Amanda Croan is a software engineer for the Oceaneering Technologies (OTECH) group headquartered in Maryland. In her position, Amanda finds it most rewarding when she sees the final product of her and her team’s efforts.
“Knowing I’ve been part of the team that made that [technology] happen makes all of the frustrating days (before it) worth it,” she said.
Amanda holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics. She previously worked for Oceaneering’s Configuration Management (CM) group before joining the engineering group.
Amanda was drawn to a career in engineering because she wanted, “a challenging, rewarding, and profitable career.”
“Money is always a draw, but software is ever changing,” she said. “It is a field where your success depends on continued education, which is important for me.”
The biggest challenge for Amanda has been acknowledging that she will make mistakes along the way.
“When I first started in software, I would sit there thinking about the code I should write, but I was too afraid of messing things up to even try something–even though it would only be messed up on my machine and I could just revert the code,” she said. “But, that’s the name of the game when it comes to engineering. You will make mistakes and bad judgement calls, but you must learn to react with a solution-oriented mindset.”
Amanda credits her co-workers and peers at Oceaneering for helping her talk through problems and treating her like a peer when she transferred into the group. She says, “Oceaneering has really given me the opportunity and support to be success in a new field. I’m proud to be a female engineer.”
Amanda said that the next generation of female engineers should know that it is OK to make mistakes, take risks, and speak up for themselves.
“Your opinion and questions matter,” she said. “You and your success matter, but you have to advocate for yourself.”
She added that asking questions are important – especially if it helps you to get the job done.
“Never be afraid to ask for help. Everyone needs help at some point in their life. Learning when you need help and seeing help before things go sideways is an invaluable skill,” she concluded.
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