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Can I be an engineer and still dress conservatively?

I'm passionate about maths, physics, and problem-solving and want to be an engineer (I like mechanical and electrical right now), but I worry that the way I dress will limit my opportunities. I dress conservatively, remaining covered and not showing the form. I don’t want to work at a desk all the time, but is loose, flowing clothing permitted on jobsites or around moving machinery? Are there workarounds for someone like me?

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  • arlyn

    Added Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 11:26 AM

    This is my first time using this forum sorry if I did anything wrong!!  I've been taking engineering in school for the past 3 years. I've been at the top of my classes for all 3 years. I'm in a new school now, and naturally I chose to be in engineering again. My teacher says I'm not good enough to be in his class. He told me it would be better if I rethink my future and quit engineering as a whole. I don't really know why he would say this, because I have a pretty high grade in his class, ...
    Answers 1
    Nance Dicciani, RTM Vital Signs, LLC
    Answered Tuesday, November 4, 2025 at 10:23 AM
     Hi Arlyn,
    I experienced the same type of negative comments not once, but several times during my career. There will always be others who tell you that you can't do something.
    When I was in high school some of my teachers told me that engineering was not ...
  • Jaxsen

    Added Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 4:34 PM

    I'm currently a sophomore in high school, I want to be a mechatronics engineer when I grow up. However, I also want to take as many college classes as I can so I can get ahead. That doesn't leave a lot of space for electives, which are currently band. In the fall, I do marching band, which I love, but in the spring I do concert band, which I've fallen out of. I'd rather take another class, but my parents really want me to stay in band, and I'm scared it will hurt my chances. Am I going to be ...

    Answers 1
    Anu Bhaskar, St. Charles Community College
    Answered Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 2:49 PM
    Since your dream is to become a mechatronics engineer(mechanical+ electronics), its always best to get a basic understanding of electronics. 
    Also math and physics understanding is very important to start your electronics journey, so make sure you have ...
  • Annabel

    Added Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 5:13 PM

    Answers 1
    Tamara Floyd-Smith, West Virginia University Institute of Technology
    Answered Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 10:38 AM
    In my opinion, engineering is the right subject for someone when there is either aptitude or interest.  It goes without saying that someone with both aptitude and interest would do well in the profession.  Many of my cis-female, engineering friends were ...
  • Bryan

    Added Wednesday, August 31, 2022 at 3:30 PM

    Answers 2
    Arielle Miller, Dr Arielle Miller Coaching & Consulting
    Answered Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 3:09 PM
    Choosing nuclear engineering was a natural fit for me. My love for science and understanding how things work drew me to this field. Being the advocate for nuclear energy that I am, I believe it can play a pivotal role in reducing carbon emissions and ...
    Answered Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at 11:51 PM
    A minority is lucky to know what they want early on in their career or during their studies. I must admit with humility, I did not fall into that category. I took Mathematics (I love) and Software engineering (evolving branch, 20 years back). And I am ...
  • ......

    Added Saturday, July 1, 2023 at 3:18 PM

    I'm interested in a lot of engineering branches and am having trouble picking one to pursue.

    Answers 1
    Answered Thursday, July 6, 2023 at 7:36 AM
    In order to decide which branch to take in engineering, I would think about what causes and subjects motivate you. For example, if you are interested in medicine and helping find new medications, you could study bioengineering/biomedical. If you are ...
  • Anonymous asked Rashmi Bhawsar, Verizon

    Added Friday, February 11, 2022 at 7:53 PM

    I am interested in exploring computer science/computer engineering as a major in college. However, I have not taken computer science as a course for all four years in my high school, nor am I in many clubs that are associated with it. I do self-study, but will this hurt my chances of getting into this major? Thank you!
    Answers 1
    Rashmi Bhawsar, Verizon
    Answered Friday, May 13, 2022 at 10:01 AM
    Dear Anonymous, 
    This should not hurt your chances if you are passionate about computer engineering. Most of the computer engineer of previous generation did not have computer science course in High school including myself. 
    
