Kelly Whitaker
Alcoa
New Kensington, PA USA
"It's really OK to not know what you want to be when you grow up. It's OK just to say, 'You know what, I don't know; I'm still thinking about it, I'm still trying new things and I'll make that decision when I'm ready to."
Career Roadmap
Kelly's work combines: Engineering, Technology, and Problem Solving
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Chemistry, General
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
Doctorate
Chemistry, General
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Works for Alcoa, the largest light metals research facility in the world; she develops surfaces in their product development department.
2.
When she first took chemistry in high school, she hated it.
3.
Started studying biology in college, but realized in her first semester that she missed her chemistry class.
4.
Switched from a pharmacy major to a nutrition major to a neuroscience major to a physical science major-says, "I changed my mind a lot."
5.
Says the best thing you can do to find your interests is to expose yourself to as many different things as possible.
6.
Favorite part of her job is being able to go to the store and see products that she worked on.
7.
Says what she's currently working on is nothing like what she studied in graduate school, so you don't have to feel too committed to what you study.
8.
Believes she found a great profession because it fulfills her need to problem-solve by taking things apart and figuring out what makes them tick.
