How I Started In STEM with Chief Marketing Officer at Upwork Melissa Waters: There is no straight career path

Melissa Waters is the Chief Marketing Officer of Upwork where she oversees marketing and communication for the world's work marketplace. Her award winning career has helped innovators of all kinds achieve their dreams.

How did you get started?

The through line of my career is that whether in nonprofit management, in consumer packaged goods marketing or in tech marketing, all of those roles are incredibly oriented to having customer empathy. But the way that I got started was really getting tapped on the shoulder for roles and getting recruited into the roles that I'm in. And my advice on that journey and what I've learned across my journey is that there is no path that is straight. So if you think that a circuitous path is a negative thing in your career, I would encourage you instead to think about how each chapter of your career can teach you new lessons and new things that you can use for future chapters of your career.

Top tip for a career in STEM

My advice for folks seeking careers in tech is to remember that the roles in technology are not necessarily traditional STEM roles. We have an opportunity in the tech industry to obviously ensure that more and more women and people of color and non binary folks are identifying with the roles in STEM. Of course, we want people to move into highly technical roles, but for people who don't see themselves in highly technical roles, but see themselves contributing their strengths into the tech industry at writ large, it's really important to remember that there are many roles inside of the tech sector.

I think we oftentimes lump them into STEM and it's just important to remember that there are designers and marketers and creatives and writers and comms leaders and business analysts. There are so many different roles inside it. And so, my hope and my advice for folks is that people see themselves in this sector, that they can see how they can contribute their strengths to this sector because we desperately need all the right minds working on the next generation of technology.

Best advice you received for your career in STEM

I will never forget the moment when I was faced with a really challenging situation and I was tapped to take on a role that was bigger and more than I thought I could handle. And I called my longtime mentor and boss and said, "I'm at this moment, I'm not sure if I can do it. I've got to sign up for this big thing." And he said to me, "I know you well enough to know that you're trying to figure out how to be perfect in this moment." and he said, "This is not a moment that calls for perfection, this is a moment that calls for bravery." And I took that advice at that moment as a way to reframe the situation that I was in, but I have taken that advice probably almost weekly.

Finding culture and community from employers in {STEM}

I have always found that if I'm in an environment where my organization and my boss and my team is helping me take up space and be the best that I can be, then I'm thriving. And it's a good filter and a good way to think about it. Do I feel supported here? Do I feel comfortable here? Do I feel as though I can be the best that I can be?

And it's a great way for me to self check like, am I showing up the right way, but also is the environment that I'm operating in right for me? I think it's important for young people especially to realize that in those early years you're really on a hunt for that first job or that job that's going to get you more skills or more responsibility and it's a two way street. It's both what you contribute to the strengths that you bring to an organization, and it's also the environment with which you're doing your work.