18 Sep

The year is 2013. The place: a pretty suburb of Zurich, Switzerland.  I walk up from my drab little room in the basement of the tiny motel to see everything around me blanketed in pristine white snow – it is the first time in my life that I have seen snow and I pull off the glove on one hand to pick some up. My hand goes numb from the cold in no time at all, but that numbness is nothing compared to the numbness I am feeling in my mind as the enormity of the decision that I have taken, hits me.

I am a few months short of my 40^th birthday; far away from home and my kids – one, a teenager who has just started junior college, and a younger one who has just started first grade. I have just quit my job as an Assistant Professor in Production / Mechanical Engineering at a reputed Engineering College after 16 years, to join a small firm representing machinery and tooling manufacturers from around the world for marketing their products in India

I was not new to the Engineering field – almost all my experience up to that point had been in academics. Teaching (technical subjects, of course), setting up laboratories, and supervising students’ projects. Well, yes, basically all I had was theoretical knowledge and almost no industrial experience. I had been happy in the academic world – surrounded by wonderful colleagues and doting students. But I had started feeling that something was missing – that I had not done enough career-wise. For some reason, I had started taking Mr. G.B. Shaw’s words: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach” very personally. (Very unfair, Mr.Shaw!) With the 40^th coming up, I knew that if I didn’t take the plunge out of the academic world right then, I would never be able to do it.

So, when an opportunity came my way – I grabbed it, leaving my comfort zone without too much thought. My new job involved working with customers in the field of Gear Manufacturing – understanding customers’ requirements; interacting with Principals (the machine manufacturers) to offer customized machining and tooling solutions; accompanying Customers to the Principals’ factories for “pre-acceptance trials” – which involved testing and studying the process capability of the new machine to ensure it met the stipulated levels. And that is what I was in Switzerland for, on that snowy day. But once I got there, I was struck by the imposter syndrome; questioning my abilities and even my sanity – with no one to confide in or to offer words of encouragement. 

I let go of the snow, wipe my hand off, and duck back into the motel. The lady who works there does not speak English – but she gestures for me to come into the small dining room – does she sense my despondency? She brings me hot coffee and fragrant freshly baked croissants. She speaks to me and though I don’t understand the meaning of her words; her tone, her kindness, and her company warm my heart. As I eat my breakfast, I pull myself together. I remind myself that I have often taught classes in which, to begin with, the students were so rowdy that they wouldn’t allow the Professors to turn towards the blackboard, eventually managing to get them deeply interested in the subject I taught. I remind myself that I scored a distinction in my Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering – having enrolled for the program at the age of 30 when I was already a mother to a 6-year-old and also managing a full-time job, while all my classmates were male; all of them 8-10 years younger to me. I remind myself of all the times that I prevailed despite my misgivings and surprised even myself with what I had been able to achieve through sheer persistence.  

During that entire week at the factory in Switzerland, I humbly admit when I do not understand something; I ask a lot of questions, note down my observations, and put forth suggestions when I think I can add value. In a couple of days, my confidence rises – by being committed to my work and by being genuine in my willingness to learn, I have gained the respect of my business associates. It is not a big win, of course – but a small victory that I have scored over my self-doubt and it builds a foundation for me to continue on the career path – one that I have now been on for over 11 years. 

Why did I end up becoming a Mechanical Engineer, you might wonder. With a passionate Mechanical Engineer and Machinery expert for a father – I grew up hearing about machines all through childhood, tagging along with him to the factory occasionally and being fascinated by the machinery. It was probably, therefore, just natural for me to end up choosing to study Mechanical for my undergrad.

My soulmate and I found each-other while I was still in college and marriage followed almost immediately after graduation. As a young newly-married woman Mechanical Engineer with no prior work-experience – it was hard to find a suitable job in Mumbai. After a few random temporary jobs, eventually I was appointed as a sales engineer at a cold-rolling steel mill – only to discover that I was the first woman to ever work there and that was no ladies’ toilet on the premises (They hurriedly constructed one especially for me!).

A couple of years later, as we started talking about starting a family, my boss’s wife who had become a close friend and mentor advised me to transition into teaching – as she herself was a lecturer and had been able to balance motherhood and work quite well. Her advice did make sense – and I ended up applying to an Engineering College and continued with a career in Academics for 16 years, eventually pursuing that Master’s degree, as well while working. 

With almost 30 years of work experience now in two very different worlds as a Mechanical Engineer, here are a few things I have learnt – and I present them in no specific order of importance: 

• Find positivity and inspiration wherever and whenever possible – No professional ride is smooth – ups and downs are part and parcel of any life for that matter – what matters is how quickly one bounces back from the lows. I try and find my inspiration in books and in a few people whose innate positivity and wisdom truly lift me up.
• I try to stay connected with my “Sisterhood” – my women classmates, ex-students, and ex-colleagues who have done fantastically well in their careers and one of my favourite professors – a lady, who as an academician and mother, I have admired endlessly. I have learned that talking to them inspires me and helps “recharge my batteries”.
• I have learnt that there is so much yet to learn and that there is no dearth of sources to learn from! Apart from technical knowledge, which I need to continuously upgrade, I find myself learning how to deal with people – their idiosyncrasies, at times their unethical behaviour, and their attitude towards me. I constantly take on online courses for technical things and keep reaching out to those who have experience for advice and mentorship. 
• To deal with misogyny, to have one’s technical capabilities constantly questioned is draining. That as a woman in the technical field, I will need to go the extra mile to gain credibility and respect is a fact that I have learnt and accepted.  Case in point: just this week, I made a road trip of 12 hours to meet a new prospective customer who told me point blank on the phone that he will “only talk to a technical person”. I went all the way, just so that I could sit across the table from him, point out the critical aspects of his component in the technical drawings, and correlate the features in the machine offered. The meeting ensured that he would never again doubt that I have the technical knowledge and the capability to do my job. 
• I have learnt that rather than announce aloud my qualifications and experience – it is better to prove to people that I know my stuff by steering conversations towards hard-core technical details or showing what is called “tactical empathy” – reading between the lines and bringing up for discussion, challenges that I am reasonably sure they might be facing and mention how the machine/technology that I am offering will help them overcome the same. 
• I travel a lot for work – initially, I used to fret, worry, and wallow in guilt that I was not there for my kids – but now I feel that perhaps they have imbibed a lot from me and are stronger and tougher for it. Travel has made me far more confident and capable than I ever thought I could be – I am now comfortable anywhere in the world, whether it is China, Germany or a remote place in India. When I travel for work, I take the opportunity to look up local history, take tons of photos, and immerse myself in the culture. I have learnt that there is always a silver lining – one just needs to look for it!

My journey as a mechanical engineer has been a continuous learning experience. As I look forward to the next chapter, I’m excited to see what new challenges and opportunities await. The key takeaway? Never stop learning, growing, and adapting. The world of engineering is vast and ever-changing, and there’s always something new to discover.

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To read more from our series on careers for core engineering professionals, click here.