I never wait in line for the ladies room at work! 

Working as a woman in engineering, especially at a sports network affords me this privilege.  I started working at ESPN in the summer of 2003 as an intern while pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.  I always wondered what an engineer could build at ESPN and learned quickly that they have a very hands-on approach to creating all the systems needed to produce and distribute content.  Today I manage a team developing the next generation of media production systems.

Being true to my engineer self, I love to analyze.  [Tweet “Consequently, when people ask me what I do for a living I enjoy the responses when they guess. “] One thing is certain: no one has ever guessed Electrical Engineer or Computer Scientist.  Quite the opposite of the stereotype, I’m an outgoing self-proclaimed girly-girl.  What I now know (and enjoy) about sports I absorbed from my time at ESPN with round-the-clock sports information and news.

Of course, in any work environment you will face challenges and ESPN is no exception.  It’s not unusual to be working with engineers who have a completely different approach to a problem, idea for a solution or communication style.  Naturally, people are not easily swayed from their own way.    It takes time to build a strong reputation so people value your ideas. When you’re not working with the same people on every project, you may have to build up that trust each time.  These are the most common challenges I face at work.  If someone doesn’t know me well, they might have perceptions about me.  I have to work to let them know the “Concetta” that I want them to know, so that I can be successful in my job.  No matter what the dynamics are, I will always fight for the ideas I am truly passionate about and compromise when necessary.

Regardless of the challenges, I remind myself of a few things:

  1. [Tweet “Do what you love. At the end of the day, you’re the one who needs to be happy. “] I focus on doing the work I enjoy and it makes it easy to get up and go to work every day.
  2. Accept that not everyone knows you.  Every work environment is unique and people communicate and approach problems differently.  You can’t control the environment but you can control how you deal with it.
  3. Adjust to your environment if you need to.  Sometimes I have to change my approach or behavior to do that.  [Tweet “My objective isn’t to be right; it’s to achieve a goal. “]

Being different makes me a better engineer and I have learned to embrace the differences.  The best ways to cope with the challenges that come from being different are not only to embrace them for you, but also to encourage others to do so.   This is what I continue to strive to do in my job at ESPN.

By: Concetta Maratta, ESPN