Name: Kate MacDougall

Position: Senior Project Engineer

Company: e2 Engineers

How many years have you been in your current field? 9

What are you doing differently in 2019 that has had a positive impact on your career? 2019 has just started out, but I’m focusing on confidence and determination. I have many career goals that I aspire to achieve beyond this year and see each project and challenge as a stepping stone to get there. I’m allowing myself to take risks and chances and I’m hopeful that I’ll reap the benefits from those risks/chances. I’ve also learned that finding success in the risks I take reinforces my confidence and determination as well.

What were your biggest fears when you started out in your profession? My biggest fear when I started out as an engineer was not being taken seriously as a young woman in a male-dominated field. Additionally, I also mentally wrestled with “imposter syndrome” when I started out and feared that I would be discovered as a fraud.

What was your first job and what did you learn from it? My first job was working in the nuclear power industry designing structural modifications to United States based nuclear power plants. Even though it wasn’t the part of the industry I wanted to be in, I learned that I needed to speak up for myself – because no one else will. There were many instances where I could have been coerced into doing or not doing something, but I learned how to be proactive and not compromise on my personal convictions.