When Jackie Richardson separated from her husband, she
wasn’t sure what the future would bring for her and
her daughter. She had lots of administrative jobs over the
years, but they didn’t pay well. Jackie wasn’t
interested in going back to that line of work.
One day, she saw a flyer for career counseling classes.
She decided to go and see what kind of advice she could
get. The classes helped Jackie learn about her passion for
science. She decided to go to a community college near her
home and study electrical engineering technology.
In the beginning, Jackie struggled with the math classes.
The complicated mathematical equations were difficult for
her. “I didn’t have a clue,” Jackie says.
“I kept asking myself ‘What am I doing here?’
I didn’t know anything about electronics or math,
so I wasn’t sure I made the right decision.’”
With help from her teacher and encouragement from her daughter,
Jackie made it through. She studied every night and got
better at math and the equations. Now she has a career as
an electrical engineering technician.
Jackie’s company makes communications equipment.
She helps engineers in her company design the equipment.
She also helps in the manufacturing process. When there
are problems on the production line, Jackie runs tests and
experiments to solve them.
“Technology changes so quickly,” Jackie says.
“It changes every minute, even as I speak. I know
I’ll always learn something new in technology. That’s
the most exciting part of my job. I also know I’ll
also be needed, so I know I made the right decision.”
Jackie
Richardson
