Philippa Bethell, M.S. Engineering Management, 2023

A journey that started more than 10 years ago at Lockheed Martin, Philippa Bethell knew that if she wanted to achieve the career she wanted, she needed to further her education. As an electronics engineer, Bethell has always had a keen interest in mathematics, but she loves working with teams, mentoring and inspiring coworkers. She plunged herself into research to find the best program for her life balance. 

“I was tired of bouncing around after my position at Lockheed Martin and I realized if I wanted to get into the field I wanted, I’d have to start with education,” she states.  

Living outside of Miami, Bethell chose to pursue FIU’s online Master of Science in Engineering Management. Having been out of school for more than a dozen years, she was slightly nervous about going back to school. Although she had done some distance learning in the past, times had changed, and today’s online education seemed completely different, she thought. Once she started her program, she found it easy to navigate. 

“For me, the first semester was difficult to get back into studying and finding my routine,” she admits. “I would tell anyone that if you can use a computer, it’s easy, but you have to be diligent and take your time to do it.” 

In the following, Bethell candidly offers her take on what it has been like as a fully online graduate student in the Master of Science in Engineering Management program. 

When do you graduate? 

I am a full-time, online student, I live in Tampa and I graduate in Spring of 2023. 

What has been your favorite class and why? 

My favorite class, so far, is Advanced Project Management. My aspirations are to move up into management. One of my past managers required some assistance with technical leadership. I provided leadership through collaboration and organization in helping with project management. I realized that I liked the technical leadership and project management role.  

Supervising the technicians was new to me, but once I started putting things in order, I was mentoring and I liked that, too. I learned to create better systems to do the work and how to lead people and began to understand the human aspect on the job. Everything I was learning steered me toward management and when I thought about going back to school, engineering management seemed right. Ultimately, I would like to end up as a project manager, managing teams.  

The classes I did not think I would do well in, I ended up doing well in and liking them. I was surprised that I liked Business Law. In my Industrial Financing class, I didn’t think I would do well because I had no previous finance classes and it surprised me that I did well in those classes—the subject matter interested me; they were engaging and active. 

What immediately applicable skills have you learned? 

My Logistics class uses SAP, and this will help me moving forward because companies use that for operations. The skills I’m learning now in my Technical Leadership course will help me lead teams and with project management. You must know how to lead people well in order for projects to be completed and for cross-team collaboration.  

How will your degree help you in the future? 

I feel that it will provide me with more opportunities. Having more education in the engineering field, in addition to my bachelor's degree, will make me more marketable.  

Why did you decide to study this area and choose this program? 

When I was at Lockheed, and I had a chance to be a supervisor, I enjoyed working with people. They came to me when they didn’t feel like they could go to a manager. I enjoyed that nurturing. I’m seeking a new career, one where I can encourage or motivate others. 

Would you recommend this program to other students? 

I would recommend this program. The professors are very knowledgeable and experts in their subject areas. They are extremely accommodating with work schedules. I looked at other schools and programs, but FIU had more options than others, which is the reason I chose this program.