Do not be afraid to apply or take a challenging job
Published on : Tuesday 02-03-2021
Raedah Saman, Future Offer Marketing for LV MV Industrial Drives.
What prompted you to pursue a career in engineering?
My immigration from Jordan to the United States as a teenager played a major role as my mom wanted us to have the best education, best career and best overall experience and she was the one always encouraging me to study, at the same time I have always loved math and science and I thought the best combination was Engineering. After I graduated as an Electrical Engineer I chose to go into Technical Sales & Marketing where I combined both the business and the engineering skills, which was the perfect combination for me as I enjoyed both Business and continue to work with Engineers.
Having obtained the qualification, what was the experience in getting a job?
Actually it was relatively easy for me as I got the job offer 2 months prior to graduating through job interviews at WPI campus, where I got my engineering degree. One of the students I knew got a job as technical sales during my 3rd year which intrigued my interest to pursue such a role and mostly focused on applying for such roles and was successful to get my first job at Allen-Bradley once I graduated.
Is a career in engineering more demanding vis-à-vis other options?
I currently work in an international company and I work with people who are in other fields, like marketing, engineering, sales, supply chain, purchasing and others and I believe that each of these roles are as demanding. The difference is how each person views their contribution to the project and apply to ensure a successful project and even though the demand is the same or similar, the success of any project or product is the combination of all the fields put together to achieve the success. Imagine a company created the best product but no one marketed it properly or sold it or we don't have the right supply chain to get it to the customer.
Often projects demand stay away from home. How is that experience?
Throughout my career, I had to travel to many different countries and my husband has been very supportive.
Have you ever missed a career opportunity or promotion due to gender?
Actually I have been working for more than 20 years and I have never missed an opportunity due to my gender. In my current company I have had many excellent opportunities to have growing responsibilities and the company even moved me and my family to a different country where I was based in the USA and moved me to France, it has been 8 years now, and I continue to grow in my responsibilities within my company.
Are workplaces today more sensitive to gender issues than a generation earlier?
I believe companies are becoming more aware that there are additional needs for women like more flexible schedules and many are creating different programs to adhere to these needs.
Is there a glass ceiling when it comes to leadership roles in engineering?
No, there is no ceiling. I have seen many become CTOs and they serve in the executive board of the company.
What has been the experience with seniors at works and the management?
No direct experience to comment.
How did the Covid pandemic affect your working routine and what are the learnings?
I have been mostly working from home with no travel, which is a bit different than what I have been used to. Lessons learned, to continue to collaborate, set up regular scheduled meetings with your team members and peers to ensure strong collaboration in the team and less silos.
It is said if you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family, generation (nation). Your views?
You educate a nation by educating a woman who is in turn educating her children who in turn educate others, I believe this is changing as now more and more men are the caregivers at home and they are the ones educating the children who in turn educate others. It is everyone's responsibility to make a difference in the home and both men and women are educating the nations. Personally, the proverb that holds true for me is, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
What would be your message to those seeking career guidance?
Have a vision and put the goals in place to achieve this vision, you may have some setbacks but don't worry keep going toward this vision. Be courageous and don't be afraid to apply or take a challenging job that you don't have 100% of the requirements. You may take a fall on some topics but get up quickly and learn why you fell and keep going and finally always be around the people who will always be your cheerleaders and are there to help you when you need help.
What are the three words that best capture the essential you?
Vision. Courage. Teamwork.
Raedah Saman, Future Offer Marketing for LV/MV Industrial Drives based in France. In her role, Raedah defines the strategy of LV/MV Drives of around Euro 1 Bn business and builds and executes a five years roadmap according to the strategy. In parallel she drives Countries to launch and deploy key offers to achieve strong growth. Prior to this position she was the Global Field Services Business Development Director for the Middle East & Africa zone where she developed and deployed business plans to drive services P&L of 150m€ with double digit growth in revenue.
Raedah began her career in Schneider Electric in 2006 in the United Sates as a Product Marketing Manager in the Industrial Automation Business Unit and moved to Marketing and Deployment Manager where she managed, launched and executed the entire commercialisation life cycle of a cloud based Energy Management System and launched in over 30 countries. Prior to joining Schneider Electric, Raedah held Sales, Business Development & Product Marketing roles in organisations serving industry and Telecom sectors.
Raedah holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester MA and an MBA in International Business & Finance from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.
.jpg)
