You know we all love to receive unsolicited advice, but especially so when it’s somewhat irrelevant and workplace-inappropriate. Krysten is a rockstar chemical engineer doing great things in the world of additive manufacturing. She’s also considering having a child in the near future, which means… cue. all. the. (unsolicited). advice.
Krysten and I haven’t seen each other in seven years, but when we hopped on the call to record this episode, it was like exactly zero time had passed. Trust me when I say you want to hear what this amazing woman has to say! We talk a little bit about grad school, yoga, and the super cool stuff she’s doing as a chemical engineer. And then we rage a lot (read: laugh and eye roll) about how out of line people can get with their advice.
Additional Resources and Thoughts:
The Coffee& post - On being a working mom - that sparked this amazing discussion
If you’re feeling sassy when a male colleague mansplains breastfeeding, you can say something like “Oh, how long did you breastfeed your child?” or “When I’m ready to start breastfeeding, I’ll have to get your recommendation for a good nursing bra.”
If you’re instead trying to set a hard boundary, respond with “I’m not comfortable talking about this topic at work.”
When a colleague tells you (or implies) that you should be a stay-at-home parent once you have a child, gently respond with something like “I am thankful we have the option to be a stay at home parent or to be a working parent. When the time comes, I'm glad I’ll get to choose the one that will best suit my family and my needs.” Optional sass: “just as you did thanks very much ✌️.”
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Hellos
(01:00) How we met
(04:17) Becoming yoga instructors while writing our PhD dissertations - would actually recommend!
(06:13) Choosing the right grad school advisor
(09:26) Krysten’s additive manufacturing career, diverse projects, and forward-facing efforts for the social engineer
(17:00) Business deals on golf courses, pickleball courts, and hopefully someday basketball courts
(19:00) Why Krysten stays in STEM
(21:06) Unsolicited working-parent advice from colleagues prior to becoming a parent
(30:52) Recalling that it’s not all bad with the supportive colleagues we can count on
(33:30) Don’t make any career changes based on having children until the children are here - stay in it!
(34:44) How to respond to unsolicited, inappropriate advice
(37:06) Goodbyes
If something in this podcast episode resonated with you, let’s chat! Like this post and leave a comment to spark additional meaningful conversations. And if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe for more conversations like this with amazing women doing amazing things in STEM.
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