My elder daughter, Mariam has finished her 12th last year. Her father is staying in Dubai, so we thought of sending her to Dubai for her higher studies.
We chose the University of Wollongong for her and we suggested her to send the application for Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science. Today is the last date to apply and she sent the application in the morning.
why on earth would it make a difference being “a girl”?
Women are in all sorts of fields. What matters is aptitude and interest.
FYI I earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering 30 years ago. Being female was never an issue.
Mechanical Engineering is a very broad field that will allow her to work in many different industries. I think it’s fantastic for an undergraduate engineering degree if that is what she’s interested in. If she’s not interested in computer science, she will not do well in that field whether you compel her to or not.
I think gender is becoming less and less noticeable in engineering, at least in the US. Half of the freshman class at Carnegie Mellon for example is female (and this applies to many of the engineering majors). Years ago, less than 1/3 of the engineering undergrads were female.
Your question is pretty silly.
Why don’t you go ahead and get a degree in computer science since you seem so interested in the field. And let your daughter get her degree in the field she prefers. Why would you “compel” her to choose your preferred major?
I graduated with a degree in Mechanical engineering about 25 years ago. I worked in programming tooling, structural design, computational fluid dynamics, radiation shielding, shock analysis, HVAC. I thought it was really fun and creative. I’ve transitioned for the most part into software. Frankly the difficult part of the field was that it wasn’t family friendly. The hours were long. I loved it before children but after was looking for something with more flexibility. If she is comfortable being a working mother then this might not be an issue. For us, having both my husband and I in careers that took so much time away from the home while having a young family didn’t work well. Computer oriented work might give her more flexibility and allow for freelance work or work from home options. Just something to think about.
My suggestion on choosing a mechanical engineering school for school is to look at the Male/Female ratio for the university and choose one that is closer to 50/50.
I know a young lady from mechanical engineering. She bought a local manufacturing company and now runs her own show. She gets advantages for being women owned. Its becoming more common these days. I say go for it. Good luck.
The advantages for woman-owned businesses are mainly in the government sector. I am 51% owner of our business (DH is 49%), but it really hasn’t made a difference for us.
Engineering is a fine field for women. Yes, having kids complicates things, but that’s no different than a lot of other careers. Since my husband and I have been able to run our business out of our home, it was a pretty family-friendly atmosphere.
OP, in the United States, men and women can pursue the same fields, be it medicine, engineering, nursing, soldier, or auto mechanic. No field is restricted.
Mechanical Engineering is a fine field for someone who wants to be a professional engineer and who likes mathematics and problem solving. Good luck to your daughter.
Why? My daughter’s at a school with 30% women and she does just fine (as do the other women). A friend was not only president of her sorority but president of the mechE society, on the jet car team, and a leader in a million other things. Poor girl got a perfect 4.0 and was offered full scholarships to 4 different grads schools and accepted the offer from Columbia.
I was recently at a college reunion with my sorority sisters and I was sort of amazed at how many of them were engineers, at a public flagship that probably was about 10% women in engineering 40 years ago. These women are so successful!
This is neither a silly question nor is it an irrelevant question in a Western context. Just in the past year there have been plenty of stories about the treatment of women in technology and engineering. The question wasn’t the most elegantly stated - which is completely understandable, given the cultural and perhaps language barrier - but it’s still a perfectly valid question. Mechanical engineering is one of the majors with the biggest gender imbalance; only about 10% of bachelor’s degrees graduates in mechE are women.
But no, I wouldn’t discourage her from pursuing mechanical engineering. It’s a versatile major with generally good career and salary prospects. Chances are she will be in the minority in whatever university she chooses, but there are lots of young women who are fine and would even thrive in that kind of environment.
Disregard post # 5! Women in STEM fields choose the specific major and need to do so regardless of the numbers of men in it. We choose our majors because we actively like them. NEVER tell your D (daughter using CC shorthand) she should major in something because she is a girl. Even eons ago women like me chose what best suited them and numbers increased. Your D may even have advantages in job searches when companies are looking for a better male/female balance in their workforce.
OP- please do not reveal identifying info in future posts. Names included. It is surprising what can be gleaned from websites.
ANY field is good for girls with interest and aptitude. ANY field is bad if they are not interested, regardless of ability.
@donnaleighg @shortnuke @TooOld4School,
Thank you for your reply.
Yeah, I understand. I shouldn’t force her to follow my wish and I shouldn’t stop her from her ambition as she is a girl. Thank you so much
Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I am letting her follow her ambition. @gearmom, I thought the same. But as everyone says, she may not be succesful if I force her to do something. Let her follow her passion.
Thanks again
There is such a learning curve with parenting. OP- you have now jumped yet another hurdle in being a parent. Knowing when to stop trying to control, to let go and trust the child you raised. The fact that she willingly applied to the school and in the country of your choice is something. Remember not to micromanage. Trust her to seek the proper academic advising for choosing her college courses. The fact that she applied for her chosen, not your, major is a great sign of future success. That she went along with your idea for which college to attend is also indicative of her good relationship with her. I would be very proud that she took the initiative in choosing her major instead of letting you decide everything. Your little girl is becoming a mature, grown up woman.
She should choose the area that interests HER the most. I know many women that work in the various mechanical engineering jobs. It is what you know and how well you apply your knowledge and NOT her gender that will determine how well she does in the field.
FYI, both my son and my daughter are mechanical engineers. I am a retired aerospace engineer (really just a specialized mechanical engineer)
She should choose the area that interests HER the most. I know many women that work in the various mechanical engineering jobs. It is what you know and how well you apply your knowledge and NOT her gender that will determine how well she does in the field.
FYI, both my son and my daughter are mechanical engineers. I am a retired aerospace engineer (really just a specialized mechanical engineer)
