In this episode, Samantha shares how she went from studying mechatronics engineering at TMU to becoming a senior cybersecurity consultant at PwC — and now, a finalist for Miss Universe Canada.
We talk about what it’s really like to pivot your career into a new field, how to handle imposter syndrome when you’re the only woman in the room, and why confidence outside of work can change everything inside of it.
Samantha also opens up about her work with the Canadian Mental Health Association and the importance of protecting your wellbeing in high-pressure careers.
Whether you’re curious about cybersecurity, chasing your next big career move, or just trying to find your footing — this episode will remind you that strength isn’t just technical. It’s mental, emotional, and deeply human.
In this episode, Mina sits down with Shahrzad, a senior building envelope specialist and associate at one of Canada’s largest consulting firms, to talk about her path from civil engineering grad to shareholder. Shahrzad shares how she built her career in building sciences, the soft skills that helped her move into leadership, and the realities of consulting — from networking as an introvert to managing performance reviews.
She also opens up about navigating maternity leave in a male-dominated industry and why finding your authentic leadership style matters more than ever. Whether you’re just starting out or eyeing your next promotion, Shahrzad's story is packed with advice you can use to grow your own engineering career.
Keeley studied Geomatics and Geodesy engineering at the University of Newbrunswick (UNB) and received a diploma in technology management and entrepreneurship as well. For work she took a different route than the majority of graduates from her program and UNB. Now she's a product manager for a “big tech” company called Trimble inc, which supplies technology (equipment and software) to the construction, survey, transportation, MEP, IOT, agriculture and maritime industries.
In this episode, Keeley talks about how she used her resources to land a job in a Big Tech company with a niche degree. She also gives great communication examples that have helped her land her current role.
Netra works in a satellite manufacturing company in Montreal as a Printer Circuit Board designer. Netra has a background in electrical engineering and developed an interest in the space industry. In this episode, we’re going to ask her how she broke into the space industry with an electrical engineering background.
After graduating in 2024 and working in the industry, she noticed feelings of self-doubt or as everyone calls it, “impostor syndrome”. Often being the only woman and person of colour in meetings led her to question her abilities early on in her career. So we also want to ask her how she overcame this struggle as a recent grad. I’m sure this is a common feeling.
Zenith Pathways: https://www.zenithpathways.ca/
Holly Alfano, the CEO of ILMA (Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association) talks about the lubricant manufacturing industry, the career opportunities in this field, and her own personal experience as a CEO!
In this episode we talk about how you can be a part of this industry, interview tips, and specific scholarship programs that you can apply for.
Links we talk about in the podcast:
ILMA website: www.ilma.org
ILMA Foundation Scholarships page: https://ilma.org/ilma-foundation/ilma-foundation-scholarships/
*Next year's scholarship application opens in January*
Move the World Forward campaign: https://ilma.org/gearyourcareer/
Lubrication Fundamentals training course: https://learning.ilma.org/
Karlie is an industrial engineer working in the automotive industry. She works for a Fortune 300 company and travels internationally to manage teams and improve manufacturing systems. In this episode, she shares how she manages to lead teams that are sometimes more experienced than her to drive results, even with cultural barriers. If you're looking to be a strong leader as a young engineer, this episode is made for you!
Olivia studied Geomatics & Geodesy Engineering at UNB and works as a Hydrographic Surveyor at TerraSond Limited. In this podcast episode, she talks about her lifestyle working offshore and the types of projects she works on. She also talks about adapting to the work environment and gaining confidence in your position.
Jill studied a dual degree program called Biotechnology at uOttawa. The program has a BASc in Chemical Engineering and a BSc in Biochemistry.
After graduating she returned to work at the largest dairy plant in North America for cheese, butter, and dairy powder products (among other things). If you know products like Black Diamond, Cracker Barrel, Balderson; that's made there.
In this episode we talk about the work opportunities for chemical engineers and what young recent grads bring to the table when working with older more experienced coworkers!
Katelyn is a marketing specialist at Canada's largest biotechnology company.
She completed a BASc in biomedical mechanical engineering from the University of Ottawa. Followed by a 6-year postgraduate journey in Ireland. In 2023 she graduated with a PhD from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dublin Ireland with a focus on developing non-antibiotic antimicrobial 3D printed composite scaffolds for the prevention of infected bone defects.
