What made you first think of wanting to be an engineer?

I always enjoyed science in high-school so I knew that I wanted to go into a STEM field but I didn't know what. I initially choose to pursue physics because I always enjoyed physics and my school had a multi-disciplinary degree program which appealed to me because I liked the idea of still being able to take some chemistry and biology courses. After starting my degree, I realized that while I loved physics, the profession felt far away from solving real world problems. While physics is important, I realized I liked feeling that I was solving problems directly rather than pursuing knowledge which is a long way from being applied. This is when I began thinking about engineering. I slowly realized that as an engineer, I could apply my love of physics to solving real world problems. Later on after I had made the switch, I also realized that the engineering degree gave me a lot more diverse options in industry or in academia than a pure physics degree would have. 

The first time I got really excited about being an engineer was when I was learning about national defense systems in graduate school. While it was a little scary to get involved in the design of weapons systems, I was intrigued by the idea that if we have the best technology and the most sophisticated solutions, we gain an advantage over others. Being an engineer has always meant being pragmatic to me, and while I would prefer that there was no war in the world, I believe that the need for sophisticated technology to keep people safe is a fact of life. The focus on Systems Engineering and Systems Thinking helped me see how we could come up with creative strategies to keep our people safe while achieving national objectives.  

My interest to pursue engineering was two-fold which includes both a gradual interest and an 'ah-ha’ moment. I was first inspired by my dad, a carpenter, who built the house I grew up in. Over the years I helped him with various projects around the house and through bringing these projects from imagination to drawing board to real life, he instilled in me a love for construction. As a child, I also loved to build my own structures using LEGOs and loved reading detective stories that had a mystery or problem to solve.

Throughout school, I greatly enjoyed math, science, and teaching others so I thought I was going to become a teacher. The word “engineering” was not brought up until my Junior year of high school when I attended an Engineering Girls Camp at a local college. There I met young women currently studying engineering, along with professionals in a variety of engineering disciplines that became my role models. This camp taught me that civil engineering would be the perfect profession for me as it combines construction with the application of math and science through problem-solving.

Although my ‘ah-ha’ moment was late into high school, you can also see by my story that I have loved problem-solving and building from a young age. My recommendation to all those reading this is to be curious and try out a bunch of engineering-related activities like attending local STEM events in your area or joining a local robotics team to see if engineering is something you enjoy as well! And while you are at these activities, ask a lot of questions of the presenters who are most likely college students or professionals in STEM fields. There is so much within the field of engineering, so by asking them questions, you may learn about a field or opportunity that you would love within engineering!

I wasn’t sure I wanted to be an engineer. I actually made the decision based upon the fact that I had appropriate capability and I would be able to make a good living doing it. That might sound like an uninformed method to make the decision, but has actually worked out quite well. I have always loved math and science and they come naturally to me. The work that I did in my early years as an engineer was all about leveraging that skill to solve problems, so it was very enjoyable and satisfying to me. As I grew in my career, I took on more and more people coordination and eventually people leadership because I also enjoy interacting with people and driving decisions. I’m actually just not patient enough to let things linger when a decision should be made. Don’t worry if there isn’t an “ah-ha” moment. The other wonderful thing about engineering is that there are so many ways to leverage an engineering education that you almost can’t go wrong with the decision.

The first experience that made me think "I want to be an engineer" was the fact that my favorite subject in high school was math. Also, both of my parents are software engineers so I had the idea already in my mind. However, the moment or event that made me realize I wanted to be an electrical engineer was when I took advanced physics in high school and we learned the basics of electronics. I remember we had to do a project for the class that was building a cardboard house and designing all the electrical layout of the house, basically putting small light bulbs in each of the rooms all connected together to the central power line that was fed with a 9V battery. I loved the project and the whole class. Then I started researching more about what an electrical engineer does and what type of jobs I could get. I learned that an Electrical Engineer could design the chips that were on our smartphones, iPods (I used to have an iPod to listen to music during high school), and all those devices that I loved. After this research I was really excited to go for an electrical engineering degree.

