April 8, 2025 • 36 mins
Learn how discovering Systems Engineering in the workplace inspired Naksha's journey, and gain valuable insights on how to successfully navigate your own STEM career path.
Whether you’re an aspiring engineer or currently studying in the STEM field, I this video shares key tips and strategies for success, including choosing the right graduate program, the importance of networking, and how to leverage workplace experiences to guide your career decisions.
This episode also dives into how Systems Engineering complements a background in Chemical Engineering and the exciting career opportunities that await in fields like project management, process optimization, and systems integration.
If you're considering a career change within STEM or are curious about how to make the most of your degree, this video is packed with essential advice! Watch now to learn how to make informed decisions, grow your skill set, and succeed in the competitive world of STEM. Don't forget to subscribe for more career tips, engineering insights, and advice on advancing your education in the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics!
Meet our next guest, Naksha Roy as we discover her journey! Naksha Roy is a Systems Engineer in the defense and space manufacturing industry, working to advance the model-based systems architectures for complex air vehicle systems. She leverages digital tools to enhance system design, integration, and lifecycle management. Passionate about building the "digital thread" in Systems Engineering, Naksha is dedicated to strengthening the digital communication frameworks that enable seamless flow of data and key artifacts across the entire product lifecycle. Raised in Queens, New York, Naksha discovered her love for STEM at an early age through hands-on labs and science fair projects, which fueled her passion for innovation and transforming ideas into real-world solutions. This drive led her to pursue engineering at MIT, where she earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2022. She has gained experience across various domains, including membrane materials development, process design, manufacturing, energy and sustainability consulting, and materials & process engineering. Inspired by her work in industry, Naksha is now pursuing a Master’s in Applied Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech, where she is expanding her knowledge of model-based tools and techniques for modern-day systems engineering and lifecycle management. Beyond her technical work, Naksha enjoys being part of programs and initiatives related to mentorship, professional development, and outreach. She is a board member of her company’s Women’s Impact Network and Professional Asian American Network and an active member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Through these organizations, she is not only able to grow her network but also has found meaningful opportunities to give back, support women and underrepresented groups in STEM, and inspire future generations.
#STEMCareerJourney #ChemicalEngineering #SystemsEngineering #STEMAdvice #EngineeringCareer #GraduateSchoolTips #CareerTransition #EngineeringTips
Please Watch, Comment, and Subscribe! New Episodes Every Other Friday!
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Follow us on Facebook: STEM With Ashley
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If you are interested in being a guest on this channel please contact: stemwithashley@outlook.com
Whether you’re an aspiring engineer or currently studying in the STEM field, I this video shares key tips and strategies for success, including choosing the right graduate program, the importance of networking, and how to leverage workplace experiences to guide your career decisions.
This episode also dives into how Systems Engineering complements a background in Chemical Engineering and the exciting career opportunities that await in fields like project management, process optimization, and systems integration.
If you're considering a career change within STEM or are curious about how to make the most of your degree, this video is packed with essential advice! Watch now to learn how to make informed decisions, grow your skill set, and succeed in the competitive world of STEM. Don't forget to subscribe for more career tips, engineering insights, and advice on advancing your education in the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics!
Meet our next guest, Naksha Roy as we discover her journey! Naksha Roy is a Systems Engineer in the defense and space manufacturing industry, working to advance the model-based systems architectures for complex air vehicle systems. She leverages digital tools to enhance system design, integration, and lifecycle management. Passionate about building the "digital thread" in Systems Engineering, Naksha is dedicated to strengthening the digital communication frameworks that enable seamless flow of data and key artifacts across the entire product lifecycle. Raised in Queens, New York, Naksha discovered her love for STEM at an early age through hands-on labs and science fair projects, which fueled her passion for innovation and transforming ideas into real-world solutions. This drive led her to pursue engineering at MIT, where she earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2022. She has gained experience across various domains, including membrane materials development, process design, manufacturing, energy and sustainability consulting, and materials & process engineering. Inspired by her work in industry, Naksha is now pursuing a Master’s in Applied Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech, where she is expanding her knowledge of model-based tools and techniques for modern-day systems engineering and lifecycle management. Beyond her technical work, Naksha enjoys being part of programs and initiatives related to mentorship, professional development, and outreach. She is a board member of her company’s Women’s Impact Network and Professional Asian American Network and an active member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Through these organizations, she is not only able to grow her network but also has found meaningful opportunities to give back, support women and underrepresented groups in STEM, and inspire future generations.
#STEMCareerJourney #ChemicalEngineering #SystemsEngineering #STEMAdvice #EngineeringCareer #GraduateSchoolTips #CareerTransition #EngineeringTips
Please Watch, Comment, and Subscribe! New Episodes Every Other Friday!
Follow us on Instagram: stemwithashley
Follow us on Facebook: STEM With Ashley
Follow us on tiktok: stemwithashley
Follow us on LinkedIn: All Things STEM With Ashley
If you are interested in being a guest on this channel please contact: stemwithashley@outlook.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hello everyone, and welcome to all. Thanks Sam with Ashley
today we have Noction Roy with us. Noction Roy is
a systems engineer in the dis fits and space manufacturing industry,
working to advance model based system architectures for complex air
vehicle systems. She leverages digital tools to enhance system design, integration,
and life cycle management. She is passionate about building the
(00:33):
digital thread and systems engineering and it's dedicated to strengthening
digital communication frameworks that enables seamless full of data and
key artifacts across entire product life cycles. So we want
to welcome action today as we hear about her STEM
journey and thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Welcome absolutely, Thank you so much Ashley for having me.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
You're doing this and giving women in STEM a platform
to share their journey. So very excited to be here
and share my journey with you and the others.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yes, thank you. To start out today in Actua.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
I wanted to ask what first sparked your interest in
STEM and how did you decide to pursue it as
a career.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, so, I will say growing up at a very
early age, I found the love for math.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
It was my favorite subject.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I always saw math as you know, solving puzzles, and
I really enjoyed that.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
My parents really saw that too. We didn't really have.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
A lot of people in my family that were in STEM, right,
so they were you know, encouraging me to take on
STEM classes, to take you know, engage in STEM programs
and after school activities.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
So they really supported that.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
And then when I started taking more specific sciences like
chemistry and physics, that's when I was like, you know,
seeing the application of math in specific fields.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Which was really interesting.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
And then also started engaging in more hands on lab
activities and science fairs at schools, and that's when I
was like, you know, not only can you do all
this you know, on paper and form ideas, but you
can really transform them and make them into something in
the real world, right, And that was really exciting for
me to see in middle school and high school. So
(02:09):
that led me then to pursue engineering in college. So
I went to MIT for chemical engineering and you know,
amazing experience. Also got to do some hands on research
when I was an undergrad, and then do some internships
as well in various different domains manufacturing, energy, materials development
(02:31):
to really see how engineering plays out in different fields.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
In the world.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And then you know, right now I'm an engineer in
the industry and also pursuing an advanced degree in systems engineering.
