Name: Jasmine Shaw
Program: Biomedical Engineering
University(s) / College(s) Attended: Carleton University
Education / Degree(s): B.Eng. - Biomedical Mechanical, M.ASc - Technology Innovation Management
Current Job Title: Systems Engineer / Entrepreneur
Current Employer: General Dynamics Mission Systems - Canada / Self-Employed
Email: Send Email
Fun Facts About Me
Share one fun fact about yourself: I’m a proud cat mom :)
The most inspiring engineer I know is ....... Because ........ ?: The most inspiring engineer I know is my mom, because of how she grew both her career and family. She has over 30 years experience in engineering, even though she took time off to raise me and my 3 siblings. She is professional yet approachable, smart yet stern, and kind yet fierce.
Profile Questions
Why did you choose to study engineering?: As a child I was a typical math and science nerd (you’ve probably heard similar responses from other engineers). Beyond my sheer curiosity and interest in these topics, the one thing that really pushed me to study engineering was to challenge myself. I honestly wasn’t sure whether I would be able to achieve something so difficult, so daunting - but I did, and here I am. It was an opportunity to build my confidence and belief in myself.
How do you apply your engineering degree to your current career?: Every day, I help my team, company, and community solve problems. This is a fundamental skill that you will learn through your engineering degree (and career): how to analyze problems, identify the root cause, come up with a solution, convince someone your solution is good enough, and then go and implement it. My day job as a systems engineer involves designing drones that deliver packages to people’s backyards, as well as assessing problems with the deployed drones. These are complex systems, and they force me to consider multiple perspectives, alternative solutions, and various scenarios in order to come up with the right approach. In my side gig as an entrepreneur, I help women in STEM (like yourself!) achieve their full career potential. Oftentimes this is through mentoring and coaching someone through a specific problem - and guess what? I use the exact same problem solving analysis as I do in my engineering job!
What do you love most about your career?: I love the infinite possibilities available to me as an engineer. I never thought that, as someone who studied biomedical engineering, I would end up working on drones, but here I am. The core skills I gained through my degree have enabled me to explore so many different projects and applications. I also love that some of the skills I’ve learned in my career so far, such as facilitation, organizational change, and project management can be applied to my entrepreneurial activities, too. A degree in engineering is truly just the starting point - your career will take you on so many beautiful, unexpected paths.
What advice would you give to someone hoping to pursue a career in engineering?: My number one piece of advice for anyone aspiring to become an engineer is to understand what matters to you and why. Whether you’re interested in drones, artificial intelligence, or electric vehicles, ask yourself why do I care about these things? Why do I want to solve these problems? What kind of impact in the world do I want to have? Once you understand the deeper meaning behind your curiosity, all of the motivation, passion, and energy needed to be successful in your engineering career will come so much more easily.