Emily Pyke
Meet Emily, I’m an Automotive Technician based in Guelph, ON, and a proud Conestoga College Motive Power grad. I work at Heffner Lexus, run my own platform called AutoCate, and mentor through Support Ontario Youth. My STEM journey started unexpectedly back in high school. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but after taking an automotive class just to learn how to change my oil, I instantly fell in love with the shop. From that moment on, cars and problem solving became my passion.
When did your love of STEM begin?
When I entered high school, I actually wanted to be a lawyer. I had watched a little too much legally blonde and thought that was what I wanted to do. Turns out, it is actually hard and you need to get good grades and stay out of trouble to be lawyer material, 2 things I struggled with. When I was 15, I got myself into a bit of trouble and my mom made me go live with my dad for a while, in a different town, at a high school where I didn’t know anyone. I was entering late into the semester so my choice of classes were limited, but they offered an automotive course. I decided to take it because I wanted to learn how to change my own oil on my own car one day. From day one, I fell in love with the shop. I’m sure if you listened closely, you would have heard an audible click as I found something I really loved, and to my surprise was actually good at. I ended up getting 99% in that class, and the teacher encouraged me to continue and see where it takes me.
What is the best part about working in the field of STEM?
My all time favourite part about working in automotive is that I never stop learning. There hasn’t been a day yet, where I walk out and say I didn’t learn something today. I love the challenge, I love the knowledge, I love that cars are changing every day and no two problems are ever the same.
A close second is always being active, I can’t even sit still long enough to watch a movie beginning to end. So being on my feet and working with my hands for a living is exactly what I needed to be doing.
What advice would you give young women interested in a career in STEM?
Go. For. It!
Don’t let anyone get in your way, and never take no for an answer. You are just as capable as anyone else, you can do it. That being said, it was difficult being a woman in the trades so find your community. There are way more of us now than ever before, so find your girls and support each other.
Tell us a fun fact about you and your current role!
When I first started in the trade, people told me that there wasn’t any room for advancement beyond your trade license. That has turned out to be false. There are so many opportunities to grow and switch careers, the learning never ends.