From early co-op challenges to landing a role at Google, UBC Mechanical Engineering alum Elysha Htan shares how curiosity. persistence, and people skills shaped her path.
- Employer: Google
- Degree: Bachelor of Applied Science
- Program:
- Campus: Vancouver
Finding Her Fit in Mechanical Engineering
Growing up in East Vancouver, UBC was always on Elysha’s radar. But she didn’t seriously consider engineering until her final year of high school. At a UBC open house, she stopped by the mechanical engineering booth and asked a student, “What’s so cool about mechanical engineering?” The answer stuck: “Mechanical engineering is anything that moves. You can do anything.”
That flexibility appealed to her, especially as she was still figuring out what she wanted to do. At the time, UBC’s biomedical engineering program didn’t exist, so she planned to pursue mechanical engineering with a biomedical specialization.
From day one, she was focused. “I remember thinking, I need that A-minus average they say is the cutoff, so that’s what I’m going for.” She was accepted into both the program and specialization, but a second co-op term changed her direction.
Shaping Her Career Through Co-op
Elysha completed three co-op terms during her degree, each one helping her clarify what she wanted, and didn’t want, in a career.
The first position was tough to land.
I think I applied to 100 or 200 jobs, it was a little demoralizing… I was one of the last of my friends to get a job.” But the process of applying widely and learning from early interviews helped build her confidence.
Her first co-op was at a small, electrical-focused consulting company. There she was able to gain valuable hands-on experience, including multiple site visits, and learned about what kind of company she wanted to work at post-graduation. “I realized I didn’t want to be in a small company like that,” she says. “It felt like, where would I grow, where would I go?” Her second role at a biomedical company showed her that highly specialized work in a niche industry wasn’t the right fit either. She met many engineers with graduate degrees and thought, “I don’t think I have it in me to do another two, four, eight years of school,” she says. The long multi-year product cycles also didn’t appeal to her.
Her final co-op was at a larger product design company focused on cameras and security systems, showing her a new side of mechanical engineering. “I realized it was cool getting to do product design,” she says. “I remember seeing the cameras that they had designed at the SkyTrain station while I was commuting to and from work, and being like, wow, I actually really like that.” Seeing tangible results and working on larger-scale products left a lasting impression.
Her Move into Big Tech
After graduating, Elysha made a bold leap, moving to Chicago for her first full-time role as a Product Design Engineer at Google.
Graduating during COVID and having spent her entire life in Vancouver, she felt ready for a change. Inspired by a former co-op colleague and close friend who was interviewing at top tech firms in the U.S., Elysha threw her hat in the ring. She applied widely to roles at tech companies near major cities, and credits her earlier challenges with helping her build resilience and confidence in interviews.
I had a lot of trouble getting that first co-op. But by the time I was applying for full-time roles, I’d done a dozen interviews, and that experience helped.
Navigating U.S. employment came with its own hurdles, but once she connected with a recruiter, Google’s legal team guided her through the visa process.
At Google, she works on the mechanical design of Pixel phones. “We make sure everything fits inside the phone, and that it doesn’t break when you drop it,” she explains. Her team designs components like heat sinks, brackets, and screws, using manufacturing methods like injection molding and diecasting to create durable, compact hardware.
While her past experiences, especially her final co-op, helped lay the groundwork, much of her learning has happened on the job. Designing for millions of units is its own challenge, but “I'll see the billboard with the Pixel on it, or one of my friends will tell me ‘I just bought a Pixel’, or I'll see someone on the train holding it, and I'm always like, I know that phone, I worked on that phone.”
Lessons Beyond the Lecture Hall
While every job requires technical know-how, Elysha emphasizes the importance of soft skills.
Be comfortable asking questions and asking for help. You might worry you’re being annoying, but people have told me they actually appreciate it.
This willingness to reach out helped her connect with TAs, land her Capstone project with a Walt Disney Imagineering team through a cold LinkedIn message, and now build relationships with mentors at Google.
Group projects in university also helped her navigate different personalities and improve her communication skills that have served her well as she’s adapted to new work environments, including her move to the Midwest.
Her Advice to Students
“Don't be afraid to try things. Even if they're scary, even if you might be bad at them.”
Elysha started out thinking she’d go into biomedical engineering, but changed direction. Her first co-op was tough to land, and her design team experience wasn’t ideal. But each step taught her something. “That’s all part of the learning. I tried a lot of things while I was there, and I think that served me well.”
