Continual learning and growing in her career are the driving forces behind Julie Owen. These forces can be seen in the progression Julie has made since her graduation from Texas A&M University. She has earned a MBA, a Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP) certification, and most recently a Certified Cost Consultant (CCC) certification.
Julie grew up in Texas and started her career in architecture. It did not take long for her to realize she excelled in the technical detail work more than the creative design work. Using this realization, she graduated from Texas A&M in the construction science program. A three-month internship was a requirement for graduation. Julie was able to work her internship with JA Jones Construction, building commercial high-rise buildings in downtown Chicago as a scheduler. It was fortunate that she was already familiar with project controls and had some experience in project work. As a scheduler, she learned Open Plan as her first scheduling tool.
After graduation, Julie wanted to see more of the world than just Texas. She interviewed with many companies that were not based in Texas and landed a cost engineer position at Ralph M. Parsons in Pasadena, California. To add to this opportunity, she was given the responsibility for both cost engineering and scheduling on a DOD project for the US Army. During her employment with Parsons, Julie learned and gained more experience and knowledge in project controls by working on the Red Line Subway construction project for LA County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority.
Julie’s next opportunity came as a direct result of being involved in AACE International. She was scheduled to interview at PinnacleOne. An associate who knew Julie from AACE
International gave her a recommendation and she landed the job. Don’t try to tell Julie that being associated with AACE International does not have its benefits! While at Texas A&M,
one of Julie’s professors emphasized the benefits of being part of a professional organization. He told his class that their future was based not upon “what you know,” but rather “who you know that knows you know what you know.” In this case, Julie’s position with PinnacleOne was the result of who she knew who knew she knew what she did.
Over the next few years, Julie did consulting work with construction companies and claims organizations and was given many opportunities to learn and increase her knowledge in the
claims arena. She took advantage of each opportunity and expanded her skills and knowledge and continued to grow professionally.
Then Julie decided to move in a very different direction and joined the Aerospace research and development industry. Currently, Julie is a Senior Project Schedule Analyst at JPL (Jet
Propulsion Laboratory) in Pasadena, California, working on the Mars Science Laboratory Project.
|
|
Julie joined AACE International in 1993. She was looking for an organization that could provide her with educational opportunities as well as mentors. She was introduced to the
Southern California local section. The speaker at her first meeting was Jim Zack. Between the speaker and the project people she met at that meeting, she was completely hooked on AACE
International—and that was 14 years ago.
Julie believes AACE International has helped her career by giving her the opportunity to network and take advantage of the education opportunities and technical resources. Her current
employer, JPL, is developing Best Practices and Procedures. By being a member of AACE International, Julie has access to AACE International’s technical library and other technical resources. She believes that access to this resource has been a major contributor to her current position and the opportunity she has to be a part of the development of these Best Practices and Procedures.
Networking with industry leaders is another benefit that Julie attributes to her AACE International membership and association. She remembers what her Texas A&M professor emphasized
in his class - NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK. AACE International offers so many opportunities to network and share with other professionals. The professional knowledge base within
AACE International is unlimited.
Julie has been very active in the Southern California Section of AACE International. She is currently the Section President. She has served on the section board since 1993 in various positions. She was a featured presenter at the Annual Meeting in Nashville in 2007. She is also actively involved in the
Women in Project Controls Committee.
So what does Julie’s future hold? She is working toward a position as a project controls manager at JPL. She would like to present more papers and attend more AACE International Annual Meetings. Julie would love to be one of the first people from JPL to present a paper at a Primavera Annual Conference. But most of all, Julie wants to continue to learn and be a mentor to other women in business and in project controls.
Julie has some advise to other women in project controls:
“Don’t sell yourself short—don’t say, I can’t do that or the timing is not right so I’ll wait. We all have to promote ourselves. Get to know people and network. Be mentored by those in knowledge; then as your career matures, be a mentor to someone starting out. Women have competing responsibilities—take the opportunities to grow and develop—and become more marketable. When you understand how to promote yourself—the sky is the limit.”
article by Alexia Nalewaik CCE MRICS and Valerie Venters CCC
|