So you know, it was really it started with math,
but then once I saw how you know, it's so
useful in it, and it led me to find my
love for engineering and then definitely you know, planning on
sticking with it for a long time.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So thank your story.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
I want to ask, do you have any role models
or mentors that have influenced your STAM journey.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
So I've been very fortunate, I would say to have
a lot of great mentors who have given me very
practical advice or ideas that I've used for problem solving
or just my career growth in general. One person in
particular was my research mentor in college. So when I
was in college, I did about two and a half
(03:28):
years of undergrad research in the lab and that was
in materials development specifically, So she was the one who kind.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Of brought me on into her She was a PhD student.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
She brought me on to kind of help her as
a research assistant. But in that process she really invested
that time to train me to show me things in
the lab right to teach me really complex concepts and
then also actually encouraged me to co author and contribute
to some of her publications and the LABS publications encouraged
(04:03):
me to go out to conferences and present. You know,
she was the one who really was like, Nacha, you
should go out and do these things. So and then
very often had career chats with me about myself, right
like where did I see my career heading? And then
did I want to go to grad school? What are
the options for me?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
And things like that. So she played a really key
role at a really.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Key time, I would say, because you know, I really
gained confidence in my communication abilities, in my technical writing abilities.
But also she inspired me to pursue advanced degree. So
really thankful to her. So she's she's definitely been a
great mentor.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
That's excellent.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
So you said you met her through doing your research
and development. Yes, that so, and people that are in
college can actually do that as well. So how did
you and her initially connect? Like how did you sign
up for research and development to even meet her for
her to become a mentor?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
So my school had a undergraduate research op Trinities program.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
It's called Europe.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
So it's like a formal program that's established at my
school to encourage undergrads to you know, get involved in
the lab work in different you know labs in different
departments that's going on at the school.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Okay, so I applied, you know, to that program.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
I also reached out to various professors at that time,
and the professor of this you know, particular lab, he
was interested in taking me on and he had you know,
my research mentor who was a PhD student at that
time who.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Was looking for a research assistant.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
So through that I kind of got connected to her
learn about materials development. You know.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
It aligned really well with my chemical engineering at that time. Right.
So yeah, that's how I kind of got involved in
that world.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
That's excellent. So if you're in my tea to check
out that program. It could do great things. Our next
question is going to be were there any challenges you
face growing up that may pursuing a stame career difficult?
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, so definitely, I would say the first one that
comes to mind is just being the only person in
my being the first person in my family.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
To go through the schooling system in the US. You know,
also being a first and where are you from?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
So I'm from Bangladesh. I immigrated here when I was
eight years old. So yeah, I immigrated with my parents,
So I came here at at a young age and
kind of picked up schooling.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Whatever I left there picked it up here.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
So really the first person to go through the schooling
system here and also first and college student as well
in my family. So you can imagine that with that,
it's exciting, but in that in the process, it was
so challenging.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
And the pressure.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Yeah, so I think just navigating the resources related to
financial aid or you know, standardized testing or you know,
all of that that comes with college application and enrollment.
Initially it was difficult, but very thankful to my parents
because despite not having firsthand experienced themselves, they really you know,
(06:57):
went out of their way to find a lot of
resources for me and really help me navigate that process.
So you know, that was tremendously helpful.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
And then the other.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Challenge, of course, I think a lot of us women
of color in.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
STEM feel that right and Foster syndrome.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
It's real, you know, like being in a room, being
at a table kind of wondering like, hey, you know,
do I deserve to be here? Did I earn this seat?
You know, it's very real. I'd be lying if I
say I don't feel it to this day.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I do. But I will say that the best way
to combat that is.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Really to grow a network. You'll see many other women
like you too. You know, you got to sometimes you
got to seek out. But if you do you seek out,
you see a lot of women that look like you
or or you know, have similar backgrounds or experiences as you,
and I think you have to kind of reach out
to them and connect to them, learn about their journeys
and oftentimes you'll see there's so many similarities and they
(07:54):
can become mentors, they can become resources, and you can become.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
The same for them. Right.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So, I think it's really growing that network. You see
that there's so many people like her around you that
that kind of helps to get rid of that imposter syndrome.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Y'all hear all those gems rewind replay zoom in. I
love that she is giving us gems people. That is
just I have no words. I love that and it
is so true.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
That is so true.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
That's how you have to find mentors and they can
tell you like you said what they did with the
same Everyone goes through the same challenges, and when you
have that mentor, they can give you advice that they
wish they had known, and tips for success and things
to make it a little easier for you exactly and
make it better than what they had. So I love that.
Our next question is what's one project or accomplishment that
you are particularly proud of in your STEM career.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Absolutely, So this project I'm proud of because I think
I saw this as a way to, you know, use
what I use my knowledge and.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
My skills to give back to my community.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
So when I was in college, I was part of
the Society of Women Engineers and I applied for a
incubator fund basically that was available for undergrad students or
just members of Society Women Engineers.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
So I was awarded that.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
And I wanted to do something in my hometown of Queens,
New York. I utilized the libraries there a lot, so
I wanted to kind of partner with the libraries and
some of the programs that they had gone on for
local students and see how I could contribute. So I
actually use some of that funding during a summer worked
with the library staff and helped run kind of a
(09:45):
little STEM workshop that was aimed at getting K to
weight students you know interested in STEM a lot of
hands on activities and labs on renewable energy, you know,
sustainability and things like that. So I actually got to
work with the team to plan out some of these
activities and then use that fund to buy you know,
(10:06):
materials and get students, you know, recruit students for the
programs and things like that, and then running for the summer.
So that was that was super exciting, you know, because
that's like, yes, you you gain all these skills, you
gain all this knowledge right as you go through schooling
and college, but very important, I think to give back
to your community, bring that back right inspire the next generation. Absolutely,
(10:30):
when I remember when I saw these students excited and
at the end of the program, I was.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Like, you know, it just felt really good.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yeah, I know, So I would say, that's my that's
one of my biggest accomplishments.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I love.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
That is amazing accomplishment.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I absolutely love that. Thank you. That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Thank you. Now, I'd like to ask what motivated you
to pursue a master's and systems engineering when your undergrad
was in chemical engineering, and what made you pursue a
master's while you're already working in your engineering field.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Absolutely, So, to be very honest, I didn't really know
about systems engineering you know, as a discipline or as
a potential course of study you know, for grad school
until I joined the company that I'm currently in. So
I'm in defense and space manufacturing right now. So you know,
when I join, I start to see a lot of
(11:24):
people with the systems engineering title. So I really wondered,
you know, like, well, what is it that you do?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
What is it? What is systems engineering? Right?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
So I started kind of reaching out to people and
scheduling someone on ones to learn more about their everyday role.
And so when I did that, you know, that's when
I really found out about how critical systems engineering is
to the work that we do, especially in my industry. So,
you know, first of all, it is a very very
interdisciplinary field, you know, because you're expected to interface with
(11:54):
a lot of different engineering domains. You know, you know,
you're you're electrical, you're manufacturing, your design, all of that.
