Jan Carradine, Baker Electric

"My dad was an electronics engineer and my best friend when I was growing up," she said. "My very first recollection was attending a ham radio operators convention with him. I was about 10. They had a contest where you take a shoebox full of parts and pieces, a toilet paper roll and wires, and build a transmitter and turn on a light across the room. My dad and I won. I got my picture in the paper and I thought: man, this is great stuff."

But Carradine, who has served as director of engineering at Baker Electric in Escondido, didn't plan on a career in the field back then. Growing up in Whittier, Calif., she majored in industrial arts in high school, exceling in drafting. After graduation, she tutored drafting in the Regional Occupational Program (ROP), and then became a technical illustrator for about 10 years.

"It was too ambiguous for me, so I went back into regular drafting," she said. "I attended a job fair for Bechtel Power and got hired as a draftsman. After three months, I heard about a five-year training program for engineers from other countries. I asked my boss if I could be a part of it and he said OK. I was about six months into the program before they found out I wasn't a foreign-degreed engineer. They didn't know what to do with me, so they let me stay."

As she continued passing classes, Bechtel trained Carradine to be an electrical designer. After becoming one, she signed up for computer-aided design (CAD) training. "I didn't earn a college degree. I tell people I graduated from the school of hard knocks."

In 1986, Carradine moved to San Diego to work as an electrical designer for a small consulting firm. She left in 1991 to start her own firm, J.C. Consulting, specializing in design work for architectural firms. That landed her a contract with Hewlett-Packard in Rancho Bernardo, where she stayed for six years as sole electrical design engineer for in-house facilities including lighting, robotics and power distribution.

She joined Baker Electric in 1996 as project manager in the firm's industrial group. Her clients over the years included large firms such as Sony, Unisys and BAE. Promotions followed, and she served as manager of engineering before attaining the director of engineering position. Responsibilities included review and analysis of project drawings to ensure code compliance, constructability and provide value-added efficiencies. While she managed the day-to-day operations of the engineering staff, she focused on safety, project scope review, critical-work sequence development, schedules and budgets for Baker's construction groups. Last June, she reduced her work schedule and is currently Baker's account executive for three of the firm's long-term customers: Hewlett-Packard, Valley View Casino and Freeberg Industries.

Working in a traditionally male-dominated field, Carradine has seen opportunities grow for women who have chosen her career. "During my early years, I found the successful women in the industry were at the top of their game," she said. "They were head and shoulders above the crowd. Quite a few women do what I do now. One of the benefits that I had from having my own business is that I was the only woman in San Diego for 12 years who had her own electrical consulting business."

Carradine recommends membership in the National Association of Women in Construction for those who want to network and keep current with developments in their profession. She is a former member of the San Diego chapter. She has lived in Escondido the past 10 years, and lived in Poway for 15 years before that.

Looking back on her career, Carradine said the jobs she is most proud of are the projects she was able to "get back online and on track when something had gone wrong and the challenge had to be addressed." She said a very wise man once told her, "If you really want to show someone what you can do, take charge when something's gone wrong." She took this to heart, "In other words, don't hide, step up and fix it. That's been my philosophy. I just like to go in and get things done."

1298 Pacific Oaks Place | Escondido, CA 92029 | PHONE: (760) 745-2001 | FAX: (760) 745-3610 | www.baker-electric.com