Career Engineering

Welcome

I remember meeting my fellow Ph.D. classmates for the first time. I looked around the room and thought how lucky I was to get to spend the next 6 years with such brilliant and interesting people. I knew that, whatever they decided to do with their careers, they were going to make a mark on the world. I just hoped I could measure up.

 

Nationally, women and men currently earn doctorates in science and engineering in equal numbers, and the same was true of my Ph.D. program. However, only 21% of science faculty and 5% of engineering faculty are women (1). This phenomenon isn't limited to academic roles, unfortunately. Only 21 of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women (2), 14% of executive corporate officers are women, and 18% of US elected congressional officials are women (3).

 

From my experiences teaching hundreds of graduate students at places like MIT, Stanford, Scripps Institute, and the National Cancer Institute, women seem more likely than men to reject a professorship path or high-level managerial role because:

 

• They don't feel as talented as their peers.

• They don't think that they "fit in" with academic culture.

• They worry about having enough time for other parts of their lives, like family.

• They feel like they don't have enough creative ideas.

• They think the path is too difficult because of external factors like job availability, and funding.

 

It is imperitive that all of these talented individuals find what they love to do, and believe that they can attain it. It is fine if a woman decides not to pursue a high-level position because that is not truly what she wants. It is not fine, however, if she really does want that position but thinks that she can't have it, and so convinces herself that she doesn't want it.

 

That is where I come in. I have developed a set of powerful, practical tools that help women:

 

• Take an honest look at what they really want, regardless of the obstacles that they feel are in their way.

• Deeply commit to that vision, even though it might seem scary or unlikely.

• Understand the barriers that are in their way, which can either be external (societal factors) or internal (limiting thinking).

• Problem-solve and get creative to overcome external barriers.

• Re-train their mind to think differently about their obstacles.​

 

Armed with this set of tools, women can change the landscape of what they feel is possible in their careers. They are free to unleash their brilliance on the world... in exactly the way they want to.