Meet Yuk Louie,
Manager, Automation Division
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering
Your Penn degree/major/year of graduation:
BSE/Chemical Engineering / 1980
What career paths were you considering as a senior at Penn?
Process Engineer in an R&D organization with a long-term focus to be a technical specialist.
What was your 1st job after graduation?
Process Engineer for Mobil Research and Development Technical Center working on the monitoring of TCC and FCC units.
Name one thing you wish you knew as an undergraduate at Penn.
It is okay to make use of the professors’ and T/As’ office hours. It is not a sign of weakness.
How did you get to where you are now?
By not being afraid to ask questions and leverage off the knowledgeable and experienced people around me.
At what point do you feel you decided on a career direction? As an undergraduate or later?
My career decision has evolved over time based on the experiences and opportunities that I encountered. My career direction is still evolving.
What is the one course you took at Penn that has helped you the most?
My senior design project. The project demonstrated the interdependencies of all the courses I took as an undergrad. It gave me a better understanding of project life cycle and the work effort required to do it well.
Did you go on to graduate school?
No, I never saw a need to take that path to advance my career.
What can a recent graduate expect in this field starting out?
A career in the petrochemical industry requires a passion for the discovery, development, and deployment of petrochemical technologies. When starting out in this field, you will be involved heavily on understanding and deploying these technologies. You are expected to demonstrate your technical abilities before you can advance on the technical or management ladder.
What do you do day to day?
I am currently a division manager. In this role, I work with my staff to develop the strategic direction for the division, provide guidance for the execution of this direction and manage the staff.
Prior to my current position, I was the Senior Engineering Advisor. In that role, I reviewed and endorsed technology selections for our major projects, as well as project work plans for quality assurance.
What kind of environment do you work in?
I work in a corporate office environment a majority of the time. As for the rest of my time, I travel to our plant sites for meetings and technology reviews.
How often do you collaborate with others as a team?
The projects we work on are very large and complex. No one person has all the answers and hence we work in teams about 95+% of the time. The key is to make sure you have the right mix of people on the team.
If you were to hire someone to work with you today, what would be most important factors in your hiring decision?
Demonstrated technical abilities, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills to be able to work effectively in a team.
How much of your lifestyle do you think is dictated by your work?
Not much. There were times when I had to stay late to finish project or travel on the weekend for a plant start up. In general, my company has been very accommodating which has enabled me to have a good work / life balance. The key is to be organized, plan ahead, and communicate your plans to your family and supervisor.
Where is your field going in the future?
Fossil fuel is still going to be around in the next 25-50 years. We will continue to develop technology that will enable us to more efficiently discover, develop and produce hydrocarbon-based products. In the meantime, we also look to develop alternative energy sources.
How did a Penn education prepare you for your career or current job?
My Penn Engineering education taught me the fundamentals of Chemical Engineering, as well as to think, analyze, and research. Those skills are fundamental in problem solving which is what I do every day.
Yuk’s Recommended Links:
http://www.exxonmobil.com/corporate
http://www.exxonmobil.com/careers/usa
