- What challenges have you faced professionally, and how have you handled them?
One of the first things I had to overcome is becoming and engineer. As an extroverted person, I always wanted to go around to my co-workers for information to work through problems, but engineers are simply "wired" to be analytical. So I had to teach myself to find information through sitting down and working it out myself. Recently, I have had to switch more into the role of being a salesman, and this has proved to be a challenge as well. I have to put myself in a more "big picture" mindset, trying to get all of my clients on board with what I'm trying to sell.
- What made you want to choose your career path?
Well, I knew I didn't want to work in a lab, but I was sure I wanted to problem solve; I wanted to be given a task, and be required to find the best solution. It seemed obvious that the best field I could choose would be engineering. Also, it's really cool to see what you design come to life. You can't just say that it works, you have to prove that it really will.
- What is the most challenging thing about your field?
One of the more challenging parts of my field is that everyone is different. As a salesperson, I have to work to meet everyone's needs, and that can be really difficult at times, because everyone really is different. You have to understand the overall group psych, and try and work a plan that will please everyone. To do this, I have to go the extra mile to really get to know the client, and his/her needs. Once I really understand everyone's situations, I just have to get everyone to work together, which can be hard, as different people want different things.
- How did you arrive at your current position?
Lost of hard work. The major decision that I had to make was whether or not to become a tech manager, who basically manages all of the engineers, making sure that each individual is doing their job to reach some sort of goal, or be a project manager, who is someone who brings everyone together, and gets the project rolling on the social aspect. I chose to be a project manager, because of my extroverted inner wiring. I have more of a knack to the more social aspect, so it felt like the right fit.
One of the first things I had to overcome is becoming and engineer. As an extroverted person, I always wanted to go around to my co-workers for information to work through problems, but engineers are simply "wired" to be analytical. So I had to teach myself to find information through sitting down and working it out myself. Recently, I have had to switch more into the role of being a salesman, and this has proved to be a challenge as well. I have to put myself in a more "big picture" mindset, trying to get all of my clients on board with what I'm trying to sell.
- What made you want to choose your career path?
Well, I knew I didn't want to work in a lab, but I was sure I wanted to problem solve; I wanted to be given a task, and be required to find the best solution. It seemed obvious that the best field I could choose would be engineering. Also, it's really cool to see what you design come to life. You can't just say that it works, you have to prove that it really will.
- What is the most challenging thing about your field?
One of the more challenging parts of my field is that everyone is different. As a salesperson, I have to work to meet everyone's needs, and that can be really difficult at times, because everyone really is different. You have to understand the overall group psych, and try and work a plan that will please everyone. To do this, I have to go the extra mile to really get to know the client, and his/her needs. Once I really understand everyone's situations, I just have to get everyone to work together, which can be hard, as different people want different things.
- How did you arrive at your current position?
Lost of hard work. The major decision that I had to make was whether or not to become a tech manager, who basically manages all of the engineers, making sure that each individual is doing their job to reach some sort of goal, or be a project manager, who is someone who brings everyone together, and gets the project rolling on the social aspect. I chose to be a project manager, because of my extroverted inner wiring. I have more of a knack to the more social aspect, so it felt like the right fit.