There was a time when women were hugely underrepresented in the field of engineering. In a male-dominated society, the social role of women in India was historically confined to the domestic. The ratio of women to men taking up engineering course was quite low as there was a predominant mindset in the Indian society that engineering is male dominated area and this job can be only handled by the males. In fact, the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), 2014-15, revealed that out of the 21.99 Lakh students enrolled in B.Tech. 73% were male, thus limiting the percentage of females to less than 30%.

Over the last few years, however, this scenario has changed drastically. Now women around the country are chairing the most important positions in their workplaces covering different fields, including engineering.  And with recently IAF declaring Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal as its first flight engineer, it has been confirmed that 21st-century Indian women are second to none and are all set to fly high in the sky. So, for the handful of the Indian young women who are still having doubts on choosing the engineering career, here we have compiled a few points which you should consider.

1. Follow your heart and mind: There will be numerous people who can advise you on which career you should choose but no better advice can anybody give you than your own intuition. It is only you who will know what really you aspire in life and towards which route you should drive your career. A wrong decision in life while selecting a course can land you up to a career in which you will never be happy. Hence stop sulking and go where your mind and heart is directing you to.

2. Understand your Capabilities: In the career consulting market, there are no scarcities of counsellors who are ready to help the young individuals on matters like the right course, right institute and so on. They usually conduct several sessions to find out the strength and weaknesses of the prospective students. But above it, what really helps is self-realization of the students about what actually their capabilities are. For excelling in any field, one's capability matters a lot. This makes essential for all the engineering students to analyse the skills which are needed for a particular field of engineering and match those with their respective capabilities. This will not only assist the students to get saved from a wrong career decision.

3. Break the Glass-Ceiling: The prejudices attached to the engineering domain are known to everyone. While still a good population of the society thinks that this field is appropriate only for males, there are educated and knowledgeable people in the society as well who are well aware of the career avenues of the engineering arena. Come over the stereotypes and make an attempt to stand out in the crowd, there will be no forces which can stop you from achieving success in the path which you have chosen. Hurdles and obstacles will be part of the journey, removing those roadblocks and reaching the ultimate destination is the only way.

4. Push Yourself: Pushing yourself will help develop your confidence. Strive to come out you're your comfort zone both while pursuing your education and on the job. This will let you break your own limits and achieve the unimaginable.            

Thus, all the women out there with strong engineering aspirations, brace your already instilled leadership skills and work hard for the career which you have imagined for yourself!

Want to know more on why a degree in Engineering is precious? Then read at - Why Do Indian Students Take Up Engineering Degrees?