You should have a at least a high level understanding
of what they do and be able to integrate their
work or their product to form something whole, right, like
an entire system. So I really really like that approach
(12:15):
because I kind of like being able to see things
from a holistic point of view and being able to
understand every little part that goes into it and plays
a role, you know, in it functioning.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Right. So that really appealed to me.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
And then I will say the other thing is there
is a very big focus in systems engineering on understanding
life cycle management.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Right.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
So when you think about a product life cycle, you're
going from you know, your concept expiration to designing to
testing to manufacturing all the way to sustain it, right,
the entire life cycle. In systems engineering, especially as you
take on higher level roles, you're you know, overseeing a
lot of the activities that happen at the life cycle,
(12:57):
but also how things flow properly each.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Stage to the next, right.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
So that is something that I think you gain a
lot of exposures to in a systems engineering field. And
that's what I learned of by talking to some of
my colleagues, and I was like, you know, I really
I really want to, you know, pursue an advanced degree
in this so then applied for the program that I'm
in right now, So right now doing Applied Systems Engineering
Masters at Georgia Tech, and so far it's been an
(13:25):
amazing experience. So really grateful that I got introduced to
it in my you know, and my company, and now
I'm getting to learn more about it by doing my masters.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Well, thank you Knowtion, that was amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
How does your current job compliment the concepts you're learning
in your master's program.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Right now I'm seeing, you know, a lot of synergy
between my role as a systems engineering and my company
and my master's program.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Specifically, a lot of the tools that.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
I'm learning in my master's program, you know, in modeling
and simulation, I'm actually using similar or the same tools
you know, in my in my role. So getting you know,
training or practice doing assignments for grad school and then
getting to actually apply them to do real tasks, you know,
in the industry.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
So that is.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Definitely a plus, right It's it's kind of reinforcing those
skills or those concepts in in both both places. And
then the other thing is I just feel like I
have a better understanding of why and how things function.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
You know at work.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
So, like I was mentioning, you know earlier, the product
life cycle management is a very essential part of systems engineering,
And in some of the courses I've taken already have
learned a lot of the fundamental concepts behind it.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And what are some of the you know, key key
factors or key ideas that you know that you need
to keep in mind if you're overseeing a product's life cycle.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
So having now all that knowledge, right, and going back
to work and seeing you know, a program, either you know,
in an early stage or a program in production, I
know better now why certain activities happen the way they do, right,
Why do we have certain processes that are standard processes?
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Right?
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Well, there's definitely some systems engineering or some you know,
reasoning behind all of that, and and that is why
they have been established that way, right. And then also
using you know, some of that knowledge to see like
how can process be improved?
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Right? Like how can we make them more efficient?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
So I think it's just given me such a new
perspective to look at, you know, things at work, which
I think is really important if I want to improve
you know, certain functions or certain activities at work and
make them better, right.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
I love that with you balancing a full time job,
part time school, having me time, and a social life,
can you tell us how you balance it all and
give us some tips on how we can manage if
we ever in that space.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
So, you know, first of all, that is a very
very important thing to keep in mind as you're going through.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
School, life, work, everything right.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
You need to be able to figure out a way
to manage all of that to prevent yourself, you know,
from getting super overwhelmed at times. So I think there's
a couple of things that have worked out very well
for me. The first has been setting boundaries very important.
You know, early on, you can't do everything. You can't
say yes to everyone or you need to, you know,
(16:34):
ask for more time if you're kind of one of
those people. I'm one of those people that doesn't really
like to say no, So you know, it's very important
to set those boundaries.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Right early on. And just know that you have to.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Be very intentional with your time when you're doing multiple
things right. If you don't, you're going to drain out.
It's it's just not going to be the best experience.
You're going to be spread very thin. So I think
that's something that I've done, you know, recognizing when to
say no, recognizing when to say yes, recognizing when to say, hey,
I need more time.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
The second thing I've been doing is creating kind of
like a.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Priority list or a goals list, and doing that pretty
frequently every couple months.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
The reason I like.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
To do that is because I think, especially as we
you know, as we navigate adulthood, we get more and
more accumulating on our plate, right, and tasks or events
all of that is just going to continuously come up.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
But you're going to have to set priorities right.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
There are some things that have to happen soon, and
you need to make sure that those you literally write
them down as your priorities for the next couple months.
You know, other things include them, but they can fall,
you know, down in the list. And the reason having
them written down helps me so much is because in
a couple of months, you know, things get tough and
(17:57):
then I feel overwhelmed. I have something that I can
back to and remind myself like, hey, you know, this
is what I set you know, this is how I
set my priorities right, Just to look at that and
then reorient myself, you know, just remind myself.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Okay, these are the main things that I have to
focus at this time. I love that. So that has
been very important.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
And then the last thing, I would say, having and
maintaining and also following like a personal calendar. It's very,
very very important. I think we at this point we
all have work calendars. Right when work ends, you need
to make sure you're following your personal calendar. So if
that is allocating time for you know, to study, or
(18:38):
to do my assignments, or to work out or I
don't know, even to watch a movie with friends, like,
I will put that down just so I have it
on my calendar. And I again being intentional with your time, right,
you know exactly what you need to dedicate some you know,
amounts of time to and if you have it set
on your calendar, you can use that as a reference.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Those have been super helpful.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Excellent, This is amazing.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
How do you envision your master's influencing your long term
career plan?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:13):
So I see this kind of as a stepping stone,
you know, in my in my long term career. So
right now I'm really focusing on getting technical depth and
you know, through my masters and that is really learning
about you know, the modeling tools, the simulation tools and
all of the you know, the the fundamental concepts that
(19:33):
are behind you know, system design, system analysis, life cycle management,
all those core concepts a systems engineering. And that is
also why you know, I'm uh, you know, in a
systems engineering role at my company, is because I also
want to get that practical experience, really getting myself immersed
in that technical you know field and and and understanding
(19:58):
you know, how to really apply everything that I'm learning
in school in the industry. I will say that once I,
you know, feel like I've gotten enough technical depth, definitely
definitely want to also shift more to project management or
program management because I think systems engineering, in addition to
understanding the technical side of things very key to also
(20:21):
kind of have.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
A holistic view of your of your system or your
processes and be able to look at.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Things from a perspective of cost or risks or schedule
right and.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Things like that.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
And that is that is very equivalent if you think
about it, to program management. It is so you know,
ultimately I want to be able to head to that role,
but I think it's very important to build that technical
foundation right now.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
So that is what I'm focusing on.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Next, I want to ask, are there any particular roles
or areas within systems engineering that you are now more
interested in exploring as a result of your master's education.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Yeah, I will say I've been very inspired by current
course I'm taking right now actually, which is in modeling
and simulation specifically. So it's all about, you know, setting
up models for different things, you know, supply chain or
transportation or logistics systems, but also being able to simulate
them to see over you know, over a period of
(21:21):
times in a couple of years, how is that model
going to behave if you were to adjust some of
the parameters.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
In the model, right, change one.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Variable or this other variable, what impact is it going
to have right on costs on the performance?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Right? So that is kind of what we're doing, but using.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Modeling and simulation tools to do that to replicate you know,
things that we would see in.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Real life systems. Right.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Yeah, So that I've been become very interested in, and
I definitely think I want to take on some more
tasks at work that are focused on utilizing modeling and
simulation tools because I think, again, not only you're seeing
behavior over a long period of time, but it's also
very important for decision making.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Right when you know.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
What impact one variable will cause, then you can you know,
take make certain decisions to make sure you reduce risks
or avoid any costly mistakes that can happen down the line.
So I would say that that's probably been one of
my favorite courses in something I would like to get
more involved in in the field of systems engineering.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
My next question is what advice would you give someone
considering a master's program while working full time when they're
making that decision, Because you know, some people go straight
out of college undergrad but some people are like, Okay,
I'm in the workforce, I want more. What advice would
you give them when deciding is this the path for me?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
So I would say, you know, be intentional about what
you pick, right.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I think it's always if you know what you want
to do, go right at it.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
You know, apply for the programs right after your graduate
college if you want to do that and start your
masters early.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
For me, I was really unsure. I actually did not know.
