Sacramento Engineer Pursues M.B.A. To Advance In Leadership Capacity

Sarah Staley is a registered professional civil engineer with 13 years of experience. Since graduating, she has worked as a civil engineer for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District for four years and with the city of Folsom for the past nine years. In her current position with the city of Folsom's Public Works Department, Staley is the lead storm water engineer, managing environmental regulatory programs, providing engineering services for drainage system infrastructure, new development planning and flood management.

Her bachelor's is in civil engineering from California State University, Sacramento. As Staley explained, "Upon enrolling in college, I chose civil engineering because I enjoyed science, was fascinated by applications of math and really enjoyed construction. In order to become an engineer, or hold an engineering position, it is required to have a degree in that discipline. However, the analytical and problem solving skill set and knowledge that is acquired by getting an engineering degree can be used for so many other careers outside of an engineering position. Examples are sales, project management, starting a business and teaching. There are so many lucrative and rewarding options, and for that reason I highly recommend an engineering degree."

Earlier this year, Staley enrolled in California State University, Sacramento M.B.A. for executives program, and will graduate in July of 2015.

"I decided to get a master's in business to utilize my technical expertise and engineering background in a management and leadership capacity within our organization," she said. "So far, I have learned so much that I could not learn on the job. The EMBA program has gotten me out of a technical mindset to a much broader organization-wide perspective. For me, the EMBA program has been a process of discovering what I didn't know. As a leader, this is key because we're not expected to know all of the right answers, but to ask all of the right questions. The M.B.A. for executives degree is a great fit for anyone who aspires for a management or leadership role in their career."

Debbie Hall is practically a Las Vegas native (34 years and counting) and loves experiencing everything in Southern Nevada from the Las Vegas Strip to the surrounding mountains and Lake Mead. She also teaches at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and loves sharing her knowledge. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.