    Demonstrate your interest ...
  • Jennifer asked Rozetta Elder, Collins Aerospace

    Added Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 4:27 PM

    Answers 1
    Rozetta Elder, Collins Aerospace
    Answered Monday, July 19, 2021 at 5:23 PM
    As the Vice Chair for the Womens Resource Group at my organization, we've polled our members and found that many women/girl engineers feel unheard in some meetings, lack confidence in speaking up sometimes, and equal pay and opportunities. In my opinion, ...
  • HJ asked Krista Karns, Verizon

    Added Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at 11:06 AM

    I've been thinking that I want to be able to code while working as an environmental engineer. Would there be specific fields/industry where environmental engineers use programming languages frequently? If so, how do you apply them to your work?

    Answers 1
    Krista Karns, Verizon
    Answered Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 3:36 PM
    All fields will be able to utilize data analytics skills (i.e. python).  The more you're able to use historical data alongside forecasting models the better off you'll be in many cases.  While I have an environmental engineering degree I've worked at ...
  • Abril asked Ivonne Chaves Ríos, Microsoft

    Added Friday, September 11, 2020 at 6:17 PM

    I'm interested in computer engineering, I haven't really decided anything yet but I'm extremely interested and I wanted to know how hard classes are because people tend to say engineering in general it's really hard. Also, I read that it requires programming skills that I don't really have so I wanted to know if I have to know at least the basics before or I'll learn them. Sorry if I wrote something wrong, I'm from Argentina.

    Answers 1
    Answered Thursday, January 7, 2021 at 6:49 PM
    Hello Abril! Nice to meet you! Great to see LATAM participation here! :) I think that the first step is exactly has interest and you are in there moment. If you love your career, engineering for example, your passion will make easier each activity in ...
  • Justin asked Dhevi Kandasamy, Yum! Brands

    Added Friday, August 30, 2019 at 4:35 PM

    At a young age, i always felt that i wanted to do something in technology. I have a love for math, but i never put the time and effort into my classes. There was no one to push me and never told me i could do engineering or anything. I lack guidance, but i have a love for learning and perfecting things. What can i do to find out if this is for me? I have taken personality tests and have a followup with a counselour this week. I fell in love with the idea when i first saw that you could use a ...

    Answers 1
    Dhevi Kandasamy, Yum! Brands
    Answered Saturday, June 27, 2020 at 12:08 AM

    Engineering is as simple as having an interest, then following the path and making it possible. With your description here, I believe you would be a great fit. With so many online options available, you could pick a try few things.

    • Kaggle runs multiple ...
  • Shweta asked Dhevi Kandasamy, Yum! Brands

    Added Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 8:20 AM

    What are the differences between computer science, software engineering, and information engineering? Some schools only offer one or two of them, so are any of them the same? Like software engineering and information engineering?

    Answers 1
    Dhevi Kandasamy, Yum! Brands
    Answered Friday, June 26, 2020 at 11:59 PM
    Software engineering deals mainly with building and maintaining the software systems, including any application you would use in day to day life, mobile applications to banking software. This is about understanding the business need and building a ...
  • Diana asked Shivangi Gandhi, BRD

    Added Friday, April 3, 2020 at 7:41 AM

    Hello! I am 20 years old and I recently dropped out of an architecture degree because I decided it's not for me.

    I left with the idea of pursuing computer science. But I went on a binge of reading scary articles explaining how awful the work environment is for women, and I got discouraged. I should mention that I'm not from the US and the percentage of women in computer science related majors in my country is around 35%, which I gather is quite good compared to other countries but ...

    Answers 1
    Answered Sunday, June 14, 2020 at 7:52 PM

    Hi Diana,

    It's wonderful that you want to stay within STEM. While your concerns are not unfounded, I'd still encourage you to stick with STEM. Having been in Engineering for over 15 years, it's extremely rewarding and I have never regretted the specialty ...

  • Savant asked Maheva Ratsitoarisoa, Qit Madagascar Minerals

    Added Friday, January 3, 2020 at 4:17 PM

    I love coding like JAVA and Python. But I don't know if a mechanical engineer needs to know those things or if that is even the right type of engineering for someone who likes coding and building. I mean building with my hands. For example, I built the G15KS robot (that type of building).