In this episode, we talk about studying biomedical mechanical engineering and further dive into studying abroad. Katelyn gives recommendations on how to increase your chances of getting accepted into such programs.
We also talk about working in marketing with an engineering background. You'll get insight into what the job and lifestyle are like, including salary ranges.
Timestamps
(00:58) - Studying abroad
(11:19) - Studying biomedical mechanical engineering
(15:55) - Working in marketing as an engineer
Amanda got accepted to the University of Waterloo for Mechatronics engineering but struggled with the transition from high school to university. She then discovered that Conestoga College had a fully accredited engineering degree program, so she transferred over to Conestoga and graduated in August 2022 as a mechanical systems engineer.
"Thanks to co-op placements, I was able to try out various positions in different industries. This is where I discovered a love for manufacturing and process engineering. While I love doing mechanical design, there is something about the design of the manufacturing processes for creating products that fascinate and challenge me."
In this episode, Amanda talks about her experience as a manufacturing engineer at Deep Trekker overseeing the production of submersible remotely operated vehicles and pipe crawler robots. She also seems to be the only woman in the engineering department so that’s also a really interesting experience (all positive so far!).
Sue-Rose finished her chemical engineering degree at the University of Calgary. She is the founder of Oneberrie, which provides patented bath linens for babies. In this podcast episode, she talks about her years of applying for engineering jobs and how she made her way into business development, and eventually entrepreneurship.
Her entrepreneur journey started when she had her firstborn and she had a side hustle with her first 2 kids! She recently appeared on an episode of Dragon's Den where she pitched her baby bath towels and won a deal!
She says "Engineering is hard but don't give up. The road less travelled is often the one that makes all the difference."
Abby has a BSc in chemical engineering with mineral processing from the University of Saskatchewan. She took a work term at Nutrien - Rocanville Potash division and eventually signed a full-time permanent contract there. In this episode, Abby talks about how chemical engineering is related to mining and how she landed her job after university. She also talks about what her day-to-day work is like, including the benefits and challenges of the job.
After almost 20 years in civil engineering, Chelsea changed her career by getting an M.Eng in software engineering. In this episode we talk about why and how she left her senior position in transportation, including experience as an underground inspector, resident engineer, designer, project manager and project engineer. We also talk about her workload and lifestyle now that she works as a Software Developer with Shareworks by Morgan Stanley.
Allana graduated from the University of Alberta in 2017 with a degree in Civil Engineering and now works in Vancouver for Binnie (a small/mid-sized multi-disciplinary civil consulting company) as a project manager in the project delivery division.
In this episode we talk about her experience in design engineering, what she did when she got laid off, how she landed her current project management job, and how to be yourself at work - even when emotions run high.
Annemarie is a 3rd/ 4th year mechanical engineering student at the University of Calgary. She is running her own private education business that she began during the pandemic. She's also been teaching coding, design, and STEM for an online academy and with Engineering for Kids over the last 2 years. In this episode, she chats about “hustle culture” in engineering, imposter syndrome, and her experience of deciding to spread out her degree to allow for everything on her plate.
Constanza has a bachelor of science degree with a specialization in biology. She has been in the environmental industry for about 5 years, the last 4.5 were in environmental consulting. She switched to work as part of a construction team that works on substantial infrastructure projects. In this episdoe we also talk about her passion for reviewing women’s workwear and reviews for women to buy better gear to advocate for equality on site! She also co-founded Women on Site less than a year ago, an organization dedicated to connecting women in the construction industry to ensure retention in their chosen professions.
Zara studied environmental science and computer science in college at UC Berkeley. She's currently a software engineer manager at Salesforce. She jumped into a management role at the beginning of Covid.
In this episode we talk about the switch from engineering to management, how to make this transition without burnout and anxiety (which Zara experienced earlier in her career) and how to land a job even after 300 job applications!
Listen to TMU engineering students from 1st year, 3rd year, and co-op talk about their experience and give extremely useful tips on how to help you throughout your university years.
Lisa studied nanotechnology engineering at the University of Waterloo and is now a "Product Reliability Engineer" at Siemens Healthineers for a product called the Epoc, which is a point-of-care blood test device. In this episode we also talk about the high importance of mental health in the profession and how to seek help.
Mina, the founder of IronRingGirls, talks about her experience studying civil engineering and how she landed her current job in high-rise development. She also talks about the importance of community and how she is managing IronRingGirls.