Aarthi Venkateshan

I think curiosity and interest have been key to my success. After all these years of being in the field, I tend to get bored quickly, like most of us do. Every five to six years, if you looked at my LinkedIn profile, you'd see that I've moved on - that seems to be my sweet spot where I've spent enough time doing one job and have gotten out what I can from it. Not that there's nothing left to learn, but I feel like I've gotten the majority of what I can out of it, and then I shift to learning something new. I would say flexibility, curiosity, and the fact that I'm not bored with STEM still - because there's so much still to discover - that's what's kept me in it.

I worked for someone about seven or eight years ago when I was more in quality and quality policy, and he gave me an interesting perspective. We were talking about performance goals and self-growth goals, and he asked me where I saw myself in five years. I said I didn't know, that five years seemed like a really long time, and I didn't really see myself doing what I was doing in five years. His advice to me was: if you don't see yourself having my job in five years, you're at the wrong place now - leave. Because that's where your promotion is going to lead you, and if you don't like that path, you already know you're probably not where you want to be. That's been my mantra over the decades. I'm always looking around me to see what my boss is doing, and if I don't like it, that's a cue to set up for a lateral move. I ask myself: is that still something I would be interested in in five years?

There are certain values that are non-negotiable no matter what field you're in - hard work, integrity, being sincere to what you do. But for STEM specifically, and maybe this applies to other fields too, you have to be curious, but at the same time, do not be afraid to ask the question that's popping in your head. No question is stupid. Even if you're a tenth grader about to be a junior, that does not mean you have to go to AI or Google to ask your question - you've got real people around you. You're always going to meet people who know more than you, so assert yourself in a way that's fearless but also humble. Just say, I don't know this, can you explain it to me? That fearlessness combined with humbleness is the first step.

There's so much opportunity right now! I think with constantly having to update yourself, the number of fields you can go into - whether you're going into research or application-based engineering or even non-engineering science fields - the world has shifted literally under the ground compared to what was there even a decade ago. The opportunities are plenty, and I absolutely love the push for women in STEM efforts that I see in all the schools, even from elementary level. They're doing a wonderful job in trying to bubble up that interest - not that every woman has to be interested in STEM, but at least the opportunity is there for them. Everything has exploded, just like everything else. With AI and at the other end of the spectrum, there's always a need and an urge to go explore so you don't get left behind - the FOMO, if you will. The entire spectrum is wide open for all of us now who are already in here and who want to be.

There are certain values that I feel are non-negotiable, and it doesn't matter if it's STEM or otherwise. Hard work, integrity, and being sincere to what you do - those are things that are fundamental to me. These values apply across everything I do, both professionally and personally.