Professional organizations hold a key to career success

Networking is a career skill most engineers don’t learn in school. Karen Mariela Siles, senior delivery manager at IBM, says that’s why organizations like the Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers are crucial.

Siles, SHPE’s 2019 Manager of the Year, joined SHPE while earning her electrical engineering degree at George Mason University.

She says engineers can’t simply get by being the smartest person in the room. Networking is essential to meet mentors who can present opportunities you never imagined. “There’s immense value in cultivating sincere and intentional relationships; this major skill is one of many benefits of organizations like SHPE.”

– Katherine Brennecke, The Engineering 100