Notas del episodio
What happens when you're standing in the hangar bay of a Navy aircraft carrier, staring at a quarter-million-dollar piece of equipment, and realizing you might have just flooded it?
For me, it started with one wrong move. Water everywhere. A full-blown panic spiral. And one very specific question running through my head:
Can you get fired for opening a valve?
In this episode, I share the biggest mistakes of my engineering career, the mentorship lessons that came from it, and why I believe a lot of traditional career advice around mentorship has completely missed the mark, especially for women in engineering, women in STEM, and early-career professionals.
For years, I thought I needed to find one perfect mentor.
The person who would magically appear with all the answers.
But, they never showed up.
What actually changed my career was building something much more powerful: a personal Board of Directors made up of mentors, peers, managers, colleagues, friends, and people who were willing to tell me the truth when I needed it most.
In this episode, I cover:
✅ The work mistake that convinced me my career was over
✅ The mentor who talked me off the ledge when I thought I'd ruined everything
✅ Why the best mentors often aren't officially assigned mentors
✅ What great leadership looks like in practice
✅ How to handle career mistakes, setbacks, and embarrassing failures at work
✅ The reality of imposter syndrome in engineering and technical careers
✅ Why traditional mentorship advice has failed many women
✅ How women in STEM can build meaningful support networks
✅ The importance of sponsorship, networking, and professional relationships
✅ Why mentors do not need to be older, senior, or more experienced than you
✅ What I've learned from both exceptional leaders and terrible ones
✅ How to create your own personal Board of Directors for career growth
I also talk about believing I needed a formal mentoring relationship when what I actually needed was help solving a real problem.
Because the best mentoring conversations rarely start with:
"Will you be my mentor?"
They usually start with:
"Can I get your opinion on something?"
This episode offers practical, honest advice about mentorship, leadership development, networking, career advancement, and professional growth.
Most importantly, it's a reminder that making a mistake doesn't mean you don't belong.
The best mentors don't just help you solve problems.
They help you keep perspective when you've lost it.
They remind you that one bad day doesn't define an entire career.
And sometimes they're simply the person who answers the phone when you're completely freaking out.
If this episode resonates with you, please follow, rate, and review the podcast. It helps more people discover honest conversations about engineering, STEM, leadership, mentorship, career growth, workplace challenges, and what it's really like building a career when nobody hands you a roadmap.
And I'd love to hear from you: who's on your personal Board of Directors? What mentor, manager, colleague, friend, or unexpected person has had the biggest impact on your career?
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