“I could do this for the rest of my life and be happy with it.”
Jayna Hardy was always good at math. At Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Michigan, she’d already set her sights on being an engineer. “I didn’t give my career choice a second thought. About half my Math and Science Center classmates were women, most of whom went to college for STEM-related degrees,” she recalls.
“I was in a program that included slightly more advanced STEM classes, and we had a programming class. In this class there was a robotics section where we had to design, build, and program our own robots for a competition. I spent most of the project designing and building the robot (then taking it apart and rebuilding it when the design didn’t work) for my group. I found enjoyment in seeing my ideas become a reality and move around the room. This was a big indicator that mechanical engineering was the career path I should pursue.”
Jayna went on to earn her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology at Ferris State University. While there were lots of other women in the general engineering programs there, she recalls mechanical engineering was “about 90% men.” Her advice to other girls? “If you enjoy it, pursue it. Don’t let anyone else tell you what path you should or shouldn’t go down.”
After graduation, Jayna did internships at Bosch, then Edgewater Automation, where she was offered a full-time job as a mechanical design engineer working on teams that design assembly processes – machines, components, movements, sensors – anything required to ensure the client’s project was a success. “I enjoy the start-to-finish execution of a concept and making sure we meet the budget, timeline, and concept the apps engineers give us,” Jayna says.
“Many times, it’s a big challenge, but I like problem-solving. That’s what engineers do; we see problems and fix them. Every project is completely different. I love the variety and I love to learn.” Case in point: Jayna, 23, realized spending time on the floor with the machinists could potentially give her a beneficial perspective on good design. “And they let me,” she says. “It helped me understand I can design whatever I want, but if it doesn’t work in the machine, it’s useless. That time on the floor helped me become a better designer.”
Another big takeaway lesson? Jayna says, “You can’t grow if you aren’t willing to step out of your comfort zone. Challenge yourself and never stop looking for opportunities to learn something new.”
