Systems Coordinator, American Society of Civil Engineers
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Summarize yourself and your professional experience in a few sentences (where you’re from, course of study, where you currently work, job title).
I came from China about 8 years ago after earning my Bachelor’s degree in English and later pursued a Master’s degree in Marketing Management in the United States. While I have worked in different industries, my keen interest in technology has remained constant. Currently, I am employed as a Systems Coordinator at the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Please describe the main function of your organization and your current responsibilities.
The American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 150,000 members of the civil engineering profession in 177 countries. Founded in 1852, ASCE is the nation’s oldest engineering society. As a member of the Publishing Technologies team within the Publications division, my primary responsibilities involve creating reports for editors, board members, and stakeholders by leveraging data from our database and automating reporting workflows with Python and Azure.
How did you get into scholarly communications, and what was your path to your current role?
Although I had no prior experience in scholarly communications, I stumbled upon the job posting for my current position at a coding bootcamp where I learned Python. Without hesitation, I applied and was fortunate enough to secure the position. Looking back, I am confident that this decision was one of the best that I have ever made, allowing me to thrive and grow in a new and exciting field.
What tools, websites, and organizations do you find most valuable for your career development?
I find the Society for Scholarly Publishing (https://www.sspnet.org) to be an invaluable resource for gaining insights into the industry, especially their blog, the Scholarly Kitchen (https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org). I make it a daily habit to read their posts in the morning, as soon as I open my work email. When it comes to technology training, my top choices for online courses are Udemy and Coursera.
Any fun facts or hobbies outside of scholarly communications?
I love going to the beach in summer, skiing in winter, and gardening.
