IEN Radio
IEN Radio
Gen Z in Manufacturing: Why Gen Z Needs to be Mentors for Older Generations
Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing, a podcast where I interview young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer.
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For this episode, I welcome Alexandra Bryant-Boose, a 27-year-old manufacturing automation engineer at Merck. Bryant-Boose became fascinated with manufacturing as she attended career fairs during undergrad at NC State. After earning a degree in chemical engineering with a concentration in biomolecular engineering and a double minor in microbiology and biotechnology, Bryant-Boose worked at Redbud Labs, a startup that develops microfluidic technologies.
After nearly two and a half years at Redbud Labs, Bryant-Boose transitioned to Merck and currently works as a specialist vaccine automation engineer, where her duties include preparing equipment for production, making coding updates to improve processes and troubleshooting daily issues.
Additionally, Bryant-Boose serves as a talent acquisition lead for Merck’s League of Employees of African Descent and co-leads a program that educates middle and high school students about careers in STEM.
Bryant-Boose was also recently named an Emerging Leader in manufacturing by the Manufacturing Institute’s 2024 Women MAKE Awards.
In this episode, Bryant-Boose discusses:
- Does Gen Z see manufacturing as a “dirty job”
- How Gen Z can influence automation
- What kind of mentorship employers need to provide
- Navigating an industry dominated by white males
- Using Gen Z workers to expose children to manufacturing careers
- Letting Gen Z mentor executives and older generations
- Why students don’t know about manufacturing
- Critiques regarding diversity in the workplace
Download and listen to the audio version below and click here to subscribe to the Today in Manufacturing podcast.