Frustrated and Discouraged: My Month at Discount Tire as a Young Female Mechanic

I recently started working at Discount Tire as a 17-year-old female, hoping to gain hands-on experience in mechanics since I'm passionate about cars. However, my experience has been frustrating and disheartening. I've been on the job for about a month, and I feel like I'm not getting the training I need. I'm the only girl in the shop, and my original manager was absent for two weeks when I started, which left me learning from various coworkers who each showed me different parts of the process without a consistent training approach. I often find that just as I'm about to perform a task, a coworker jumps in and takes over, which has severely impacted my confidence. For instance, today I was ready to jack up a car, but another employee took the jack from me and did it himself. I only managed to balance one tire all day, and after doing it correctly, instead of letting me practice more, my manager sent me to run dead tires instead. This pattern repeats itself, with me being assigned menial tasks while others get to do the more hands-on work. One coworker even suggested that if he were in charge, I would only be allowed to do air checks. Additionally, the manager's grandson, who is just another employee, has been condescending towards me, often speaking as if he has authority over my work. He has made snarky comments about my performance and has expressed irritation when I struggle with lifting heavy tires, despite my genuine efforts. My manager has also pulled me aside to say that I wasn't progressing quickly enough, citing complaints from others that I seemed uninterested, which couldn't be further from the truth. I care deeply about learning and improving, but I feel stuck in a cycle where I'm not allowed to practice enough to gain the skills I need. There have been uncomfortable moments as well, including a coworker in his 20s who asked me out despite my age and continued to engage with me in ways that felt invasive. I removed him from social media to avoid further discomfort. I understand my limitations, especially when it comes to lifting heavy tires, but I don’t see why that should prevent me from practicing essential skills like jacking cars up or balancing wheels. The heat in the shop is also a concern, as it gets extremely hot, and I've been feeling dizzy and overheated, which adds to my stress. Overall, I'm feeling very discouraged and unsure about my future in this role.

Company: Discount Tire

Job title: N/A

Unresponsive Toxic interview Hired Mixed signals
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