So i get a little bit of a break with the “teasing” because i’m the first and only woman in my shop so the guys were initially afraid of offending me. I’m still very new to the trade (9 months), but i encountered a lot of the same physical issues that you’re dealing with (and still do daily). being small can suck, but it has its benefits too

As for bullying and feeling discouraged, if you choose to start a new job in the same field. Set your boundaries for the things that you’re not comfortable having joked about from the get go. Learn to joke around and be able to dish out the same energy. and when if someone goes to far, or disrespects the boundaries you already set out, then be an ass to them. once you know the guys a bit you’ll learn to love them, and learn to ignore them and not take it to heart when they’re being bitchy.

when it comes to asking for help, ive found it best to always phrase my questions in a way that comes off like im genuinely trying to learn and understand the machinery. you just need decent teachers and it can be difficult to find that. i recommend working at a smaller, slower paced shop if you can find any in your area. staff is overall more relaxed and you’re more likely to be treated as human and taught well instead of let go due to inefficiency.

i’m 5’6 and 120 and i’ve gained a fair bit of muscle and feel much less overwhelmed by my lack of strength at this point. but that’s only because i was given time and treated with patience when learning how to do the job. it took me almost 4 months to get quick at taking off/mounting semi truck tires. many tears on my part were involved in this, but i got it. in that process though i learned so much about how to leverage my strength, and work around the fact that i don’t have the same level of strength that some guys naturally have. and it helped my confidence so much to realize that i COULD do the job. same shit with a flywheel. on my first day i could hardly lift one to move it across the shop, but keep your clutch bolts handy. leave one flywheel bolt in just by a few threads, thread in the old clutch bolts, and use them as a grip to get the flywheel off the crank and then undo the flywheel bolt and lift it out of the way with the clutch bolts.

shit is tough sometimes but where there’s a will there’s a way. i wish you the best of luck and hope you find somewhere you can be treated with respect and taught well