EngSpotlight Interview: Aerospace Engineering
Hi everyone, my name is Simran Sagoo. I graduated in 2022 and my favourite memory from Aerospace would be learning to work in the CATIA workshops. I really love 3D design and that was one of my favorite things. Fun fact about myself is that I got myself tickets to the Taylor Swift concert in 2024.
How should students expect to balance extracurriculars with school?
I would say don’t overwhelm yourself because your first year, it’s overwhelming to begin with!
All the changes, all the transitioning that you have to do, it’s a lot. So, I try to do things in my first year, but I could not do it. I had to drop basically all my extracurriculars. I started a part time job in my second semester, but the first semester, I kind of was just like, “No, I need to figure out what’s going on with school.” And once you kind of get into that groove and you feel like you’re getting okay, you’re a little more confident with your schoolwork, then I would take the step to join the design teams, and put yourself out there a little bit more. The last thing you want to do is burn out.
I feel like all engineers face that to a certain extent, just because no matter what we have to do, a lot of people commute to downtown Toronto, and it can be very difficult to feel like you need to do everything. You don't need to do everything all at once. You can do things one at a time. Summer school is an option, breaking up your 3rd year, a lot of people do it as an option. But I understand that is also not financially feasible for everybody, but it does come down to knowing what is best for you.
Some people love that they have the ability to take splitting their 3rd year into two and now their school year becomes five years. Totally okay with that. I did that. I loved it. I thought it was a very smart decision because your 3rd year is your hardest year with the content that you’re learning. But at the same time some people just want to do school and get it over with. And that’s totally fine as well; not everybody is a school person. It's just everything comes down to balance. It's about finding that balance in your life, what and when you can do everything, because there is time for everything. You just have to find it. And it's not a lot of time, but it's there. And if the design teams and all these extracurriculars - you do and you give what you can. All these people are run by students. They know that. You give what you can, and I think all student groups will be accepting of the fact that, “Okay, I can only give one hour, every two weeks.” I think people would be okay with that. And I think that's fine.
Watch the video of the interview!
How do you overcome imposter syndrome in STEM?
It was joining the groups. Definitely helped with that. And it was knowing that the community I was in was there to help me, not bring me down.
For the longest time, I felt like I didn't belong. It's very hard to feel like you belong when you go in and you're like, “I'm so excited to learn about this,” but then your classmates are talking about this new engine that came out and you're like, “What are you talking about?” I don't keep up with aerospace trends or news, I didn't watch these things all day long. I had other hobbies. I have things that are outside of aerospace. So then, I always felt like because I didn't know those certain things that I didn't belong, or I couldn't feel like a part of the group.
Learning that it is okay to have different hobbies outside of your school, learning that it's okay to have fun outside of school, was when it really changed for me. That's when I started feeling more confident in myself. I'm like, yeah, just because I don't know whatever this new landing gear news, doesn't mean that I don't belong here any less than anyone else. It's learning that I'm like, yeah, I can do well in school. I do good in group projects. My ability to know these fun facts isn't dictating whether I belong here or not.
How did you manage the intense engineering schedule?
I would say having a good support system, whether that be family, friends, it really helps you get in that right mindset because if you feel like you're constantly around people that you don't fit in with, you don't belong with, that can feel very isolating. Whether or not that support group is at school, at home, wherever, I think it's very important to have one regardless and that really helps you bring out that confidence in yourself, helping you believe in yourself.
For when those times get hard and when you feel like you don't belong because you need those pick-me-ups, and we know engineering is very tough and it gets hard to continue being motivated. So having that support, going out, disassociating yourself from school a little bit, all those things are ultimately going to help you be better at school.
Current workplace: Pratt & Whitney
During my interview at Pratt & Whitney, my soft skills are what got me the job. Because I first had an interview and they're like, “Okay, she's great, but she didn't really talk on her technical side.” And then they asked for another interview where that was only technical based. And I'm like, yeah, you're an engineer and you pick up on things, but I know I'm not like a technical person who has all these like equations memorized or like all this kind of stuff. But during that interview, the manager at that time had given me the feedback that I was like, “You weren't cocky. You didn't act like you knew everything. You admit it when you didn't.” And they're like, “You are showing that you have the ability to learn.” And he's like, “Yeah, you got some things wrong, but I wanted to just kind of gauge your train of thought, how you kind of came to these answers.” He's like, “To me, that was more important than you getting the right answer or wrong answer.” He was like, “You show that you want to work, you want to learn. And ultimately, you seemed, based off your experience, like with competitions and the Hyperloop club, that you have the ability to grow and learn different things.” So that's ultimately what got me the job, not just my technical skills!
What soft skills are important for engineering students to have in the industry?
I would say communication is one of them; verbal and written. There's a lot of report writing that comes with Pratt & Whitney. So make sure you know how to write reports. I would say, communication during meetings and stuff is important and being confident in your answers.
One thing that my managers love from the start is that, something that usually takes people a year to build confidence within, I was confident from the start. I was like talking in the meetings, I was asking questions right from the start and they were like surprised that I was doing that. So you know, that shows that exactly, I was willing to learn. And I'm here to stay. It's not like, okay, I'm just trying to get this on my resume and leave. And when a company hires you the first year at least, it's just them investing in you and training you. Like I spent a year in a role and it took me about eight months to get familiar with the role before I started doing things by myself. So that, to the company, is an investment because right now two people are working on something that one person should technically be working on. So I would say those two things for sure. I actually never had a co-op before Pratt &Whitney. And it's a very big company in the aerospace industry in Canada, and everyone's surprised that you didn't have a co-op and you got in. And I'm like, it comes back to the same thing. It was my involvement with the groups and they saw my potential to communicate. So I'm telling you, your soft skills mattered just as much as your technical skills, if not sometimes more.
What’s the hardest part about being an engineer?
I would say the hardest part for me would be making mistakes. Just because there's a lot on the line, you shouldn’t be afraid to make the mistakes, but sometimes I get a little scared of the severity of the mistakes that are made just because for engineers, if you make a mistake on an engine and it goes to a customer, you're like, there's like how many people's lives that risk here? It's that responsibility with our ethics that come in that everything that you do, health and safety needs to come first. So I would feel like that is the hardest part- you can make mistakes, but just make sure they get caught. Then it doesn't end up in the wrong hands doing something bad or harming anybody. Ultimately that's what we have the iron rings as well. So I would say that is the hardest part.
What advice would you give for first-year engineering students?
I would say, go to class, do your homework, but have fun. Engineering is hard, and no one is denying the fact that you might be struggling, but at the end of the day, figure out what's right for you, whether it's engineering, whether it's not. Change is okay. Figuring out if you don't like something is okay. Don't feel like you're ever forced or pressured to do anything. At the end of the day, it's your life, and enjoy it the best you can. Study, work hard, but have fun doing it.