I mean, I feel like I got.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
A really good undergrad you know, in chemical engineering, but
I felt like I wanted to, you know, try something
else potentially, So that's why I was like, you know,
I'm gonna work, I'm gonna.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Spend some time in the workforce talk to people.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
And that's why networking is so important, because you learn
about other people's roles, You learn about what they do
on a daily basis, and that might inspire you to
pursue something different right than what you did in undergrad
So that was.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Very important to me.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I think when I spent a couple of years and
I networked and I learned about all these different roles
at my company and the industry became aware of systems engineering,
you know, then I made the decision to pursue masters.
So definitely, you know, be intentional about that. If you
feel like you don't know exactly what you want to,
(23:58):
spend some time in the work force and be patient
and learn and then go ahead and make.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
That choice for yourself to to love get a master's.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Yes, what's the best piece of advice you've received so
far and how has it shaped your career path?
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Okay, so the best piece of advice that I've received
is probably when you.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Get a task or you get put on a project,
own that task or you know, own that part of
the project, whatever you're assigned to.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
It's so important to kind of have that ownership feeling
because when you you know, you're just doing the task,
but you.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Don't understand the bigger picture of what it's for the goal.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I feel like you're not as motivated, right because you're
kind of it's just like a it's just a task.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
It's a repetitive action.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
But one thing that I've kind of started to do
is like anytime I get a task, especially because in
my current role, I'm pretty new, so you know, initially
I didn't really understand what things were for. I was
just kind of getting tasks right, but talking to my
lead or my man and asking.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Like, hey, I know I got this, but what is
it for? Right?
Speaker 3 (25:04):
What a value is it going to bring for our
group or for our program or the company? Right, tell
me about you know, tell me about where when I
make this, where is it going to go next?
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Right?
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Who's going to take over this? And then what value
are they going to get? Is very very important to
understand that, and once you do, you know, two things happen.
You're more motivated. Yeah, right, because you understand the goal
and you know that you're contributing to, you know, to
something important. And the second thing is that when someone
else asks you, hey, like what do you do and
(25:38):
why do you do it?
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Like what's the bigger picture? Right? You can explain it.
You can you can translate that, you know for them.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Especially when it comes to customers or stakeholders who you
really want to you know, paint a big picture for them,
right if you want to get them on board.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
So definitely own the task or the project that you've
been assigned.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Ask questions if you don't fully understand it, and yeah,
you know your leader manager will will explain it to you.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah. So yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That is something I'm doing right now.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I've kind of.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Been introduced to everything from a high level and now
getting into understanding the why, what does this impact? Why
is this important?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (26:16):
So, like you said, you can explain the customers or
stakeholders because once you understand the full process, like you said,
you get even more passionate about let's get this done
because you know what the end result is and the
main bigger impact that it goes into the bigger pictures.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
So absolutely, here we go.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
How do you keep yourself motivated and engaged when things
get tough, especially balancing everything with school and work.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Yeah, things will get tough. I think.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
I think that is something that you know, I accepted
at first, is that like things are going to get
tough and overwhelming at times, but again reminding yourself that
you will overcome it, right, Like you'll figure out a
way that to manage all of that and overcome it.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
So I think it's just first making sure you have
that mindset, yes.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Right, and then the second thing is the priority list, right,
making that priority list of what you want to prioritize
for the next couple of months, right, or your immediate goals.
Whenever I things get tough or I feel lost, I
always have that to come back to, like literally a
physical piece of paper that I've written down, you know,
(27:23):
my by priorities to. So then you know, just glimpsing
over that and reminding myself like, okay, you know what,
let me let me recenter, right, let me reorient.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
And then just take a couple of breads, right, and
then start again, start again. Literally, it's it's it's you
just have to do that.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Sometimes I think it has a really meditative effect to
to just you know, take a couple of breads, come
back to where you started or your list or your goals, whatever,
and just like starting in.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
I love that, so thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
So that's definitely something you can utilize. So this one's
about systems engineering, and this one is talking about how
do you see the field of system engineering evolving over
the next five to ten years and how do you
plan to stay ahead of these changes.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Now.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
I know you're studying this right now, but from what
you have learned, how do you think it will transition?
Because right now we're in the world of AI. We
see it everywhere we go, everything we do, we see it,
market it on every platform, Google, Facebook, Instagram. How do
you think systems engineering will evolve over the next five
to ten years.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Yeah, so in the world of systems engineering, and then
also in you know, the industry that I'm in right now,
there's a very very big push on digital transformation.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Yes, so specific to systems.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Engineering, there is a really big effort going on to
kind of shift from the traditional systems engineering. So that's
your physical document driven processes to model based privacies, model
based systems engineering, right, so that's utilizing models or digital
artifacts to be able to execute a program or like
(29:03):
a system, right instead of relying on physical documents.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
The idea is that it's going to allow for.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Better collaboration between different groups, real time visualization of how
a system evolves, right when you can actually see that
in a model, right, and overall just you.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Know, greater efficiency.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
So there's definitely a push, you know, But my way
of staying ahead is by you know, taking more model based.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Classes and.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Familiarizing myself with model based tools early on.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
So I love.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
The fact that in my master's program there's actually a
very big focus on model based systems engineering. They you know,
obviously we learned the core concepts of systems engineering, but
they have been very very you know, focused on getting
us introduced to more complex tools modeling and simulation and
things like that, really diving into those tools to understand
(30:04):
the full capabilities of them, right, like in what always
can those be utilized to get meaningful data, to get
meaningful insights? Right, So really trying to take advantage of that,
and then also at work being part of new and
developmental programs that are you know, experiencing that shift right
now that I talked about, because they are kind of
(30:27):
the first programs to adopt some of these tools, right,
So being part of that early on is definitely a
great way to stay ahead.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Yeah. I love that.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Yeah, So looking back, is there anything you would have
done differently on your path to where you are now?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
One thing that I wish I knew earlier is that
taking you know, failures and embracing them as learning opportunities.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
It's it's definitely not easy.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
I don't know if you felt this, but when I
was younger, right, I was sometimes, if not all the time,
very focused on getting things right, you know, like getting
things perfect or right the first time, very type. And
then what happened is, you know, I realize the value
of trial and error, right, Like, it's important to make
mistakes because you just learn more from that, you know,
(31:23):
and then we are able to build a better version
of it the next time.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
So there's a really nice saying in systems engineering that
I really like.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
It's called you know it's or it's that all models
are wrong, but some models are useful. So the reason
I like that saying so much is because you know,
the focus is not on getting the perfect model or
the right model. But it's more about, you know, creating
a model that you think is going to give you
(31:53):
some sort of a you know, useful.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Data or useful insights, right, and then using that to
then make your next.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
Iteration right, make that model better to or you know,
you know, extend that model so that you get different insights.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Yeah. Right. So I think that is a very important
mindset to have because then you're less.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Focused on getting things right, but more focused on trying
something out for the first time and learning from it
and then making it better.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
I love that, and this is why this platform is
important to help people learn the mistakes that not even mistakes,
but the things we had to learn by trial and error,
and to learn from us or to get tips to
the success on what we had because sometimes back to
how we've mentioned mentors earlier, like that is so important,
getting mentors, finding resources to find out this is what
(32:44):
you can do better than what I did, or like
you said, failure is good, learning that failure is okay.
You don't have to be perfect and you can still
make it. She's super successful, wonderful, and she just poured
so many gems in today's episode that I can't even
fathom like I love it. I love it, So just know.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
That you can make it.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
The pathway doesn't have to be linear, but you will
survive absolutely well. Thank you not I took closes out today.
