Hi Sofia,

You can be successful in any field and any where, when you plan ahead, educate yourself and work hard on it. There are few tracks to pursue auto mechanic, like lube and tire places, independent shop and dealership. I will suggest you to focus on dealer or independent shop. I prefer dealer for its professional way of treating female in the field. Look for education that lead you to a specific auto make and get your foot in the door of dealership world. Be honest for 37 years of working at auto tech, I've only work with 2 female briefly. You are going to stand out, just take it because you are out standing. Good luck with you carrier.

Hello Sofia,

Female professionals are highly successful in the automotive industry - you can take General Motor's example where it's being lead by Mary Barra as CEO. At Cummins, we have highly skilled female work force in all functional areas like engineering, marketing, management, manufacturing etc. You can find some interesting statistics about woman in the automotive industry in the following article - http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-automotive-industry

Success depends on education, planning, proper training and above all - sheer motivation. Basically, if you work hard and plan intelligently, you're bound to be successful.

Regards Syed

I am indirectly related to the auto community and can relate to how you would feel in a male-dominated industry. We (as females) have taken great strides to prove our value in automotive, as mentioned prior with Mary Barra. However, in an effort to stay relevant, your thirst for knowledge for in auto technology will be the point that will take you to the next level. Stay on top of the trends in the automotive industry. Economic factors, global issues do affect how products are made and distributed which could impact the work you're interested in. For example, the trend is AV (autonomous vehicles) and how will that affect and relate to what you really want to do as a mechanic? Think larger picture and see if your knowledge and passion can help you achieve your professional goals.