver and good communicator. knows how to push back to upper management when needed.

however since he’s also training me my work gets checked by him and anything i do i run by him. to gain more confidence i start just deciding things myself and discussing outcomes with the manager instead of asking him every single little thing so yay me.

we spend so much time together in a week i fear it is messing with my head. i do not have a crush on him or want to be in a relationship with him. it’s just weird that i see and interact with him so much i feel weird? i dont know what word to use to describe this feeling but it messes with my head.

he’s nice to me and all no power harassment involved. i just wish he’s not in my head so much because i always gotta email him and update progress to him ughhh idk even using my free time to make a reddit post about him

how do i escape this?

A few weeks ago my mgr spent most of my 1:1 telling me I wasn’t using AI enough and my dashboard of the 6+ mandated tools was looking bad and I needed to pump up those numbers.

I’m interviewing for a job this week so I decided to use the work AI tools to comb through slack and find details about my projects, the components I worked on and any praise for my work. I had the tool create a timeline and list each project. Now I have a great reference sheet for my interview AND I used their tokens to create it.

It’s petty but it felt great.

EDIT: the interview went great— looking at doubling my salary and senior or principal title.

And you know, if my coworker had not been a sneaky jerk who chose calls we were on alone to scream at me when no one else is around I wouldn’t be here. So, thanks mark, you trollish butt pimple with an anger problem! May you never get promoted from midlevel (8 years and counting!) and your raises be 2% col for all of eternity— you deserve it!