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Macie VanNurden’s (B.S. ’22, industrial engineering) first stop in her journey from Wisconsin to Los Angeles was at Iowa State University majoring in industrial engineering with a sales engineering minor.

Being a first-generation college student with a mother who did everything to help VanNurden further her education and life path, VanNurden always felt the motivation to succeed.

“This fuels my drive and determination in all I do,” VanNurden says.

Growing up she dreamed of being a doctor. However, when VanNurden started getting queasy during blood draws, she realized it probably wasn’t the best career path for her.

With encouragement from one of her most influential life mentors, her high school principal, to continue exploring other career options, VanNurden eventually discovered industrial engineering.

“It seemed to be the perfect blend of my love for technical problem solving and fostering meaningful relationships.”

Sales engineering supplements industrial engineering focus

In her first semester on campus, she took IE 1480: Information Engineering taught by distinguished teaching professor Leslie Potter who taught students “IEs solve problems to help others.”

That was it. VanNurden knew industrial engineering was the right fit.

Not long after, she was introduced to Iowa State University’s student organization, Sales Engineering Club (SEC), and the sales engineering minor and never looked back.

One way Iowa State’s industrial engineering program really stood out was application of concepts to real-life situations. Going beyond the theory and the “on paper” factors when problem solving aligned much better with real-world practices.

“Numbers, processes and data can get us part of the way but thinking strategically and creatively with a common goal to ‘improve processes to help others’ takes things to a new level,” says VanNurden.

She also feels Iowa State helped her understand and learn the power of a team. While VanNurden typically likes to work independently, she’s learned the value and benefit of other perspectives and skills when working together.

“I use this in my role every day. There are team members who know more about products, others who know more about processes and even more people who have years of knowledge that can’t be found online,” says VanNurden.

VanNurden’s Iowa State industrial engineering experience prepared her for a career in sales in these ways, but her experience also included two Eaton Technical Sales internships.

Job in LA feels like a homecoming

In 2022, VanNurden began post-graduation work with Eaton Corporation as a part of their Technical Sales Leadership Development program. This program includes two year-long rotations to build the foundation for a successful career.

Her first year was as a project engineer in Asheville, NC. In this role, she provided post-order technical support for large and major projects to help strengthen her technical and commercial skills.

The second rotation was in Phoenix, AZ (one of five hub cities). VanNurden supported the Los Angeles sales team from Arizona as an inside sales engineer. This role was more pre-sale focused and included quotation and channel partner support.

VanNurden enjoyed having the opportunity to make monthly week-long visits to the Los Angeles area to learn more about the market and customers. Throughout these visits she shadowed Eaton outside sales engineers, attended internal and external meetings and social events.

“I even got to sit in the fourth row of a LA Lakers game!” she says.

This past July, VanNurden officially completed the program and rolled off as an outside sales engineer in Los Angeles, a place she’s always wanted to live and with a job that is much more customer-facing and dynamic.

“I have direct ownership of customer relationships and personal brand—it is almost entrepreneurial in that sense. I look forward to further developing my sales style and strategy while continuing to learn and serve in everything I do,” says VanNurden.

While at times hard work seems to go unnoticed or unrewarded, for VanNurden this is one of the first times she feels both professional and personal reward for her efforts. It also feels like a homecoming after supporting the same team in both her internships and previous roles.

“It is so exciting to have a feeling of ownership in my success.”