At GP:50, we value our employees, and so in an effort to express that, we extended an invitation to the women in our organization to share their experiences in the field of technology. We now invite you to that behind the scenes look with our “Women in the Workforce” spotlight series.
Our next spotlight focuses on Autum Burns, an Industrial Bonding and Wiring Technician coming up on her five-year anniversary with GP:50.
Autum came to GP:50 with a certain expectation. After accepting a job as a Bonding and Wiring Technician, she expected to be working in a department as one of the only women there. “There’s a stigma about manufacturing jobs; that they’re not jobs fit for women,” she explained. But to her surprise, she discovered she had joined a department of all women. “I never expected to see so many female employees in the company, but I was pleasantly surprised!” Much like our first spotlight, Morgan Musgrove, Autum works with the bonding and wiring of sensors before sending them off to production. She appreciates that GP:50 provides her a family-oriented, flexible schedule as she raises her kid as a single mother. “I have no one else. Just me. They know that and allow me to make up for lost hours if something happens with my son and I need to leave to attend to him.”
When asked what advice she would give other women seeking to enter the technology field, she answered, “It can be frustrating, but it’s actually pretty cool to be able to say, ‘I worked on this product and it’s going into outer space!’
It’s almost unbelievable that I’m a part of something big like that!” She noted that there is never a right time to go after your career goals, “You just have to jump at it – there’s no planning when it comes to this.”
We asked Autum how she thought other women could develop their leadership skills, she noted it is important to watch your leads, explaining that Kim Musgrove has taught her all she knows. “I’ve learned so much from her and her leadership style.”
When asked what women inspire her, she answered Kim Musgrove, our Bonding and Wiring Lead, inspires her on the daily tasks. “She brings organization to what otherwise would be chaos in our department.” She also pulls inspiration from her cousin Lisa who works in the medical field. “In the end, I want to be like her. She’s non-judgmental and very knowledgeable.”