Some people have that "ah-ha" moment randomly at some point of their life, but also you need to look for it. Think about what subjects you like in high school and what particular subject you enjoy the most. Also, dig a little deep about that topic and see if you could get a job related to it. This will help you decide not only if you want to go for an engineering degree, but also what type of engineering, and what specialty do you want to pursue. Engineering is a very broad field and you can do a lot of things.

Deciding to become an engineer was a gradual decision for me, but I did have an ‘ah-ha’ moment when selecting what field of engineering to pursue.

I always did well in math and loved art, and as a college freshman at Michigan State University (MSU) I developed an interest in chemistry and atomic physics. I thought that engineering would be a good combination of all these fields, so I took a one credit course called “Introduction to Careers in Engineering.” During this very helpful class the Chairman of the Department of Materials Science showed us a piece of special wire, called shape memory alloy, which he crumpled into a ball. Then he heated it with a lighter and it “magically” formed into a perfect coil. I found the material fascinating and decided to pursue a degree in materials science engineering, and ended up loving all my materials science classes.

Between my junior and senior years I obtained a summer job at Clark Equipment Company conducting metallurgical failure analysis (why did something metal break). This job helped me understand that I loved working in a lab conducting research. So, I decided to get a master’s degree in materials science from MSU. While working on my master’s degree, my advisor helped me obtain a summer job at NASA Glenn in Cleveland, Ohio. After working for the summer at NASA, I knew I wanted a career conducting materials research at NASA. I have been very fortunate as I obtained my dream job and have conducted materials research for NASA Glenn for the past 30+ years!

My advice: While in high school, try to shadow engineers in various engineering fields. As a college freshman, take an introduction to engineering class if available. And, try to get summer jobs or internships in the field(s) you think you are interested in.

I never had an ah-ha moment for deciding to become an engineer. I was always good at math and was drawn to it. I was also drawn to puzzles and other problem solving games and activities. I did not have much insight into engineering when I started in college. However, as I took classes and ESPECIALLY when I did co-ops and internships at engineering companies, I gained that insight. And I liked what I saw and learned. I would say it was more comfortable than jumping up and down with excitement. The applications were very interesting – even though at the times I did not understand a lot of the details. It was fascinating. I have changed areas of engineering I work in a number of times. I believe my initial draw to problem solving was the biggest factor in being directed to engineering. I think when you are in high school you don’t always understand how different people can think so differently. I have come to believe the ‘problem solving brain’ is a type of person that makes an excellent engineer! I never did have a “love at first sight,” it was certainly more gradual.

I actually wanted to go into the medical field for a while, first as a paramedic then as a doctor. However, in my senior year of high school, I took both physics and calculus. I learned I really enjoyed the problem-solving aspects of both subjects and how you could apply a few formulas to get an answer to a problem. The more I thought about it this appealed to me more than the memorization required for subjects like biology and other pre-med subjects.

This all happened while I was applying to colleges and only made me more confused about what I wanted to do. I have to admit when I applied to colleges I applied as all different majors. One I applied as pre-med, one as architecture, and one as Spanish. I could see careers in all of those fields since I enjoyed aspects of them. After talking to some teachers, they recommended looking into engineering. After looking into it a bit more, I realized I enjoyed the classes that I would be taking the most. It was also the major that offered the most flexibility in what to do after college. One other thing I decided was I was not in love with medicine enough to devote 8+ years to starting a career with college then medical school then residency. Engineering allowed for a great career right out of school.

If you are not sure of what you want to do, engineering is a great major to have. I know people who have an engineering undergrad and have gone on to become a doctor, go into finance, become a lawyer, and many other fields. An engineering degree teaches you problem-solving skills that become applicable in any field.

My Form 2 physics teacher showed us an optical fiber Christmas tree and I thought "Wow. How beautiful!" It triggered my interest to look into how it works which is reflection of light based on reflection index. My dad mentioned Nobel prize recipient Sir Charles Kuen Kao and his amazing work in how optical fiber plays a big part in the telecommunication industry which was the first time I learned about materials engineering. That was how it all started.