I have one more question, okay, and that is, what
are three tips for success in navigating the STEM industry
or your STEM journey you know, as a whole from
elementary all the way through your master's. Now, what are
three tips that you would give?
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Yeah, so I would say first is when you see an.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Opportunity, could be an internship, could be a job, and
it seems really interesting to you, don't doubt yourself, apply
to it, you know. I think sometimes what happens is
we'll see positions, but we'll wonder like do I have.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
You know, enough experience or am I really fit for this?
Speaker 3 (33:46):
If it sounds interesting to you and you meet the
basic you know requirements.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
Apply to it, yeah, you know. The worst that will
happen is the way you learn.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Or you learn yeah, or they say no, but exactly,
but that's it.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
You tried try.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Because you never want to have that feeling of I
didn't try, and so I'll never know, right, you know,
And and that's what that's the reason they say you
miss one hundred percent of the shows that you don't take,
so that is you know, that's real life, like you
you really do, so that is very important. The second
thing I will say is networking. Networking is everything. Network
(34:23):
as early as you can, you know, you don't have
to wait till you're in the industry. You can do it,
you know, as early as high school. You know, like
if if you feel like you're surrounded by some individuals
that have you feel like cool background, or you really
resonate with, or you just want to learn from, you know,
reach out to them.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Talk to them.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
People love you know, getting asked questions and being able
to share about their journey just like how we're doing
it here.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
So you know, it's really it's really great to just
like start to build that network early.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
On and you can utilize them, you know, in the
future for for resources, for help for mental ship and
they will you know also reach out to you for
help as well.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
So very important to build that network.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
And then the third and final thing I will say,
stay informed as much as possible about you know, just
stem things.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Going on around you. You don't have to be an
expert in it, right.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
But like just know about the latest technological developments, right
and the impact of it, just at a high level, right,
just so you can see. You know, when you see
certain things around you in your everyday life, you can
make those connections and understand why certain things are happening
the way they are.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Or you can bring some of that back to your.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
Work or you know, whatever you do and be able
to you know, apply something new on new technology, a
new tool, right to make something better, something more efficient.
So to do that very important to just stay aware
of what's happening the latest kind of innovations and development
around you in the world.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Thank you, Thank you so much Nachha for coming to
all Thanks Sin with Ashley. Thank you for joining us today.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom, your knowledge, your journey.
We truly appreciate you joining us today. Please make sure
you like and subscribe and check out more great guests
coming up on All Things In with Ashley.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Thank you, good byek you and bye
Hello everyone, and welcome to all. Thanks Sam with Ashley
today we have Noction Roy with us. Noction Roy is
a systems engineer in the dis fits and space manufacturing industry,
working to advance model based system architectures for complex air
vehicle systems. She leverages digital tools to enhance system design, integration,
and life cycle management. She is passionate about building the
(00:33):
digital thread and systems engineering and it's dedicated to strengthening
digital communication frameworks that enables seamless full of data and
key artifacts across entire product life cycles. So we want
to welcome action today as we hear about her STEM
journey and thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Welcome absolutely, Thank you so much Ashley for having me.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
You're doing this and giving women in STEM a platform
to share their journey. So very excited to be here
and share my journey with you and the others.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yes, thank you. To start out today in Actua.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
I wanted to ask what first sparked your interest in
STEM and how did you decide to pursue it as
a career.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, so, I will say growing up at a very
early age, I found the love for math.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
It was my favorite subject.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I always saw math as you know, solving puzzles, and
I really enjoyed that.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
My parents really saw that too. We didn't really have.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
A lot of people in my family that were in STEM, right,
so they were you know, encouraging me to take on
STEM classes, to take you know, engage in STEM programs
and after school activities.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
So they really supported that.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
And then when I started taking more specific sciences like
chemistry and physics, that's when I was like, you know,
seeing the application of math in specific fields.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Which was really interesting.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
And then also started engaging in more hands on lab
activities and science fairs at schools, and that's when I
was like, you know, not only can you do all
this you know, on paper and form ideas, but you
can really transform them and make them into something in
the real world, right, And that was really exciting for
me to see in middle school and high school. So
(02:09):
that led me then to pursue engineering in college. So
I went to MIT for chemical engineering and you know,
amazing experience. Also got to do some hands on research
when I was an undergrad, and then do some internships
as well in various different domains manufacturing, energy, materials development
(02:31):
to really see how engineering plays out in different fields.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
In the world.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And then you know, right now I'm an engineer in
the industry and also pursuing an advanced degree in systems engineering.
So you know, it was really it started with math,
but then once I saw how you know, it's so
useful in it, and it led me to find my
love for engineering and then definitely you know, planning on
sticking with it for a long time.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
So thank your story.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
I want to ask, do you have any role models
or mentors that have influenced your STAM journey.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
So I've been very fortunate, I would say to have
a lot of great mentors who have given me very
practical advice or ideas that I've used for problem solving
or just my career growth in general. One person in
particular was my research mentor in college. So when I
was in college, I did about two and a half
(03:28):
years of undergrad research in the lab and that was
in materials development specifically, So she was the one who kind.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Of brought me on into her She was a PhD student.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
She brought me on to kind of help her as
a research assistant. But in that process she really invested
that time to train me to show me things in
the lab right to teach me really complex concepts and
then also actually encouraged me to co author and contribute
to some of her publications and the LABS publications encouraged
(04:03):
me to go out to conferences and present. You know,
she was the one who really was like, Nacha, you
should go out and do these things. So and then
very often had career chats with me about myself, right
like where did I see my career heading? And then
did I want to go to grad school? What are
the options for me?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
And things like that. So she played a really key
role at a really.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Key time, I would say, because you know, I really
gained confidence in my communication abilities, in my technical writing abilities.
But also she inspired me to pursue advanced degree. So
really thankful to her. So she's she's definitely been a
great mentor.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
That's excellent.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
So you said you met her through doing your research
and development. Yes, that so, and people that are in
college can actually do that as well. So how did
you and her initially connect? Like how did you sign
up for research and development to even meet her for
her to become a mentor?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
So my school had a undergraduate research op Trinities program.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
It's called Europe.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
So it's like a formal program that's established at my
school to encourage undergrads to you know, get involved in
the lab work in different you know labs in different
departments that's going on at the school.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Okay, so I applied, you know, to that program.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
I also reached out to various professors at that time,
and the professor of this you know, particular lab, he
was interested in taking me on and he had you know,
my research mentor who was a PhD student at that
time who.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Was looking for a research assistant.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
So through that I kind of got connected to her
learn about materials development. You know.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
It aligned really well with my chemical engineering at that time. Right.
So yeah, that's how I kind of got involved in
that world.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
That's excellent. So if you're in my tea to check
out that program. It could do great things. Our next
question is going to be were there any challenges you
face growing up that may pursuing a stame career difficult?
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, so definitely, I would say the first one that
comes to mind is just being the only person in
my being the first person in my family.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
To go through the schooling system in the US. You know,
also being a first and where are you from?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
So I'm from Bangladesh. I immigrated here when I was
eight years old. So yeah, I immigrated with my parents,
So I came here at at a young age and
kind of picked up schooling.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Whatever I left there picked it up here.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
So really the first person to go through the schooling
system here and also first and college student as well
in my family. So you can imagine that with that,
it's exciting, but in that in the process, it was
so challenging.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
And the pressure.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Yeah, so I think just navigating the resources related to
financial aid or you know, standardized testing or you know,
all of that that comes with college application and enrollment.
