Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Conference

Karen Wong-Chan spoke at the annual Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This event is the largest annual gathering of women engineers across all major engineering disciplines. In her session entitled, “Preparing for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Re-entry,” Karen presented tips for women engineers who are seeking positions back in the field after they have taken a break from their technical careers. She elaborated on her own re-entry experience and provided examples of how to assess and refresh skills. Further, Karen emphasized that there is a demand in the market for individuals with deep technical knowledge and communication skills, and she described potential career opportunities in engineering that allow women to leverage those skills.

The 2018 SWE conference theme, Let’s Break Boundaries, is rooted in the notion that all women engineers — young, middle-aged, veterans, entry level, highly experienced, and engineers still pursuing their collegiate degree, are breaking boundaries both personally and for women across the globe. The 2019 SWE Annual Conference will be held in Anaheim, California from November 7 through 9.