Woman in a man’s world
NITAL Ragni Chand believes she can thrive in a work environment dominated by men and that is why she chose to venture into automotive engineering.
The 39-year-old is currently pursuing a Certificate IV in Automotive Engineering (Automotive Electrical & Electronics) at the Fiji National University.
She said it was always her childhood dream to pursue automotive engineering, so she challenged herself in a male-dominated industry to succeed.
“It is never too late to learn a new trade,” Chand said.
“Age should never be a barrier to learning.
She said automotive engineering always had her interest at heart even though it was it was normal for people to think that women could never succeed in an environment dominated by men.
She used to work as a laboratory technician before switching to automotive engineering.
“Navigating a career change can be intimidating and terrifying, but I knew I could find a better life in this field,” she said.
She also hopes to motivate her 18-year-old teenage son.
“I want to show my son that he can achieve anything in this world if he puts his heart into it and he does it by working hard.
She always had a passion for cars even when she was working as a lab technician.
“I always helped out my brother whenever he repaired our family car because of the passion I had for cars.”
She then decided to leave her job and further enhance her skills in fixing cars.
“I knew without the proper qualifications I will never get where I want to be and I will be stuck with a job I did not like.”
She said she started off by researching the courses at FNU and checked out what was suitable for her and luckily it was offered at the university’s Ba campus which was closer to home.
“I already know a bit of automotive but then I wanted to turn into a fulltime career.”
She hopes to complete the two year program with flying colours.