Initially it was difficult, but very thankful to my parents
because despite not having firsthand experienced themselves, they really you know,
(06:57):
went out of their way to find a lot of
resources for me and really help me navigate that process.
So you know, that was tremendously helpful.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
And then the other.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Challenge, of course, I think a lot of us women
of color in.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
STEM feel that right and Foster syndrome.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
It's real, you know, like being in a room, being
at a table kind of wondering like, hey, you know,
do I deserve to be here? Did I earn this seat?
You know, it's very real. I'd be lying if I
say I don't feel it to this day.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
I do. But I will say that the best way
to combat that is.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Really to grow a network. You'll see many other women
like you too. You know, you got to sometimes you
got to seek out. But if you do you seek out,
you see a lot of women that look like you
or or you know, have similar backgrounds or experiences as you,
and I think you have to kind of reach out
to them and connect to them, learn about their journeys
and oftentimes you'll see there's so many similarities and they
(07:54):
can become mentors, they can become resources, and you can become.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
The same for them. Right.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So, I think it's really growing that network. You see
that there's so many people like her around you that
that kind of helps to get rid of that imposter syndrome.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Y'all hear all those gems rewind replay zoom in. I
love that she is giving us gems people. That is
just I have no words. I love that and it
is so true.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
That is so true.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
That's how you have to find mentors and they can
tell you like you said what they did with the
same Everyone goes through the same challenges, and when you
have that mentor, they can give you advice that they
wish they had known, and tips for success and things
to make it a little easier for you exactly and
make it better than what they had. So I love that.
Our next question is what's one project or accomplishment that
you are particularly proud of in your STEM career.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Absolutely, So this project I'm proud of because I think
I saw this as a way to, you know, use
what I use my knowledge and.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
My skills to give back to my community.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
So when I was in college, I was part of
the Society of Women Engineers and I applied for a
incubator fund basically that was available for undergrad students or
just members of Society Women Engineers.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
So I was awarded that.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
And I wanted to do something in my hometown of Queens,
New York. I utilized the libraries there a lot, so
I wanted to kind of partner with the libraries and
some of the programs that they had gone on for
local students and see how I could contribute. So I
actually use some of that funding during a summer worked
with the library staff and helped run kind of a
(09:45):
little STEM workshop that was aimed at getting K to
weight students you know interested in STEM a lot of
hands on activities and labs on renewable energy, you know,
sustainability and things like that. So I actually got to
work with the team to plan out some of these
activities and then use that fund to buy you know,
(10:06):
materials and get students, you know, recruit students for the
programs and things like that, and then running for the summer.
So that was that was super exciting, you know, because
that's like, yes, you you gain all these skills, you
gain all this knowledge right as you go through schooling
and college, but very important, I think to give back
to your community, bring that back right inspire the next generation. Absolutely,
(10:30):
when I remember when I saw these students excited and
at the end of the program, I was.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Like, you know, it just felt really good.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yeah, I know, So I would say, that's my that's
one of my biggest accomplishments.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I love.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
That is amazing accomplishment.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I absolutely love that. Thank you. That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Thank you. Now, I'd like to ask what motivated you
to pursue a master's and systems engineering when your undergrad
was in chemical engineering, and what made you pursue a
master's while you're already working in your engineering field.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Absolutely, So, to be very honest, I didn't really know
about systems engineering you know, as a discipline or as
a potential course of study you know, for grad school
until I joined the company that I'm currently in. So
I'm in defense and space manufacturing right now. So you know,
when I join, I start to see a lot of
(11:24):
people with the systems engineering title. So I really wondered,
you know, like, well, what is it that you do?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
What is it? What is systems engineering? Right?
Speaker 3 (11:30):
So I started kind of reaching out to people and
scheduling someone on ones to learn more about their everyday role.
And so when I did that, you know, that's when
I really found out about how critical systems engineering is
to the work that we do, especially in my industry. So,
you know, first of all, it is a very very
interdisciplinary field, you know, because you're expected to interface with
(11:54):
a lot of different engineering domains. You know, you know,
you're you're electrical, you're manufacturing, your design, all of that.
You should have a at least a high level understanding
of what they do and be able to integrate their
work or their product to form something whole, right, like
an entire system. So I really really like that approach
(12:15):
because I kind of like being able to see things
from a holistic point of view and being able to
understand every little part that goes into it and plays
a role, you know, in it functioning.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Right. So that really appealed to me.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
And then I will say the other thing is there
is a very big focus in systems engineering on understanding
life cycle management.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Right.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
So when you think about a product life cycle, you're
going from you know, your concept expiration to designing to
testing to manufacturing all the way to sustain it, right,
the entire life cycle. In systems engineering, especially as you
take on higher level roles, you're you know, overseeing a
lot of the activities that happen at the life cycle,
(12:57):
but also how things flow properly each.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Stage to the next, right.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
So that is something that I think you gain a
lot of exposures to in a systems engineering field. And
that's what I learned of by talking to some of
my colleagues, and I was like, you know, I really
I really want to, you know, pursue an advanced degree
in this so then applied for the program that I'm
in right now, So right now doing Applied Systems Engineering
Masters at Georgia Tech, and so far it's been an
(13:25):
amazing experience. So really grateful that I got introduced to
it in my you know, and my company, and now
I'm getting to learn more about it by doing my masters.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Well, thank you Knowtion, that was amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
How does your current job compliment the concepts you're learning
in your master's program.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Right now I'm seeing, you know, a lot of synergy
between my role as a systems engineering and my company
and my master's program.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Specifically, a lot of the tools that.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
I'm learning in my master's program, you know, in modeling
and simulation, I'm actually using similar or the same tools
you know, in my in my role. So getting you know,
training or practice doing assignments for grad school and then
getting to actually apply them to do real tasks, you know,
in the industry.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
So that is.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Definitely a plus, right It's it's kind of reinforcing those
skills or those concepts in in both both places. And
then the other thing is I just feel like I
have a better understanding of why and how things function.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
You know at work.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
So, like I was mentioning, you know earlier, the product
life cycle management is a very essential part of systems engineering,
And in some of the courses I've taken already have
learned a lot of the fundamental concepts behind it.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And what are some of the you know, key key
factors or key ideas that you know that you need
to keep in mind if you're overseeing a product's life cycle.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
So having now all that knowledge, right, and going back
to work and seeing you know, a program, either you know,
in an early stage or a program in production, I
know better now why certain activities happen the way they do, right,
Why do we have certain processes that are standard processes?
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Right?
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Well, there's definitely some systems engineering or some you know,
reasoning behind all of that, and and that is why
they have been established that way, right. And then also
using you know, some of that knowledge to see like
how can process be improved?
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Right? Like how can we make them more efficient?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
So I think it's just given me such a new
perspective to look at, you know, things at work, which
I think is really important if I want to improve
you know, certain functions or certain activities at work and
make them better, right.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
I love that with you balancing a full time job,
part time school, having me time, and a social life,
can you tell us how you balance it all and
give us some tips on how we can manage if
we ever in that space.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
So, you know, first of all, that is a very
very important thing to keep in mind as you're going through.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
School, life, work, everything right.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
You need to be able to figure out a way
to manage all of that to prevent yourself, you know,
from getting super overwhelmed at times. So I think there's
a couple of things that have worked out very well
for me. The first has been setting boundaries very important.
