Colleen's Career Change to Female Mechanic

In May 2021, I had a nervous breakdown. I had reached the stage of extreme burnout where I found myself sitting at a hard metal table outside a Starbucks, trying to breathe deeply and wondering what was wrong with me as I typed into my internet search browser: “How to tell your boss your brain doesn’t work”. By the next month, I was in a psychiatric outpatient program to learn coping skills and lower my nervous system’s reactivity. I never returned to my job at the office.

I am now 43 years old and next week I officially begin a new career as an automotive mechanic. Only 2% of automotive mechanics in the U.S. are female, and they experience high rates of harassment and misogyny. But with some support from you, I can do this work and be part of the change in the world.

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While I had been in the outpatient program I reassessed a whole lot of things. My accounting job was clearly killing me. I decided to abandon my twenty-year career and enroll in a local technical college to retrain and become a mechanic. I had so many reasons: I want to bring practical knowledge to people with financial struggles; I want to be a resource for other women, and for anyone who might be intimidated when taking their car to the repair shop; I want to be a person that others could trust to give them honest advice when they are faced with car repairs and no idea how to prioritize them. I want to help my community.

There have been some challenges to this decision to retrain. First, since I already had a four-year degree and a decent former job, I was not eligible for federal financial assistance, and I was not eligible for most scholarships. I turned to private loans for my school funding and rent payments, and paid for any expenses I could with credit cards and bank loans. Second, as an entry level mechanic, for the next decade or so I can expect to earn less than half of what I did as an office worker - which is pretty difficult for someone with no savings. Third, mechanics are expected to provide their own tools (one of a number of reasons that mechanics are now in such short supply). In the past year and a half, I have invested over $5,000 in my beginner tool set that I’ll keep at my workplace. As I start doing work beyond the basics, I’ll be expected to purchase more tools for more specific purposes, like fuel line disconnectors, ball joint presses, and wheel bearing service sets.

I’m currently $65,000 in debt from the past year and a half of re-schooling. I have made myself a strict budget which will help me to live super lean through the next few months. It’s going to be tough, no lie. I almost had to turn down a job because at entry level wages I literally could not afford to pay my monthly bills, let alone take care of any emergencies or even do regular upkeep on my own car.

This week I was fortunate to have been offered a job by an independent repair shop at slightly above entry level wages. I’m ecstatic about this. This offer will allow me to just about break even as I start this new career, rather than going further into debt every day.

How can you help? By donating to this GoFundMe, your contribution will go toward paying off the tools I was required to buy to allow me to work. Anything beyond that will help me to pay down my credit cards so that I can lower my monthly minimum payments. With your help, I’ll be able to get over the hurdle of this initial massive drop in income as an “entry level” worker until I can get some pay increases and start being able to support myself and do real good for my community.

Thank you for your support through this massive transition into an occupation where women are only 2% of the workforce. I ask that you please share this link and if possible please give. Any amount will help.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

Colleen

#CareerChange #FemaleMechanic #StudentMechanic