Our Industry Person of the Week is Adriana Montaño, a Chemical Engineer. Here’s what she had to share:

Q. How did you get started working in your field?

Adriana: I first worked in a lab for water treatment many years ago but it was not as exciting as the work I do now. After two years that my baby was born, I decided to come back to work, I was not that young and I knew that finding a job in my field could be kind of challenging because of my age and my gender, despite I am a Chemical Engineer, it was but also still men’s world. Anyway, I was determined no matter what to find a job, even if I had to start again with a low salary and challenging schedules. I wanted first to work in the polymer industry and after several interviews at a film plastic manufacturer, I received a call from one of my friends, he told me that a pump manufacturer company needed someone in sales. I decided to go to the interview, I did not know if the other company was going to hire me so I had to pay attention to other opportunities. That was a great interview, it looked like that job was meant to me, that same day, just a couple of hours I received a call, they wanted to hire me. I had all the attitude, I decided that it was going to be a great place to work, I got in love with it from the first day! Two weeks after being hired, someone at the plastic film manufacturer called me, it was too late. I received two salary raises the first year, so it is since then the best work for me.

Q. What do you love the most about your job? What are you most proud of?

Adriana: I love all of what I do but what I love the most is to learn something new every day and to help people at the same time as well as share knowledge. I see my work this way: I do what I love and I get paid for that! I am a “todologist”, I had to learn about logistics (still learning), to help my customers regarding shipment matters, I make translations on technical information from Spanish to English and vice versa when it is needed, I make brochures, give training on pumps, I quote and select pumps, I do the math to get the operating conditions for different pump systems, I travel abroad to visit my customers and end-users, sometimes promoting our brands and sometimes for checking on issues they have in pump systems and try to find the best solution for them. I have been in the Atacama Desert in Chile in lithium and Iodine mines, I have been in citric industries in the USA, water treatment plants in Mexico, etc. I have met great people, I have seen amazing things. I am very proud for all people I have helped but also to trying always to have an amazing team working with me, I tried to train them as much as possible in order they succeed, I share as much information as I can, and have had great results.

Q. What advice would you give to someone considering this line of work or new to the field?

Adriana: Well, it is my belief that you have to try to love what you do and never think that horrible thing that is too late to do things or succeed. Try to give you best, who knows? It may be satisfying and great. Motivating yourself is the best way.

Q. Can you talk about a project you recently worked on?

Adriana: I helped one of my customers to select pumps for a Lithium mining, who is in South America. We worked hard together to check on correct material construction for the pumps, due to chlorine content and temperature. There were a lot of different applications. It was a couple of months ago. Working as a team is the best learning.

Q. Anything else you would like to add?

Adriana: When I first started working in this industrial group I first worked in local and international areas with Industrias Mexicanas de Bombas, then they changed me to Comericalizadora FEOC for working in international area only. I want to thank Charlie and Cieana for this great and empowering opportunity, you are great girls.

There is always challenges in life, you have the option to decline or take the challenge, if you decline, you will never know what are your capabilities and will be always in doubt of what could have happened, if you take the challenge and fail, you will learn a lot for the next time you try it, if you succeed, will be also learning and satisfying.

THANK YOU, ADRIANA! WE LOOK FORWARD TO KEEPING UP WITH YOU THROUGH THE #PUMPTALK COMMUNITY!

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