Words of Wisdom for Career Day.
In the last 3 years, I have lived in New York, California, Sheffield, England and most recently split my time between the beautiful southern states of Georgia and Florida.
I have worked in engineering, sales, finance and production operations.
I have done everything from designing equipment for large industrial machinery…to preparing and presenting business cases to VPs…to traveling throughout Europe (to places like France, Belgium and Germany) to work with some of our customers on a number of business issues.
So what do I do? I’m a mechanical engineer!
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think my career, let alone the early years of my career, would be so exciting…especially considering my start…
So how did I decide I wanted to become a mechanical engineer? Ah, the million dollar question! Nothing glamorous here, I’m afraid…In hindsight, it almost seems like it was an arbitrary decision. Allow me to explain:
Actually, it started out as a simple interest in what my friend Sharon’s dad did. One year, after summer break, we were all comparing vacation stories. I went to Myrtle Beach for what turned out to be a pretty uneventful summer vacation. Sharon, however, had a much more exotic experience. She said that her family went to Spain for a while because her dad had to train some Spanish customers on an airplane engine that his company sold them. Now, I had been to Spain; I am half Spanish! But I never thought that a career had the possibility of taking me to far away places!! So cool!! So I just had to ask Sharon what her dad did. “He’s a mechanical engineer for and aerospace & aviation company – they make airplane engines.” That was it. Enamored with the thought of travel, I decided I was going to become a mechanical engineer. Besides, I was good at math and physics, so it sounded a reasonable decision.
So I knew what I had to do and I basically drew out a plan to do it. I graduated from high school, went on to study Pure & Applied Sciences at CEGEP (Canadian prep-school type) and then went on to graduate with a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering with a minor degree in management.
For all you wondering…management? Yup! Management. During university, I learned early on that to get a job when you graduate you need experience, relevant experience. So I completed two summer internships at a large aerospace company in Montreal. I had this great supervisor and mentor, Maryse, who taught me early on the importance of business knowledge in everything you do. After my first summer internship working wth Maryse, I enrolled in the minor in management program.
It was great. I learned about the lingo of business – which is money $$$ – through courses like financial accounting and then I also learned a lot about the human element in business dynamics through courses like organizational behavior. And let me tell you, the majority of problems you will encounter throughout your career will be people related. You need to know how to manage people as an engineer in order to facilitate change and implementation.
All this was a great complement to the very technical skills I learned in engineering. And you know what? When I started my engineering studies, I wasn’t all that interested in some of the stuff I was learning like machine tools or computer programming or even thermodynamics. And it was tough, because engineering is a highly technical discipline…so what’s a girl to do?? Some days classes just never seemed to end and some nights of studying were really long. But I stuck with it and kept plugging at it!
But something happened in my 3rd year at university. I discovered the power of electives. Electives being the courses you get to choose! And I found I was drawn to classes such as product design, value engineering and continuous improvement. I found my passion. My passion was in idea development and implementation – either in new product/process design or continuous improvement initiatives. It also happened that my strengths were in this area, as well. Double whammy!
It was evident to me at this point, which was rather close to graduation, that I would need to find a job that enabled me to do this. Luckily for me, I was able to find a job through various referrals with an American aerospace manufacturing company in their Manufacturing Leadership Program. The idea for this program was that you would spend ~ 6 months at different company facilities and complete projects within four main business units: engineering, sales, finance and operations.
This was a tremendous opportunity to gain international experience, it was a steep learning curve with lots of opportunity and I was able to gain some serious professional credibility and accomplishments.
But it wasn’t always easy. In the last 3 years, I have relocated 4 times to different states, and even different countries…which is no easy task both logistically and emotionally. You always have to make new friends and adapt to new places and cultures. It’s great experience, but somewhat taxing, as well. Also, there are many unique challenges facing women working in a manufacturing environment. The women:men ratio is very small. It’s also a rougher environment and can take some getting used to. Don’t even get me started on wardrobe! For a good part of the last three years I have lived in my less than stylish steel-toes shoes, cover-alls, safety glasses and hard hat…covered elbow deep in grease. It was a dirty job, but it was also a lot of fun!
And that’s the most important part of whatever you choose to do. Make sure you have fun! While not every minute of your career will necessarily be exhilarating, if you like what you do, fun will inherently follow.
At the end of the day, your career is what you make of it. To make the most of your career in whatever you choose, consider the following:
1. Applying for internships: it’s great experience and it let’s you try on a possible career path for size.
2. Find a professional mentor: someone who has gone through what you’re doing and can lend you their expertise and experience to help you gain your career footing.
3. Complement your major: take courses in subjects that you wouldn’t get exposure to & which will give you a well-wounded background. This is most sought after by prospective employers.
4. Take elective classes: these enable you to hone in your skills in your chosen field and to explore different career opportunities.
5. Passion + Practicality: make sure whatever you choose to pursue is a combination of passion and your strengths. This will guarantee maximum success.
6. Network, Network, Network: start now! Teachers, professors, colleagues, supervisors…your network will be our biggest professional support system.
7. International experience: if you can get it, do it. Nothing helps to develop you more professionally and personally.
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