"I had a real sense of pride that I was working on products that save people’s lives. That’s something that engineering instills in you: that your job is to protect the public."
Polly Zou
- Degree: Bachelor of Applied Science
- Grad year: 2024
- Program:
- Campus: Vancouver
Job: Associate, McKinsey & Company
Tell us about your job.
I’m in a very non-traditional job for engineers at the moment, working as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Management consultants basically get airdropped into a Fortune 500-sized company or government organization that is facing some sort of large systemic issue that is troubling senior management, like a prolonged stunt in growth or persistent operational challenges.
We will often spend four days a week for about six-weeks at a client’s site, be it an office in Qatar or a mining site in the Andes, where we diagnose the symptoms, define the problem, quantify the issues, identify opportunities, and develop change management strategies. Often, we’re then extended to implement these same strategies and build capabilities with our clients. It can be very intense and very rewarding!
How does your engineering background help you in this role?
Engineers are trained to be detail-oriented.
We’re pragmatic and trained to look at the big picture for prioritizing resources and we learn a very structured approach to problem solving.
We know what the output needs to be, and we are skilled at optimizing for the shortest path to get to that outcome. Additionally, the data science elements of my degree have been very helpful as I move from industry to industry – here’s a shout out to those linear algebra fundamentals!
Before McKinsey, you worked at Mustang Survival on some cool products. Tell us about it!
After I graduated I worked for six years in a very traditional engineering role in product development for Mustang Survival, which engineers high-performance marine gear for a range of users from military, rescue personnel and law enforcement, to competitive sailors, professional fishers, and your average ferry-takers and ocean enthusiasts.
While I started out in manufacturing at the company, I realized a few months in that I wanted to be part of the upstream processes. I wanted to be in product development and working on lifesaving gear.
Over my time at Mustang, I was product development engineer and project manager for a large array of products, ranging from dry suits used by FEMA and fighter pilots to kids’ life jackets!
They all demanded various level of engineering vigour and care, along with a need for empathy for different user groups. One of my products, the Khimera life jacket, was nominated for a global marine industry award, and I developed the first woman-fitted dry suit line within the company and my name is on a patent for a submarine escape suit!
I had a real sense of pride that I was working on products that save people’s lives. That’s something that engineering instills in you: that your job is to protect the public.
Any other highlights from your time at Mustang Survival?
Definitely. We were working with the US Air Force on next-generation air combat equipment, and as a field engineer I got to travel to seven different air force bases across the US to validate the equipment.
As a person in her early 20s, this was both intimidating and exciting. It was definitely a character-building experience as I learned to tackle issues on the fly and develop resilience against perceived emergencies.
Another highlight was during COVID-19 when I worked with our engineering director to pivot the company and make certified medical gowns for health care workers. Within months, we had a product available to protect workers in health care. That experience of overseeing the entire operation – from conception to launch – was extremely rewarding.
It also led to my realization that I could have an even bigger positive impact on others by pursuing some additional education. I went back to school to do an MBA, thinking I might eventually end up leading engineering teams, but then realized that I could also use my skills in management-level problem solving, which goes back to my original craving to always go upstream to the source of every problem.
Let’s go way back: what got you interested in engineering in the first place?
I think I was a menace at home!
I loved taking things apart to see how they worked, from furniture to electronics, and wondered not just how something works, but why it’s made that way. As I got older, I realized that this aligned with engineering.
Funnily enough, my family was really pushing me to medicine, or accounting if you’d believe it, so in some ways choosing engineering was my act of rebellion!
Anything else you want to share?
Engineering can be very difficult, and it can be demotivating to feel that you are struggling academically. I had a hard time in first and second year as someone who underestimated the workload and commitment needed to succeed. I had my (often lopsided) interests, but also some amazing classmates and faculty along the way to support me through the worst self-doubting moments.
Stay true to your interests and passion, seek help and support, and persevere: you have no idea how much impact you could have and the doors that engineering can open for you.
