Marcie Cochrane

Deciding to pursue my MBA in Executive Management at Royal Roads was based on the expectation that I would develop into a more well-rounded leader, acquiring business and leadership skills that would enhance my career as a professional engineer. I did not anticipate that my MBA experience would set my career on a different trajectory, being the starting point for the creation of my own company that aligns my personal interests and values with the opportunity to improve the profession of engineering. In starting my own company, I also have the flexibility to balance work, family, and life on my terms.

The knowledge and expertise I gained through my Organizational Management Project (OMP) combined with my experience as a professional engineer allowed me to start my own company where I provide diversity and inclusion consulting services within the engineering sector. My OMP examined the retention of women in the engineering profession in British Columbia. I was able to work with the organization that regulates professionals practicing engineering in BC, allowing me to look at retention across the industry, rather than just within one employer organization. I now work with engineering organizations to improve diversity and inclusion, drawing upon my research experience. 

The OMP experience has allowed me to move my career in a new direction. The MBA program gave me the foundation skills I needed to successfully build and run my own company, while my research has created the foundation expertise and research skills that are core to the consulting services I offer. This has allowed me to move from practicing engineering to a position where I am still working within the engineering sector but now performing work that supports the goal of improving the profession for all.

Get to know other graduates of the Royal Roads MBA program here.