Finding Purpose as the Engineer I Never Planned to Become

Every year on Women in Engineering Day, I find myself reflecting on how unlikely my journey into technology really was.

I did not grow up surrounded by computers. In fact, my first computer class did not involve a computer at all. Our teacher stood in front of a blackboard and drew a monitor, keyboard, CPU, and mouse with chalk. Those drawings became our introduction to technology. We learned what each component did long before we ever had the opportunity to touch a real machine.

Looking back, it feels almost surreal. The idea that a young girl learning about computers through chalk sketches would one day build a career protecting technology used by millions of people around the world would have sounded impossible. There was no roadmap pointing me toward engineering or cybersecurity. What I did have, however, was curiosity. I wanted to understand how things worked, why problems existed, and how they could be solved. Long before I had access to technology, I had a desire to learn. In hindsight, that mattered far more.

A Career Without a Master Plan

One of the biggest myths about successful careers is that people know exactly where they are going from the beginning. My experience was very different.

I never had a master plan. My early career moved through operations, analytics, consulting, business analysis, and program management. At times, I worried that my career looked scattered. While others seemed to be building expertise in a single area, I felt like I was constantly learning something new and starting over.

What I could not see at the time was that every experience was preparing me for challenges I had not yet encountered. Consulting taught me how to communicate. Operations taught me how to execute. Analytics taught me how to think systematically. Program management taught me how to align people around a common goal. Years later, those skills would become some of my greatest strengths as a leader.

Learning to Be Comfortable with Change

For much of my career, change was a constant companion. I moved cities, changed roles, joined new teams, and repeatedly found myself in unfamiliar environments. At the time, every transition felt like starting over.

Looking back, those experiences taught me resilience. They taught me how to adapt, learn quickly, and stay comfortable in uncertainty. The confidence I developed did not come from having all the answers. It came from repeatedly proving to myself that I could figure things out. That lesson would later become invaluable in a field where change is the only constant.

Finding My Next Chapter

Eventually, I was hired as a business program manager in Reno, Nevada. Coming from smaller organizations, I suddenly found myself inside one of the largest technology companies in the world. Reno became my classroom. It was where I learned how large-scale systems operate, how decisions impact millions of users, and how global teams solve incredibly complex problems.

As much as I appreciated the opportunity, I eventually found myself wanting something more. For the first time in my career, I made a deliberate decision about where I wanted to build my future. I wanted to move to Seattle.

I did not know exactly what role I wanted. I simply knew I wanted to be in an environment filled with innovation, growth, and opportunity. So I started applying. Program management, product management, operations, strategy. If the role was in Seattle, I applied. I genuinely believed that if someone gave me an opportunity, I could learn whatever I needed to learn.

The Interview That Introduced Me to Cybersecurity

One of those applications happened to be for a product manager role within a security organization.

To be honest, cybersecurity was not part of my plan. I knew very little about the field. My career had been built around solving business problems, driving execution, and bringing people together to achieve outcomes. Security felt like an entirely different world.

What surprised me during the interview process was that the conversations were not only about technical expertise. They were about problem solving, navigating ambiguity, collaboration, and learning. For the first time, I realized that my unconventional path might actually be an advantage.

I accepted the role without fully understanding how much it would change my life. Looking back, that interview became one of the defining moments of my career. I was searching for a new city, but along the way I discovered a profession and a purpose.

Finding My Place in Cybersecurity  

When I joined the security organization, the learning curve was steep. There were technical discussions I struggled to follow, acronyms I had never heard before, and moments when I wondered whether I belonged at all. Many of my colleagues had traditional security backgrounds, while I was still learning the language of the industry.

For years, I questioned whether cybersecurity was truly where I belonged. Yet every time I considered moving on, another challenge appeared. Another problem needed solving. Another opportunity to make an impact emerged.

Slowly, the field that once intimidated me began to inspire me. What started as a job gradually became a purpose. Looking back, I realize that belonging is rarely something you feel immediately. More often, it is something you build through persistence, one challenge at a time.

Becoming the Leader I Needed

As my responsibilities grew, I began to understand that success in engineering and cybersecurity is not only about technical expertise. It is also about leadership, communication, collaboration, and trust.

I often think about the young woman who walked into her first security meetings convinced she was the least qualified person in the room. If I could go back and tell her one thing, it would be this: you do not have to know everything to belong here.

Today, one of the most rewarding parts of my career is helping others find their place in technology. I mentor students, support women entering cybersecurity, and work to create opportunities for the next generation. I do it because I remember exactly what it felt like to question whether I belonged.

The Lesson I Hope Every Woman Carries Forward

If there is one lesson my journey has taught me, it is that you do not need a perfect plan to build an extraordinary career.

The opportunities that change your life rarely arrive in the form you expect. Sometimes they look like a city you decide to move to. Sometimes they look like a role you almost did not apply for. Sometimes they look like a field you never planned to enter.

The young girl learning about computers from a blackboard could never have imagined becoming a cybersecurity leader. Yet every chapter of the journey mattered. The uncertainty mattered. The career pivots mattered. The moments of self-doubt mattered.

On this Women in Engineering Day, my hope is that more women recognize that there is no single path into engineering or technology. Curiosity matters. Resilience matters. The courage to keep learning matters.

The engineer I became was never part of the plan.

And she turned out to be exactly who I was meant to become.