Assessing an Engineer’s Self-Worth

Gina Covarrubias, an engineer turned life coach and the founder of Deliberate Doing LLC, who focuses on helping engineers better navigate careers and expectations, recently shared her message via a webinar held on April 13, 2021, organized by ASME’s Women in Standards and Certification group (WiSC). During the webinar, she encouraged more than 170 participants to differentiate between their job description and their self-description.
 
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, Covarrubias followed a different career path and decided to become an engineering life coach to help other engineers plan their careers. She counsels that “that reward is in the journey, not the destination.” In her talk, Covarrubias said that many engineers have a “career attachment mindset,” meaning they are dependent on their job for their self-value. This can leave people feeling that they do not have control over their own sense of worth. She encourages engineers to have a “career purpose mindset” instead, which helps them realize that their job description is not their self-description. With a career-purpose mindset, individuals can recognize that their wellbeing depends on internal beliefs, which are within their control.
 
Covarrubias also shared several self-assessment tools, which can be used to help people interpret their own perceptions to improve their wellbeing. WiSC’s Kathyrn Hyam moderated the April 13 event.
 
If you missed the event, it is still available for viewing at:
ASME WiSC Presents "Career Purpose: Why Your Approach to Work Isn't Working"
 
For more information about WiSC and future events, please visit: https://www.asme.org/about-asme/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-standards-certification