With a background in aeronautical engineering, joining Boeing’s sales team was a whole new world for Istanbul-based Aslihan Karlidag. Now, back to her roots as an engineering leader, she’s putting her new skills to use and sharpening old ones.

What initially drew you to Boeing?

As an aeronautical engineer, Boeing is a dream company to work for. It’s the company I strived to work for.

Walk us through your career progression so far.

Sales was new for me, but my engineering background helped me understand customer needs. In turn, I got to work on my interpersonal skills. In every job I’ve had, I really needed both my engineering knowledge and the ability to communicate with others. It’s been great to hone those skills on the job.

What is your favorite part about your current role and responsibilities?

In my current role, I’m building a team of engineers in Istanbul. We have so much skilled talent here. I’m excited to bring all that engineering excellence together to create one productive team. It’s an exciting challenge.

What’s a fear that you had to overcome to get where you are now?

I had a lot of fears coming into my new role. I’d been out of traditional engineering work for a while. Boeing provides an online repository of resources called Degreed. It’s dedicated to helping employees learn new — or brush up on old — skills. Degreed helped me gain some confidence. It worked.

How did you discuss potential job changes with your manager?

I’ve been able to openly ask my managers what they think about opportunities and count on their honest feedback.

"Boeing has a unique culture. Managers truly want you to grow."

What advice would you give someone as they build their Boeing career?

Hard work is rewarded. Work hard and take advantage of all the learning opportunities provided.

We never stop learning

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