4 Nesly Acosta: Balancing Progress and Personal Life

Background: Nesly Acosta is an accomplished structures engineer at Boeing with 12 years of extensive experience. Her range of experience varies from structural design and testing to maintenance and development. She also serves as a mentor and guide to young women in STEM, known for problem-solving, collaboration, and resolving complex structural issues. Acosta is also experienced in advanced design software tools like CATIA V5, AutoCAD, and ENOVIA which are used during projects. We had the privilege of interviewing her, during which she emphasized the importance of taking care of one’s well-being. She explains how work-life balance was not something that she thought of much at the beginning of her career, but rather it was learned about over time. The skills required to balance everything in life are difficult to develop, so she explains many things that she has learned during her career.

“It is important to understand yourself.
It is important to understand what success is for you.”

Understanding the Work Environment: One of the topics Acosta spoke about was the importance of the work environment you are in. During the interview, Acosta said, “It’s very different when you are in university than when you start working for a company, and each company is different.” This statement addresses an idea that researchers Carol Emslie and Kate Hunt had investigated. In their article titled “‘Live to work’ or ‘work to live’? A qualitative study of gender and work–life balance among men and women in mid‐life”, some of the women who were interviewed said that their workplace had caused them dangerous levels of stress, yet some other women found work to be therapeutic (Emslie & Hunt, 2008). Acosta’s advice about analyzing the environment you are in is impactful, especially for those without much background about how to enter the field or are new to it. She brings up how every company is different so working in a place that fits your needs and goals is essential for longevity. She advises that one should start to learn what they like in a work environment early. Engineers tend to solely focus on the technical details but neglect other aspects of work like the environment.

“Later in my career, then I learned that everything else in your life needs time –
needs allocated time and organization.”

Setting up Boundaries: As the interview continued, Acosta delved into boundaries and organizing/allocating time for everything else in one’s life. She stressed that boundaries are essential to work/life balance and without them, one can easily get drained and burned out. She also mentioned that she was the youngest and only woman in her team at the time, which caused her a sense of feeling to prove to her colleagues that she was equally as hardworking. This can lead to a great amount of stress and emotional stress within the workplace. The previously referenced article above touched over all these ideas somewhat, at one point stating, “Almost all the women had experienced difficulties in coordinating different areas of their lives, and most of their accounts of these difficulties related to the present or the very recent past” (Emslie & Hunt, 2008). This statement shows how this experience is not just an individual struggle, but one that is widespread, and everyone must learn. Acosta emphasized how it’s impossible to succeed in every facet of life at the same time, thus implying that the value of learning to prioritize and believe in yourself is essential for chasing your dreams. After all, as she stated while we were wrapping up the interview, “You have to believe in yourself and believe in your dream.”

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Citations:

Acosta, Nesly. Personal Interview. 10 May, 2024.

Emslie, C., & Hunt, K. (2008). ‘Live to work’ or ‘work to live’? A qualitative study of gender and work–life balance among men and women in mid‐life. Gender, Work & Organization, 16(1), 151–172. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2008.00434.x

Premium Photo: Aircraft manufacturing plant interior new blue passenger plane being built by numerous team of professionals generative AI. Freepik. (n.d.). https://www.freepik.com/premium-photo/aircraft-manufacturing-plant-interior-new-blue-passenger-plane-being-built-by-numerous-team-professionals-generative-ai_57309528.htm

Walker, M., & Chokshi, N. (2024, April 16). Boeing defends safety of 787 dreamliner after whistle-blower’s claims. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/business/boeing-787-dreamliner-safety-whistle-blower.html

Published Names: Kaia Moen, Jake Madsen, Taggart Vowels, Soha Wani, Ethan Rogers, and Frida Sanchez