Advancing Women In Skilled Trades

Overview

Sunita studied Engineering Physics specializing in nuclear, optics and semiconductors at McMaster University. As a Professional Engineer (P.Eng) in Ontario and Project Manager, Sunita has been able to work in a variety of places, including supporting car manufacturing at General Motors in Canada and the US, manufacturing scientific instrumentation, and implementing computer systems for companies like TD Bank, Shoppers Drugmart and Canadian Tire.

Mentor Profile

Who:

Sunita Alves

What:

Professional Engineer

Where:

T. S. Alves Consulting Inc.

Why:

Emotional Intelligence is lacking in technical fields and women naturally have these skills so they can standout easily.

Education:

Engineering Physics

Average Salary:

$100,000 – $200,000

Technical Skills:

Mathematics, Physics

Soft Skills:

Strong Organizational Skills, Problem Solving, and Communication Skills

Let’s Know More:

1. I’m not sure what career path options are available to me. Can you help me make a final decision?

One thing I tell my 15-year-old daughter is to imagine herself at work. Is she in a meeting room, a laboratory, or working outside? Is it industrial, scientific or business? Is it working in solitude mostly, working in a close team of people or moving through a lot of positions in a large organization? Would she like it to be predictable work or have a sense of the unknown?

2. What kind of professional development opportunities are available in your career?

As an engineer, I can go on to almost anything. I became a project manager, then a life coach and now I teach and write about mindfulness.

3. What qualities do you need to succeed in this field?

The thing people will remember about you is how easy you were to work with, how positive your attitude was, and how well you communicated. Emotional Intelligence is lacking in technical fields and women naturally have these skills so they can standout easily.

4. Can you tell me how your job helps or works with the community?

I volunteer as a director at my local engineering chapter where I arrange events and help students learn about engineering. I gave a talk about how mindfulness could help engineers with their jobs and I got great feedback about that.

5. How do you get to be creative on your job?

In my job I’m given a certain amount of money to do the project and a start and end date. I get to be creative about how to organize the money into a budget and the time into a schedule so we find the best way to accomplish the goals. Things always change so I’m always adjusting things but I like that challenge.

6. What is your motto?

My motto is to remember everyone has a different viewpoint; and understanding them mean listening before I speak and avoid jumping to conclusions. Mindfulness helps me a lot now with this!