Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Feel like everyone else got a head start in your career? You’re not alone. In this episode, I get honest about imposter syndrome, career insecurity, and what it’s really like to be a woman in engineering without a “tinkering” background, and what finally helped me stop feeling behind. I didn’t grow up around engineering. No one in my house rebuilt engines or fixed complicated machinery, and I didn’t even know what engineering really was until a summer program for women in engineering at Temple University. From there I earned a mechanical engineering degree at Penn State, surrounded by classmates who were practically raised in garages. They’d taken apart engines, rebuilt Jeeps, and grown up around tools. I felt like everyone had a head start and I was still trying to find the starting line. That feeling didn’t stop at graduation. It followed me into my first job, where I was asked to take apart a PLC cabinet and I froze. The anxiety, embarrassment, and shame were real, and they clouded the part of my brain that could have figured it out. This episode is about that moment and everything I learned from it. In this episode, you'll learn: Why feeling behind at work is so common, and how to break out of the comparison spiral How I used an athlete’s mindset (repetition, discipline, showing up) to catch up in engineering school What happened when I froze on the job, and what it taught me about anxiety, shame, and not knowing where to start How to stop obsessing over what you don’t know and lean into your real strengths: leadership, communication, and organization Why confidence is less about feeling fearless and more about feeling functional A tip from my therapist for overwhelming days: break everything down into really small steps Why insecurities never fully disappear, but can stop being the main character of your life Who this episode is for: Women in STEM, engineers, early-career professionals, career changers, new grads, and anyone dealing with imposter syndrome, self-doubt, anxiety at work, or the feeling that they missed the memo everyone else got. Time stamps: 0:00 The career insecurity that followed me for years 0:35 Discovering engineering through a women-in-engineering program 1:30 Feeling behind in engineering school 3:05 Using an athlete’s mindset to catch up 3:45 Starting my first job 4:40 Freezing at the PLC cabinet 6:00 Why I stopped obsessing over what I didn’t know 7:30 Confidence: functional, not fearless 9:20 Breaking things into small steps 9:50 Why insecurities never fully disappear 10:45 Wrap-up and what’s next Coming up: Future episodes on doing hard things, honest and raw stories on navigating male dominated spaaces, mental health and depression, girl chat, my indusry chanage from government and defense into corporate pharmaceuticals. Love this episode? Hit Follow so you never miss a new episode, leave a rating and review to help more people find the show, and share this with a coworker, friend, or classmate who needs to hear it today. Next time, we keep unlearning the outdated career advice we never asked for but somehow absorbed anyway. About the show: This is your go-to resource for women in engineering, STEM career development, engineering leadership, workplace confidence, career growth, and real conversations about succeeding in male-dominated industries. No corporate jargon. No polished success stories. Just honest engineering career conversations, practical advice, and the truth about what it takes to build a successful career in STEM.
