Today’s “Why I Became An Engineer Story” comes to us from Elizabeth Bierman, a Principal Systems Engineer at Honeywell, and former president of the Society of Women Engineers.
“In the fall of 1985, I was starting 4th grade and wanted a new lunch box. I ended up getting one with a picture of an astronaut on it. It sparked my interest. Inside was a flyer to join NASA’s Young Astronaut program. I joined…and started to learn about astronauts and totally wanted to be one (like many young kids do). 6 months later the Challenger accident happened. Instead of being discouraged, I really wanted to learn about the astronauts that perished that day. Since this was before the internet J it was a little more difficult but I did learn that three of them had degrees in aeronautical engineering…so that was it, I was going to be an aerospace engineer too. About this time, I found out there was a Space Camp…and decided I had to go. So for about the next two years I asked practically every day to do and saved up all my money and in 1988 I finally got to go. And like anyone who has been there will say, it was amazing! It really showed me that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to and gave me the confidence to pursue my path in aerospace engineering. Even as a 12 year old girl going into 7th grade, I was determined to be an aerospace engineer. And I never changed my mind.
When it was time to go to college, I chose Iowa State University and majored in…aerospace engineering. Up to this point, I had no idea what I was going to do with my degree except that some astronauts were aerospace engineers too. I was naïve to what engineering was all about. I learned SO much in college and the world of engineering was opened up to me. Good thing I still liked it! Engineers touched everything. I was fascinated seeing what you could do as an engineer.
My first internship was at Rockwell Collins working on flight management systems for military aircraft. I never knew what the term “avionics” was until I started my first job but I have managed to make a career out it. I decided to stay with Rockwell Collins throughout college and early career. I enjoyed learning about different aircraft and modernizing them with the latest technology. After a few years, I moved to Honeywell Aerospace and began working on navigation equipment for commercial aircraft. My first role was the navigation system for the Airbus A380…the largest commercial aircraft in the world. I am so proud to get on an airplane today and know that there is a Honeywell navigation system helping the pilot get to our destination safely.
And so my childhood path of being an astronaut changed to being a systems engineer working on avionics, I am so happy with my career choice and encourage anyone to be an engineer.”
***Editor’s Note: To Celebrate Engineer’s Week (Feb 22-26) ECN will be publishing one engineer’s story per day and starting a new weekly section called “I Became An Engineer”.***
Read the first story here: A Note From The Editor: An Engineer’s Story
