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Engineering is a huge field with endless applications. From aerospace to ergonomics, engineers play an important role in designing, building, and testing technologies all around us.<\/p>\n
We asked three engineers at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley to share their experiences, from early challenges they faced in their careers to the day-to-day of being a working engineer.<\/p>\n
Diana Acosta: I remember working on my first simulations. We were developing new aircraft with higher efficiency that could operate in new places, such as shorter runways. My team was putting together control techniques and introducing new algorithms to help pilots fly these new aircraft in a safer way. We were creating models and testing, then changing things and testing again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We had a simulator that worked on my laptop, and we had a lab with a pilot seat and controls. Every week, I made it my goal to finish my modeling or controls work and put that into the lab environment so that I could fly the aircraft. Every Friday afternoon, I would fly the aircraft in simulation and try out the changes I\u2019d made to see if we were going in a good direction. We\u2019d later integrate that into the Vertical Motion Simulator at Ames (which was used to train all the original space shuttle pilots) so that we could do a full motion test with a collection of pilots to get feedback.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When simulation time came around, it was during my maternity leave and my team had to take the project to simulation without me. It\u2019s hard to get out of the house with a newborn, but sometimes I\u2019d come by with my daughter and bring brownies to the team. I have two daughters now, and they\u2019ve both been in simulators since a young age.<\/p>\n
Diana Acosta is Chief of the Aerospace Simulation and Development Branch at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center. She has worked at NASA for 17 years.<\/em><\/p>\n Savvy Verma: One of the biggest challenges when I started working was that I was sometimes the only woman in a group of men, and I was also much younger. It was sometimes a challenge to get my voice through, or to be heard. I had mentors who taught me to speak up and say things the way I saw them, and that\u2019s what helped me. A good mentor will back you up and support you when you\u2019re in big meetings or giving presentations. They\u2019ll stand up and corroborate you when you\u2019re right, and that goes a long way toward establishing your credibility. It also helped build my confidence, it made me feel like I was on the right track and not out of line. I had both male and female mentors. The female mentor I had always encouraged me to speak my mind. She said the integrity of the experimental result is more important than trying to change things because someone doesn\u2019t like it or doesn\u2019t want to express it a certain way.\u00a0<\/p>\n I have a lot more women coworkers now, things have changed a lot. In my group there are four women and three men.\u00a0<\/p>\n Savvy Verma is an aerospace engineer at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center. She has worked at NASA for 22 years.<\/em><\/p>\n Dorcas Kaweesa: When I introduce myself as an engineer, people always say, \u201cYou must be good at math,\u201d and I say, \u201cOh, I work at it.\u201d<\/p>\n When you want to become an engineer, you must remain adaptable, hardworking, and always willing to learn something new. We\u2019re constantly learning, critically thinking, and problem solving. Most of the time we apply mathematical concepts to the engineering problems we\u2019re solving and not every problem is the same. If you struggle with math, my advice is to maintain the passion for learning, especially learning from your mistakes. It comes down to practicing and challenging yourself to think beyond the immediate struggle. There are so many types of math problems and if you\u2019re not good at one, maybe you\u2019re good at another. Maybe it\u2019s just a hiccup.\u00a0Also, seek help when you need it, there are instructors and peers out there willing to support you.<\/p>\n Personally, I sought help from my instructors, peers, and mentors, in the math and engineering classes that I found challenging. I also practiced a great deal to improve my problem solving and critical thinking skills. In my current role, I am constantly learning new things based on the task at hand. Learning never ends! If you\u2019re struggling with a math concept, don\u2019t give up. Keep trying, keep accepting the challenge, and keep practicing, you\u2019ll steadily make progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n