That time I got my engineering internship because I was a girl
A collection of anecdotes
“I got an industrial engineering summer internship at Tesla!” I said.
He replied, “Well, I’m sure you got that because you’re a girl.”
I doubt he remembers this short exchange. But I couldn’t forget it.
I remember walking into a shoe store 2 days before my internship started. Tesla had given us coupons for money off one pair of steel-toed work shoes, which we were required to wear on the factory floor.
My heart sank a bit when the men's side of the store had around double the number of options as the women's side. When I told the salesperson I was a size 5, they seemed genuinely concerned. (And let’s be honest, size 5 is concerningly small.)
Being a small woman afforded me very few options, and since I needed the shoes quickly, I settled on this chunky pair of dark grey steel-toed lace-up shoes, which reminded me of clogs — but industrial.
Knowing how insecure I was about nearly everything that summer, I wish I could go back and tell myself it was okay to order a pair of shoes online that I felt good in.
But it’s an engineering job — I shouldn’t care what I wear. Only a girl would care.