You know, early on, you can't do everything. You can't
say yes to everyone or you need to, you know,
(16:34):
ask for more time if you're kind of one of
those people. I'm one of those people that doesn't really
like to say no, So you know, it's very important
to set those boundaries.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Right early on. And just know that you have to.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Be very intentional with your time when you're doing multiple
things right. If you don't, you're going to drain out.
It's it's just not going to be the best experience.
You're going to be spread very thin. So I think
that's something that I've done, you know, recognizing when to
say no, recognizing when to say yes, recognizing when to say, hey,
I need more time.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
The second thing I've been doing is creating kind of
like a.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Priority list or a goals list, and doing that pretty
frequently every couple months.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
The reason I like.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
To do that is because I think, especially as we
you know, as we navigate adulthood, we get more and
more accumulating on our plate, right, and tasks or events
all of that is just going to continuously come up.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
But you're going to have to set priorities right.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
There are some things that have to happen soon, and
you need to make sure that those you literally write
them down as your priorities for the next couple months.
You know, other things include them, but they can fall,
you know, down in the list. And the reason having
them written down helps me so much is because in
a couple of months, you know, things get tough and
(17:57):
then I feel overwhelmed. I have something that I can
back to and remind myself like, hey, you know, this
is what I set you know, this is how I
set my priorities right, Just to look at that and
then reorient myself, you know, just remind myself.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Okay, these are the main things that I have to
focus at this time. I love that. So that has
been very important.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
And then the last thing, I would say, having and
maintaining and also following like a personal calendar. It's very,
very very important. I think we at this point we
all have work calendars. Right when work ends, you need
to make sure you're following your personal calendar. So if
that is allocating time for you know, to study, or
(18:38):
to do my assignments, or to work out or I
don't know, even to watch a movie with friends, like,
I will put that down just so I have it
on my calendar. And I again being intentional with your time, right,
you know exactly what you need to dedicate some you know,
amounts of time to and if you have it set
on your calendar, you can use that as a reference.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Those have been super helpful.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
Excellent, This is amazing.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
How do you envision your master's influencing your long term
career plan?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:13):
So I see this kind of as a stepping stone,
you know, in my in my long term career. So
right now I'm really focusing on getting technical depth and
you know, through my masters and that is really learning
about you know, the modeling tools, the simulation tools and
all of the you know, the the fundamental concepts that
(19:33):
are behind you know, system design, system analysis, life cycle management,
all those core concepts a systems engineering. And that is
also why you know, I'm uh, you know, in a
systems engineering role at my company, is because I also
want to get that practical experience, really getting myself immersed
in that technical you know field and and and understanding
(19:58):
you know, how to really apply everything that I'm learning
in school in the industry. I will say that once I,
you know, feel like I've gotten enough technical depth, definitely
definitely want to also shift more to project management or
program management because I think systems engineering, in addition to
understanding the technical side of things very key to also
(20:21):
kind of have.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
A holistic view of your of your system or your
processes and be able to look at.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Things from a perspective of cost or risks or schedule
right and.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Things like that.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
And that is that is very equivalent if you think
about it, to program management. It is so you know,
ultimately I want to be able to head to that role,
but I think it's very important to build that technical
foundation right now.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
So that is what I'm focusing on.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Next, I want to ask, are there any particular roles
or areas within systems engineering that you are now more
interested in exploring as a result of your master's education.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Yeah, I will say I've been very inspired by current
course I'm taking right now actually, which is in modeling
and simulation specifically. So it's all about, you know, setting
up models for different things, you know, supply chain or
transportation or logistics systems, but also being able to simulate
them to see over you know, over a period of
(21:21):
times in a couple of years, how is that model
going to behave if you were to adjust some of
the parameters.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
In the model, right, change one.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Variable or this other variable, what impact is it going
to have right on costs on the performance?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Right? So that is kind of what we're doing, but using.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Modeling and simulation tools to do that to replicate you know,
things that we would see in.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Real life systems. Right.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Yeah, So that I've been become very interested in, and
I definitely think I want to take on some more
tasks at work that are focused on utilizing modeling and
simulation tools because I think, again, not only you're seeing
behavior over a long period of time, but it's also
very important for decision making.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Right when you know.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
What impact one variable will cause, then you can you know,
take make certain decisions to make sure you reduce risks
or avoid any costly mistakes that can happen down the line.
So I would say that that's probably been one of
my favorite courses in something I would like to get
more involved in in the field of systems engineering.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
My next question is what advice would you give someone
considering a master's program while working full time when they're
making that decision, Because you know, some people go straight
out of college undergrad but some people are like, Okay,
I'm in the workforce, I want more. What advice would
you give them when deciding is this the path for me?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
So I would say, you know, be intentional about what
you pick, right.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I think it's always if you know what you want
to do, go right at it.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
You know, apply for the programs right after your graduate
college if you want to do that and start your
masters early.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
For me, I was really unsure. I actually did not know.
I mean, I feel like I got.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
A really good undergrad you know, in chemical engineering, but
I felt like I wanted to, you know, try something
else potentially, So that's why I was like, you know,
I'm gonna work, I'm gonna.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Spend some time in the workforce talk to people.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
And that's why networking is so important, because you learn
about other people's roles, You learn about what they do
on a daily basis, and that might inspire you to
pursue something different right than what you did in undergrad
So that was.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Very important to me.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
I think when I spent a couple of years and
I networked and I learned about all these different roles
at my company and the industry became aware of systems engineering,
you know, then I made the decision to pursue masters.
So definitely, you know, be intentional about that. If you
feel like you don't know exactly what you want to,
(23:58):
spend some time in the work force and be patient
and learn and then go ahead and make.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
That choice for yourself to to love get a master's.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Yes, what's the best piece of advice you've received so
far and how has it shaped your career path?
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Okay, so the best piece of advice that I've received
is probably when you.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Get a task or you get put on a project,
own that task or you know, own that part of
the project, whatever you're assigned to.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
It's so important to kind of have that ownership feeling
because when you you know, you're just doing the task,
but you.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Don't understand the bigger picture of what it's for the goal.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
I feel like you're not as motivated, right because you're
kind of it's just like a it's just a task.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
It's a repetitive action.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
But one thing that I've kind of started to do
is like anytime I get a task, especially because in
my current role, I'm pretty new, so you know, initially
I didn't really understand what things were for. I was
just kind of getting tasks right, but talking to my
lead or my man and asking.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Like, hey, I know I got this, but what is
it for? Right?
Speaker 3 (25:04):
What a value is it going to bring for our
group or for our program or the company? Right, tell
me about you know, tell me about where when I
make this, where is it going to go next?
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Right?
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Who's going to take over this? And then what value
are they going to get? Is very very important to
understand that, and once you do, you know, two things happen.
You're more motivated. Yeah, right, because you understand the goal
and you know that you're contributing to, you know, to
something important. And the second thing is that when someone
else asks you, hey, like what do you do and
(25:38):
why do you do it?
Speaker 2 (25:38):
Like what's the bigger picture? Right? You can explain it.