    Answers 1
    Maheva Ratsitoarisoa, Qit Madagascar Minerals
    Answered Thursday, April 30, 2020 at 4:20 AM
    Hi Savant,
    I've learned these languages when I was a student, and I can tell you that coding is a big advantage for realizing projects involving robotics or mechatronics. Go ahead and continue by this way
  • Ashton Fitzgerald asked Wendy Sahli, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society

    Added Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at 9:42 AM

    Do you know of any good resources or tips?

    Answers 1
    Wendy Sahli, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society
    Answered Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 9:22 AM
    There are tons of online resources.  I have used Lynda.com (now LinkedIn learning) and codeacademy.com and udemy.com.  These are pretty affordable and have a free trial period.  I also think it's very helpful to have a real project to work on because it ...
  • Atif malik asked Natalie White, Amazon Web Services

    Added Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 2:58 AM

    I am becoming a software engineer and I am in 2nd semester of school.

    Answers 1
    Natalie White, Amazon Web Services
    Answered Wednesday, March 27, 2019 at 8:59 AM
    Great question! You have so many resources at your fingertips than we did even a few years ago. You can  learn basic coding concepts with Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/)  and find a local coding group through Girls Who Code (https://girlswhocode.com/) ...
  • Beatrice Cunningham

    Added Saturday, December 8, 2018 at 7:55 PM

    Answers 1
    Kristin Malosh, North Star BlueScope Steel
    Answered Tuesday, January 1, 2019 at 7:16 PM
    Hi Beatrice- what a GREAT question. I bet you are practicing engineering every day, and just don't realize it! The best way to "practice" engineering is to solve problems. Find what interests you and challenge yourself to learn as much as you can about ...
  • Abbey

    Added Wednesday, November 28, 2018 at 9:05 AM

    Math so far has become easy to me it’s easy to learn and easy to master. I know how to do the problems but I can never remember the names. I want to become an electrical/robotic engineer. Is it crucial to know the names of the problems?
    Answers 1
    Elaine Weyuker, University of Central Florida
    Answered Tuesday, December 18, 2018 at 4:58 PM
    Hi Abbey,
    
    Actually names of problems are not really important and, in fact, most mathematical problems don't have particular names so I would not worry about that. What is important to be a successful engineer of any type is your ability to understand ...
  • Nancy Post, Boston Consulting Group
    Answered Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at 9:11 AM
    Lauren,  
    
    I definitely use the Internet and books as resources.  If you are talking about building computers, I have also referred to other computers I've put together.  Use your personal preference and the resource that gives you the most valuable ...
  • Aditi asked Katie Smith, Appalachian Power Company

    Added Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 9:52 AM

    My degree is very similar to yours. I was recently very disheartened when I freaked out after giving possibly the worst coding test for a summer internship. Is there anyway I can prepare better for next time? I'm pretty fine with electrical stuff, I just struggle a lot with the computer science / computer engineering aspect.
    Answers 1
    Katie Smith, Appalachian Power Company
    Answered Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 3:09 PM
    Aditi, the old saying "Practice makes perfect" is really true. Just keep studying hard and you will excel. Find what you're passionate about and focus on that. If it's not computer related then so be it. My rule I followed until I overcame my self-doubt ...
  • Caroline Marshall

    Added Thursday, June 21, 2018 at 6:07 PM

    I'm a high school student. I love math, and engineering has always sounded like a good career path for me. However, I don't want to live my life stressed out and busy ALL the time. Will this be typical if I go into an engineering field? I'm prepared to do a lot of work, but I do not want to be overwhelmed. How complicated is the work that goes into being an engineer, on a scale from 1-10?
    Answers 1
    Michele Miller, Campbell University
    Answered Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at 11:05 AM
    Caroline,
    
    That's a great question.  There isn't really one answer to it.  I also loved math as a high school student.  That is a big help in engineering school. Engineering classes are demanding (maybe complicated at times), and you will learn a lot.  ...
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