When most people think of a railway inspection engineer, the image that comes to their mind would be typically a male engineer. And here you are, a woman engineer, choosing to be in this career. Please share with us your decision-making journey in choosing a non-conventional career.
From childhood itself, I have always imagined what my future would be like. I thought I would be working in a factory with heavy machinery everywhere. I wanted to get into Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and was fixated on this goal for 6 years. Space technology was my choice and I thought that after my engineering course, I would drop a year to prepare for the exam. At this time, my father who was in the Armed Forces was posted in Kashmir, my younger brother was studying in Ajmer and as I had chosen to take a break, I decided to return to Ajmer to stay with my grandfather. My parents were very adamant that I do not drop a year and so I was pushed into looking for a job. My grandfather had worked in Indian Railways and retired as Deputy Chief Engineer, Jaipur Division, and knew about various job openings. He told me about this job, and I applied for it and I made it after a very rigorous interview process.
The railways is a very complex and difficult field as the technology used is not taught in any school or college. All my learning has been hands-on. When I joined, I was the only woman on site, in fact, the only woman in the office. My job involved checking everything under my jurisdiction – right from a small cable to a big machine. The first six months were difficult – not because I was new but because I was a woman.
How difficult was it for you to break into a male-dominated career? Can you tell us about some of the situations you faced and how did you break through those?
The initial months were trying. I felt like I was trapped in some kind of jelly and this jelly was made up of the constant doubt, judgment, and fear of people on whether I could do the job or not. My colleagues were not used to a woman being on the job and managing things. So, to work with me was a different equation altogether. People used to openly question how good I would be in the workplace and whether I could handle the pressures that came with it. It used to get to me and bother me. Even when I would do what was expected of me, I would be criticized, and approval would be withheld. This mentality lasted for 6 months.
However, one of the many things that helped me through this period was the support and encouragement of my immediate bosses. I also made sure that I performed to the best of my ability and people could see that I meant business. My priority was getting my work done and getting it done well. People started coming around slowly when they saw the results. I managed to build trust and transparency and soon employees from other offices started calling me for advice. I was so involved in my work, so committed to doing everything right that people sat up and took notice of me. Today, I am left on my own while on-site as the confidence in my abilities has grown. I stopped bothering about what was being said and concentrated on my job.
