To say engineering runs in Carol Chessmore's blood is an understatement. Like her father and brother, the system planning engineer for electric T&D leader Oncor (Dallas, Texas, U.S.) holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), which she is using to further a promising career in the power industry.

“It's a great time to be an engineer in the power field, thanks to advancements like the smart grid and the incorporation of renewable power sources,” she said. “We might soon have electric cars that are charging into the grid. It's very exciting.”

Like almost all engineers, Chessmore, who is a Texan born and bred, excelled in math and science during school. However, she planned to use her abilities to pursue a career in medicine rather than follow in her father's footsteps.

“For a long time, I wanted to be a doctor,” she said. “After following that path, I discovered that I did not enjoy the heavy memorization aspect of it — I preferred problem solving. I decided to attend the UTA and study electrical engineering.”

According to Chessmore, her parents played an integral part in her career choice — especially her father, Gerald Chessmore, who is the director of electrical engineering for James Johnston & Associates, a mechanical and electrical consulting engineering firm based in Dallas.

“My dad holds electrical and mechanical engineering degrees from UTA, and his hobby is fixing things around the house,” said Chessmore. “Growing up, we never hired a handyman, because he liked the challenge of figuring out what was wrong. My dad let me be his assistant if I was interested, and he made the projects fun and doable. Because of this, I was never intimidated by math and science. I didn't realize it at the time, but this had a big impact on me as well as my younger brother David, who has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from UTA and works at Oncor in the system protection department.”

After graduating from UTA with a BSEE and an MSEE, the new engineer was hired by Oncor, where she currently works in the system planning department, performing various studies on how changes affect the transmission system.

“What I enjoy most about my job is the people and the corporate culture,” she said. “In my department, we have a good mix of senior-, mid-level and less experienced people. Everyone is always willing to answer questions. The group is friendly and positive.”

Chessmore appreciates the company's New Engineer Development Program, which is designed to foster the training of and interaction between newly hired engineers by holding conferences throughout the year. Furthermore, she finds Oncor's in-house mentoring program as well as the extra off-site training she receives extremely helpful.

“My mentor, Rafael Garcia, is there to answer my questions and offer me advice,” she noted. “I also like that my company shows an interest in developing its engineers for the long term. Last year, I was sent to a conference on voltage stability and connecting renewable resources to the grid. This year, I'm receiving training on the software that I use.”

In addition to her work at Oncor, Chessmore belongs to the IEEE Power & Energy Society, which she advises all engineers to join.

The up-and-coming engineer also has some advice for those considering a career in engineering and/or the power industry.

“I would tell young people taking some of the tougher engineering courses not to give up,” she said. “These classes help build a foundation, and you never know when something is going to be useful. Just hang in there, and you'll make it.”

Chessmore believes it is especially important for women to hear this message.

“When my dad went through school, there were no women in his engineering classes,” she said. “When I attended college, there were some women in my classes, but that number was definitely not 50%. It's not that women forgo careers in math and science, it is just that most of them do not go into engineering per se — they go into fields like medicine and computer science. But I see this improving.”

In her free time, Chessmore pursues pastimes that tend to be the opposite of her day job, such as drawing, gardening, and attending the ballet and musicals.

“I am very artistic thanks to my mom, Tessa,” she noted. “I think this has helped me in my career. People may not realize it, but there is a lot of creativity involved in finding solutions to technical problems.”

Currently, Chessmore is in the process of gaining her professional license. She also plans to increase her experience and develop some of the more practical aspects of engineering.

“In the United States, almost everyone uses electricity in some form, so safe, reliable power is very important to the community,” she said. “I'm proud to be a part of delivering that. I'm also proud of being independent. I'm happy.”