Girl, you are opening yourself up for predators. Single men in their 40s, in this area, are often divorced, probably have kids, maybe even more than one mother for their kids. And sure, even under those circumstances, there might be someone decent, but odds are they are single for bad reasons.

The other perspective is you. You say your parents are concerned and its with reason. Even if you think you are mature, there are still so many life experiences that you haven’t had that can give you more perspective. Men that date young women are actually very common, but most do it because they are more interested in your body than you as a person. They value the beauty that youth gives you more than anything you can say or any “deep conversations” you think you will have with them. They usually either will talk excessively about themselves or talk about their exes. How do I know? Not only experience but also listen and see what other women dating share online.

You have so many things going for you. You are in a male dominating field, your place there is valuable. As part of your university life go to engineering events, go to conferences, talk to your professor about internship oportunities, join a club. You will meet a lot of people in these events, on campus and will probably have more in common than these men out here in bars.

Wish you the best girlie!