You can you can translate that, you know for them.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Especially when it comes to customers or stakeholders who you
really want to you know, paint a big picture for them,
right if you want to get them on board.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
So definitely own the task or the project that you've
been assigned.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Ask questions if you don't fully understand it, and yeah,
you know your leader manager will will explain it to you.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Yeah. So yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That is something I'm doing right now.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I've kind of.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Been introduced to everything from a high level and now
getting into understanding the why, what does this impact? Why
is this important?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (26:16):
So, like you said, you can explain the customers or
stakeholders because once you understand the full process, like you said,
you get even more passionate about let's get this done
because you know what the end result is and the
main bigger impact that it goes into the bigger pictures.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
So absolutely, here we go.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
How do you keep yourself motivated and engaged when things
get tough, especially balancing everything with school and work.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Yeah, things will get tough. I think.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
I think that is something that you know, I accepted
at first, is that like things are going to get
tough and overwhelming at times, but again reminding yourself that
you will overcome it, right, Like you'll figure out a
way that to manage all of that and overcome it.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
So I think it's just first making sure you have
that mindset, yes.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Right, and then the second thing is the priority list, right,
making that priority list of what you want to prioritize
for the next couple of months, right, or your immediate goals.
Whenever I things get tough or I feel lost, I
always have that to come back to, like literally a
physical piece of paper that I've written down, you know,
(27:23):
my by priorities to. So then you know, just glimpsing
over that and reminding myself like, okay, you know what,
let me let me recenter, right, let me reorient.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
And then just take a couple of breads, right, and
then start again, start again. Literally, it's it's it's you
just have to do that.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
Sometimes I think it has a really meditative effect to
to just you know, take a couple of breads, come
back to where you started or your list or your goals, whatever,
and just like starting in.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
I love that, so thank you for that.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
So that's definitely something you can utilize. So this one's
about systems engineering, and this one is talking about how
do you see the field of system engineering evolving over
the next five to ten years and how do you
plan to stay ahead of these changes.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Now.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
I know you're studying this right now, but from what
you have learned, how do you think it will transition?
Because right now we're in the world of AI. We
see it everywhere we go, everything we do, we see it,
market it on every platform, Google, Facebook, Instagram. How do
you think systems engineering will evolve over the next five
to ten years.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Yeah, so in the world of systems engineering, and then
also in you know, the industry that I'm in right now,
there's a very very big push on digital transformation.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Yes, so specific to systems.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
Engineering, there is a really big effort going on to
kind of shift from the traditional systems engineering. So that's
your physical document driven processes to model based privacies, model
based systems engineering, right, so that's utilizing models or digital
artifacts to be able to execute a program or like
(29:03):
a system, right instead of relying on physical documents.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
The idea is that it's going to allow for.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Better collaboration between different groups, real time visualization of how
a system evolves, right when you can actually see that
in a model, right, and overall just you.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
Know, greater efficiency.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
So there's definitely a push, you know, But my way
of staying ahead is by you know, taking more model based.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Classes and.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Familiarizing myself with model based tools early on.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
So I love.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
The fact that in my master's program there's actually a
very big focus on model based systems engineering. They you know,
obviously we learned the core concepts of systems engineering, but
they have been very very you know, focused on getting
us introduced to more complex tools modeling and simulation and
things like that, really diving into those tools to understand
(30:04):
the full capabilities of them, right, like in what always
can those be utilized to get meaningful data, to get
meaningful insights? Right, So really trying to take advantage of that,
and then also at work being part of new and
developmental programs that are you know, experiencing that shift right
now that I talked about, because they are kind of
(30:27):
the first programs to adopt some of these tools, right,
So being part of that early on is definitely a
great way to stay ahead.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Yeah. I love that.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Yeah, So looking back, is there anything you would have
done differently on your path to where you are now?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
One thing that I wish I knew earlier is that
taking you know, failures and embracing them as learning opportunities.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
It's it's definitely not easy.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
I don't know if you felt this, but when I
was younger, right, I was sometimes, if not all the time,
very focused on getting things right, you know, like getting
things perfect or right the first time, very type. And
then what happened is, you know, I realize the value
of trial and error, right, Like, it's important to make
mistakes because you just learn more from that, you know,
(31:23):
and then we are able to build a better version
of it the next time.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
So there's a really nice saying in systems engineering that
I really like.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
It's called you know it's or it's that all models
are wrong, but some models are useful. So the reason
I like that saying so much is because you know,
the focus is not on getting the perfect model or
the right model. But it's more about, you know, creating
a model that you think is going to give you
(31:53):
some sort of a you know, useful.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Data or useful insights, right, and then using that to
then make your next.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
Iteration right, make that model better to or you know,
you know, extend that model so that you get different insights.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Yeah. Right. So I think that is a very important
mindset to have because then you're less.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Focused on getting things right, but more focused on trying
something out for the first time and learning from it
and then making it better.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
I love that, and this is why this platform is
important to help people learn the mistakes that not even mistakes,
but the things we had to learn by trial and error,
and to learn from us or to get tips to
the success on what we had because sometimes back to
how we've mentioned mentors earlier, like that is so important,
getting mentors, finding resources to find out this is what
(32:44):
you can do better than what I did, or like
you said, failure is good, learning that failure is okay.
You don't have to be perfect and you can still
make it. She's super successful, wonderful, and she just poured
so many gems in today's episode that I can't even
fathom like I love it. I love it, So just know.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
That you can make it.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
The pathway doesn't have to be linear, but you will
survive absolutely well. Thank you not I took closes out today.
I have one more question, okay, and that is, what
are three tips for success in navigating the STEM industry
or your STEM journey you know, as a whole from
elementary all the way through your master's. Now, what are
three tips that you would give?
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Yeah, so I would say first is when you see an.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Opportunity, could be an internship, could be a job, and
it seems really interesting to you, don't doubt yourself, apply
to it, you know. I think sometimes what happens is
we'll see positions, but we'll wonder like do I have.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
You know, enough experience or am I really fit for this?
Speaker 3 (33:46):
If it sounds interesting to you and you meet the
basic you know requirements.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
Apply to it, yeah, you know. The worst that will
happen is the way you learn.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Or you learn yeah, or they say no, but exactly,
but that's it.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
You tried try.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Because you never want to have that feeling of I
didn't try, and so I'll never know, right, you know,
And and that's what that's the reason they say you
miss one hundred percent of the shows that you don't take,
so that is you know, that's real life, like you
you really do, so that is very important. The second
thing I will say is networking. Networking is everything. Network
(34:23):
as early as you can, you know, you don't have
to wait till you're in the industry. You can do it,
you know, as early as high school. You know, like
if if you feel like you're surrounded by some individuals
that have you feel like cool background, or you really
resonate with, or you just want to learn from, you know,
reach out to them.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
Talk to them.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
People love you know, getting asked questions and being able
to share about their journey just like how we're doing
it here.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
So you know, it's really it's really great to just
like start to build that network early.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
On and you can utilize them, you know, in the
future for for resources, for help for mental ship and
they will you know also reach out to you for
help as well.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
So very important to build that network.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
And then the third and final thing I will say,
stay informed as much as possible about you know, just
stem things.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Going on around you. You don't have to be an
expert in it, right.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
But like just know about the latest technological developments, right
and the impact of it, just at a high level, right,
just so you can see. You know, when you see
certain things around you in your everyday life, you can
make those connections and understand why certain things are happening
the way they are.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Or you can bring some of that back to your.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
Work or you know, whatever you do and be able
to you know, apply something new on new technology, a
new tool, right to make something better, something more efficient.
So to do that very important to just stay aware
of what's happening the latest kind of innovations and development
around you in the world.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Thank you, Thank you so much Nachha for coming to
all Thanks Sin with Ashley. Thank you for joining us today.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom, your knowledge, your journey.
We truly appreciate you joining us today. Please make sure
you like and subscribe and check out more great guests
coming up on All Things In with Ashley.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Thank you, good byek you and bye
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