IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2007 - 16

01mwie01-prives.qxd

1/4/08

1:54 PM

Page 16

BY
LESLIE PRIVES

Top Copy
NEWSWOMAN'S CAREER FIRMLY ANCHORED IN ENGINEERING

The typical television news broadcast has an outline that can be broken down into categories including national, regional, and local news as well as areas of interest including
weather, sports, and entertainment. While many of the personalities that bring us the
news come from a traditional journalism background, Fox News Chicago Reporter and
fill-in Anchor Michelle Gielan has taken the road less traveled, with a degree in computer engineering, to arrive at her current spot on television.
Gielan was born in New York but her father, a computer consultant, moved his family to Bethesda, Maryland, before his daughter entered middle school. Once there, she
attended Holton-Arms, an all-girls private school, which she says was "really helpful in
teaching me self-confidence." After high school, she went off
to Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, to study
chemical engineering.
Michelle Gielan's
technology background
However, she soon found that chemistry wasn't for
often proves valuable
her, recalling that she was really "no good at it" and
when reporting for Fox
switched her focus to computers, with which she had
News Chicago.
always felt comfortable. Excited about the transition,
PHOTO COURTESY OF
MICHELLE GIELAN
Michelle explains, "Computer engineering combines
electrical engineering-which I love-with programming and computer science classes, which are all really
creative. So that was a perfect fit for me."
Gielan has always recognized the value in engineering degrees since they teach one
how to think and problem solve. "I learned a lot of 'stuff' like language and code, but I
think the best thing was that no matter what problem was in front of me, I knew there
was a way to solve it. That helps you in business, in relationships, in everything,"
Gielan says.
Following her college graduation, she already knew the possibilities were endless
but looked for a career that, like her studies, afforded her an opportunity to use computers and her creativity. She was hired as a consultant and software developer with
Idealab, a "think tank" company that develops Internet-based companies and helps
build their Web sites. But, says Gielan, "I ended up doing some contract negotiations
with other companies. Since I'm social and outgoing, that kind of work suited me better than programming by myself behind a computer."
Looking for a change, Gielan decided to embrace her dream of wanting to live overseas. Combining her technology expertise with her love of interacting with people, she
thought to try software sales. She moved to London and took a position with a company that deals in software for traders and banks. "That job was really interesting," she
recalls, "because it was challenging to sell to clients and I got to use my technology
background." At the time, the British government only granted a work visa to people
who were considered "highly skilled." Gielan fell into that category due to her technology background and was awarded a visa.

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

WINTER 2007/2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2007