1. What made you want to be the president of Engineers Canada?
I have been involved with a wide variety of volunteer positions, both professional and community based, and they have been so rewarding. They are work but they provide new experiences, new connections, and provide challenges and opportunities to grow. This was an opportunity for me to continue my volunteer work, be part of an influential and important national organization and continue my personal and professional growth.
2. Hi Jean! Thank you for taking the time to be a part of the event. As a civil engineering student approaching graduation, it can be daunting to consider the vast amount of post-graduate opportunities available. Looking back on your experiences as a junior engineer, what advice would you give to new graduates entering the industry? Also, what plans do you have for your term as President of Engineers Canada despite the new online environment? Thanks!
Even though you have completed your degree, you have really only started your education as an engineer. Although you will be required to participate in Continued Professional Development for the duration of your career, those first few years are the prime time to learn from others in the industry or job situation where you start your career. Be a sponge – absorb what you can from the senior people who have been doing this for years both engineers and other staff members. This will help you move forward in your career, even if you switch paths along the way.
My hope is that we accomplish all that we set out to accomplish this year even though we have to do it virtually. Engineers Canada is functioning well in doing their routine work and we are also working hard to prepare a new strategic plan for 2022-2024 that addresses the priorities of our provincial and territorial members.
3. What advice would you give to your 20-year old self?
My answer to the question above is part of the advice I would give a 20-year old. The other thing is to learn from your mistakes. We are all human and we all make mistakes. Just make sure you don’t make that mistake again.
4. Hi Jean, it is great to hear that you have been making the most of the pandemic in terms of renovations and in your position as President of Engineers Canada! I was hoping you could elaborate on your experience as one of the first women as a Resident Engineer in the construction branch of the New Brunswick Department of Transportation, specifically as a woman in a male-dominant scenario. Whether you had positive or negative experiences, what do you feel contributed to those experiences, and do you see many changes from your experiences to those in women starting their careers now? Thank you! -Lexi
My experience as one of the first women in a male-dominated position was very positive. Although not everyone was happy to see a female in the position, I had supportive bosses and co-workers which made a huge difference. The part I had to overcome was that I had not had field experience as a student. I had only worked in an office situation.
I can’t tell you what percentage of current resident engineers in NB are female but I know there are a few and I think the biggest difference is that people are not totally shocked to see it. And when I say “people”, I mean co-workers, contractors and the public because some of the people I had to convince I should be there were people in other job situations. Unfortunately, I do know of examples where female engineers have left their job situations because of the challenges they faced from male co-workers (not at NBDTI) and not that long ago so we definitely need to see more improvements there.
5. Hello! I loved reading your post, even as a non-engineer myself! I specifically found your comment about either having too much work or not enough to be very relatable - especially right now, finding that balance seems like an impossible feat. As you mentioned, you have been working at GEMTEC for the last 26 years and must have seen so much throughout its development. What were some of the biggest changes you witnessed throughout your time there (ex. have the employee demographics changed? Were you always in the same location? Did any new portfolios excite you?) Thanks again for your contribution!
There has been a lot of change at GEMTEC since I started there. I think I mentioned that I was brought on to add a new expertise to the company. Since then, there have been several more added. We have expanded from just New Brunswick into five provinces and have recently added structural engineering to our services. We have also added technical, non-engineering expertise including environmental scientists and biologists.
I have stayed in the Fredericton office for the duration but have been involved with projects around the province. I have also been part of multi-disciplinary, multi-company projects that have been very interesting. Solving problems is definitely a team effort and a diverse team is essential – diverse in technical capability and in societal makeup. Our team has expanded in diversity as well. We have more female technical staff and we also have more ethnicity diversity as well including foreign trained engineers.
6. Hi Jean, thank you for your thoughtful reflection! As a student approaching graduation, the thought of entering the workforce is daunting. It seems competition for jobs is high in every field. You mentioned the job market shifting while you were in school and there being few job offers for your engineering class. How did you stay optimistic through that experience? Do you have any advice for students who may not receive a job offer upon leaving university? Thanks :) -Sierra
This situation is not unique to engineering students. I was lucky to at least have a short-term job that was in engineering and it eventually became permanent. But if you can’t find any engineering work, do something else. Work for a non-profit, take some courses, either engineering or business related, volunteer in the community. These things all provide learning experiences and provide skills that you can draw on in career situations. Get yourself out in the community and gain access to a variety of people in a variety of situations. My youngest daughter learned of a job-training opportunity working at a golf club. She was a recent university graduate (not an engineer) and couldn’t get a job in the area in which she was interested. This training opportunity led her, eventually, to a full-time, permanent position that she loves.
7. Hi Jean! Thank you so much for your post, and for sharing with us your journey! Congratulations on your presidency! Since you talked about how the job market quickly changed during your time at university, I wanted to know what you would recommend for staying competitive within this evolving job market? Is there anything that helps a new grad stand out when applying for jobs? Especially with our current covid situation, what would be your advice to approaching job searching within this industry? Thanks again! We appreciate all your input! :)
Some of the other questions were also related to finding jobs for recent grads so you might want to read some of those answers as well. Definitely highlight your experience and training but also be prepared to start with a job for which you may feel over qualified. This can be an opportunity to supplement your basic training and also is a chance to prove your merit and work your way towards the position you really want. This is assuming you are not offered the job you really want, of course.
8. Hi Jean! Thanks for sharing your story! You mentioned that as a consultant, your workload is either too high or too low, and it's hard to find that balance - especially when your chargeability is a metric of your performance. How do you manage to maintain a reasonable work-life balance, especially with working from home, it can be hard to put your computer away!
Maintaining a work-life balance is always a challenge! I didn’t really find a huge difference in that challenge when I switched to working completely from home. Many times I got a call at work from home asking if I planned on coming home that night. It takes determination and concentration no matter where you are working – concentration on the task at hand to be efficient and determination to shut down at the appointed hour and walking away from the work/computer. I can’t claim to always being good at doing that.
9. What advice would you give to a Civil Engineer, near graduation, looking for their first job in the industry?
This is a common question (and you might want to read answers to some of the other questions too) and my advice for a Civil Engineer is the same advice I gave our children (none of whom are engineers), particularly when jobs are scarce or hard to find. Take the best offer you get, even if it’s not exactly what you want to be doing, and give it your all. Learn from it, gain experience from it, even if you are looking for something else. It is all part of the job-training for the job you really want. One of two things will happen. You will either find out this is the job you want that you maybe did not realize or you will be more determined to find the other job you really want but this was not a waste of time.