Belinda Dowdy Joins NC State Jenkins MBA Program’s Career Development Staff
“We are very pleased to have Belinda join our team,” said Linda Taylor, director of career development at the NC State College of Management and Jenkins Graduate School of Management. “Her academic and professional background as an electrical engineer and project manager, along with her extensive experience in personal and career coaching, complements the services we provide our MBA students, many of whom come from engineering and other technical backgrounds,” Taylor said.
Dowdy’s professional career includes 16 years’ service as an electrical engineer and project leader for multinational companies in the U.S., Germany, and France, as well as on U.S. Department of Defense contracts. She also has worked as a freelance technical writer and trainer while launching her specialty professional coaching practice.
In her coaching practice, Dowdy has helped small business owners reorganize their operations and counseled all-but-dissertation (A.B.D.) doctoral students struggling to complete their degree requirements.
Her coaching is based on years of experience that has included networking and researching business and labor market information to identify global and regional economic trends, and helping individuals and businesses adapt to those trends. Since 2000, she has helped over 6,000 clients advance toward new careers, run corporate career centers, and worked extensively with downsized executives as well as with hourly personnel.
Dowdy also has developed and taught a career assessment and planning course for Alamance Community College over the past five years, as well as on-site training classes for large and small businesses on topics that include leadership, teamwork, technical skills, and customer service.
She has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee and coaching certifications from the Coaches Training Institute (CPCC) and the International Coach Federation (PCC). She is trained in Satir Systems, certified to interpret the MBTI and the Tilt 360 Leadership Predictor, and is pursuing Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification.
Dowdy’s coaching work with A.B.D. doctoral students was cited in a Chronicle of Higher Education story about options for doctoral students struggling to complete their degree requirements. She also was one of the expert panelists in WUNC’s The State of Things discussion on “Surviving Your Layoff.” Currently, Dowdy also is a volunteer facilitator of the Chatham Job Club in Pittsboro, N.C.
Related Links
- Chronicle of Higher Education article regarding ABD doctoral students
