Meet Boeing Seattle electrician Carrie Perez: ‘My favorite thing about what I do is knowing that the crews out on the flight line rely on me’
Facilities and Equipment Maintenance internships develop aspiring manufacturing talent
Boeing electrician Carrie Perez talks about her military and intern experience and how they helped her career. Photo by Eric Olson
“Go for it. Don’t hold back. Don’t question yourself. If you’re already in this line of career education, you’re meant to be here. Don’t second guess yourself. If it was easy, everybody would do it” is the advice Carrie Perez, a Boeing electrician in Tukwila, has for potential interns.
A Navy veteran, she leveraged her experience by attending North Seattle College and then landed a Boeing internship in the summer of 2017. Her internship helped prepare her for her current role and gave her the opportunity to gain hands-on experience inside the walls of the Boeing factory. She worked with electricians doing electrical maintenance and also had an opportunity to work with the technicians.
Perez is now a full-time Boeing employee, working as an electrician for Boeing’s Military Delivery Center in Tukwila where she takes care of all of the GSC 400 Hertz ground equipment. She handles all of the ground power support for aircraft at the site, which include the KC-46 tanker and the P-8.
Her advice for anyone considering applying for an internship, “Do it. You won’t regret it. Take the opportunity and take advantage of the ability to get in, ask questions, put your hands on equipment, and learn from the people who have been doing it. It’s going to give you an advantage and a foot in the door when you’re looking at interviews or applying for jobs, because you will have the real-time, hands-on experience.”
Perez also shared what makes her job meaningful: “My favorite thing about what I do is knowing that the crews out on the flight line rely on me and they trust me. I am able to get equipment up and running and see them say, ‘Yeah, we’re going to make our delivery date’ or ‘We’re going to be able to pass this inspection,’ because I’ve done a good job.”
For more information on the community and technical college manufacturing programs that Boeing partners with, visit Core Plus Aerospace.
By Catherine Rudolph/Eric Olson
