STEM Professionals
What's it like to study toward a STEM degree or to work in a STEM career field? Learn from someone who is a professional in the field! We've interviewed many professionals and asked them how they chose their career, what degrees they earned, whether they work in teams, whether they would choose the same path again, and what advice they have for students considering their career path.
Select one or more of the people below to explore these firsthand accounts. For even more profiles, visit the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
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System Quality Assurance Director
Tracy Lynn Hamilton is a SQA (System Quality Assurance) Director at Texas Instruments Education Technology in Dallas, TX. She says she knew she wanted to be an engineer since Middle School. "Math and Science were subjects that came easily to me. I enjoyed being in the lab, tinkering and trying to understand how the pieces came together." Her advice to students? "Don't be afraid to take the more difficult math and science courses like Calculus and Physics. Challenge yourselves, be confident in your skills, and fly alone if you must."
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Software Engineer
Marshall Capps is a system and embedded software engineer working on interactive technologies for DLP® projectors. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University. Regarding mathematics, Capps says, "Mathematics and logic are the building blocks for everything I create. When I studied math in school, I was not good at memorizing steps to solve a problem. Instead, I focused more on how the equations behaved and how they could be used, and that has become essential to my everyday work life." His advice to students? "Find something that you can be passionate about, and look at your classes through that lens. Being passionate about an end goal will make learning the basics much easier."
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Electrical Engineer
Duy-Loan Le is an electrical engineer working at Texas Instrument's Application Specific Products section in Houston, Texas. She has earned both a bachelor of science in electrical engineering, and an MBA. She has 23 patents, and leads product development of chips that go into medical devices that allow doctors and the people in the medical field to save, protect, prolong and enhance the quality of lives. Her advice to students? "Be open minded about the possibilities, believe in yourself, work on your soft skills (communication, presentation, team work, etc.), and don't be afraid to ask for help!"
