Schoolgirl told dreams of being mechanic won’t come true due to gender

[Leon Thomas]

The father of a seven-year-old girl reached out to female mechanics on Facebook after his daughter was told she cannot become a mechanic because she i
[See the full post at: Schoolgirl told dreams of being mechanic won’t come true due to gender]

[Karen Richards]

My daughter also wants to become a mechanic, she loves getting stuck in every weekend helping me in my workshop. I also have a female apprentice, who is fantastic. Listens, learns, does the job as I want her to ie. not leaving any traces of being under the bonnet, no oily handprints anywhere, no spills, no boot marks on carpets etc…
On day one, i had her strip an broken engine to learn how it works, and what was inside, day two she did a timing belt for another garage, day three she did an engine swap, day four she did a clutch, day five she rebuilt a peugeot engine……
And since then, I have not had to really supervise her at all.
I have had many male ‘work experience’ people, and what a bunch of useless, lazy, messy muppets they were….. never again!!

So yeah, encourage this girl if it is what she wants to do… they make far more relaible mechanics in my opinion!

[David]

Good luck with your dreams, but be determined to turn them into reality. When I left school I wanted to be a mechanic and was blessed with a job in HGV straight from school at 16, the people I worked with (all men) always had attitude pointing the finger because I was learning the ropes, or at least trying with bad teachers, then I started college, what a difference in the quality of people, the teachers were fantastic, brilliant at what they knew and did, far better than the garage trade I had known to date. I was eventually made redundant (if that is the correct phrase for a teenager) but then immediately moved into LGV and cars working for local dealers, which was better but some staff had attitude. After remaining at college a number of years and getting what experience from jobs I had at the time I eventually started to pull to pieces my own cars and learn to understand how they worked, with a lot of really good help from my lecturers (teachers) back in the day from college.

Eventually I started my own business and within months I had a customer base that started from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Saturday every week, I had very little free time to spare, the customers used to say things like; what makes you so good at what you do! That was worth its weight in gold, the customers recognized a difference between me and the other garages, and that difference came from years of “Professional training”, not just pulling cars to pieces and putting new parts on in the garage, as the public see so many times today, and then in some cases have to repeatedly return for further investigations and more work at more cost because they did not have a standard of “Right fix first time”, which requires an in-depth science understanding of modern vehicles, that sadly is far and few every seen or understood in the garage trade. Go into it as a Pro and you come out as a Pro, the professional training is key to your success.

[Steve]

Gender is not a barrier to this profession. Modern equipment negates the strength / size argument completely.
As Technology develops the role of a technician is changing and we are becoming more like IT gurus.
Good look to everyone pursuing a career in the automotive field.
Follow your dreams, work hard, study harder and follow your passion.
Steve.

[PAUL]

MY 22 YEAR OLD IS A MECHANIC AT A MAIN DEALER IN PLYMOUTH, SO IT IS POSSIBLE FOR GIRLS TO GET IN THE MOTOR TRADE, SHE LOVES IT. GOOD LUCK TO YOUR DAUGHTER

[Martin Grimwood]

If that’s what you to do then go for it!! There’s no reason in the world why a girl can’t be a good mechanic, these days it’s more about being interested, being switched on & willing to learn.
We’ve had 5 girl mechanics, unfortunately 4 never finished their apprenticeships & the one that did left straight away and went to make “pop-rivets” for a living for more money.
Being a mechanic (not just a fitter) can be a hard job, frustrating, stressful & very challenging but also very satisfying.
It’s the sort of job you have to “really want” to do because it’s a lifestyle, not just a job.

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