Women engineers: how did you figure out which engineering discipline actually fit you?
I’m 27 and considering challenging myself academically and exploring engineering, but I’m having trouble figuring out which discipline best matches the kind of work I actually enjoy.
I’ve spent several years working hands-on in battery technology. I’ve worked in high-volume battery production, incoming quality, and R&D/engineering support, where I’ve built cells, supported experiments and testing, worked around manufacturing/test equipment, and collaborated with engineers on troubleshooting and process improvements. I’m now going back into energy-storage manufacturing working around sodium-ion technology.
What I’ve realized is that I genuinely enjoy technical, hands-on work. I like equipment, testing, troubleshooting, understanding why something is happening, and figuring out how a process can be improved. I’m naturally very curious.
I’m currently looking at mechanical, electrical, mechatronics/electromechanical, chemical, or manufacturing engineering, but I’m not sure which direction makes the most sense for those interests.
If you work in any of these areas—especially batteries, energy storage, manufacturing, automation, testing, or R&D—what does your actual day-to-day work look like? And based on what I’ve described, which disciplines would you recommend I explore before choosing one? Thanks!🤍