Career Path of an Associate Director of Contracts at a Fortune 500 Aerospace and Defense Company
Daria's career path began with an early interest in process improvement, leading to a business degree at UMass Amherst, which she augmented with legal studies after a successful battle with the university over financial aid. A pivotal experience was a co-op at GE Capital, followed by securing a position at current company through a career fair, driven by a strong "personality wise" fit, showcasing a proactive approach to career development and a knack for identifying opportunities.
Overcoming Challenges, Career Development, Resilience, Networking, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Daria Sayan
Associate Director, Contracts
Fortune 500 Aerospace & Defense Company
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Arizona, MBA
Legal & Policy, Business Management & Admin
Aerospace, Aviation & Defense, Government & Public Sector
Operations and Project Management
International Student, Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Overcame financial aid challenges and a legal battle with the university to pursue her education and even added a legal studies minor.
2. Successfully navigated bureaucratic hurdles to secure a co-op at GE Capital and later a full-time role at her current company.
3. Developed valuable problem-solving skills from early jobs and a short-lived landscaping business, using those experiences to inform her career choices and avoid manual labor long-term.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with why you chose your major in college? Please also include your experience in college and any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
Absolutely. I always knew I wanted to be in business. My first two jobs were at a dry cleaner and working the floor at a garden center.
I was always noticing when there was a process that could be improved or something was inefficient, like inventory control methods or throwing a lot of stuff away. That's kind of how I knew I wanted to be in business.
Eventually, I went to UMass Amherst and studied business, specifically Brick School Management. During college, I worked in the dining commons to help pay for school. By my sophomore year, the school retracted some of my financial aid due to income limits.
I got into a long legal battle with them. I even volunteered at one of the children's law centers to befriend a lawyer who worked on these kinds of cases to help me out. Eventually, I won.
Because of that experience, I added legal studies to my major because I became really interested in it. In my junior year, along those lines, I started a small landscaping company called Designs by Daria. It wasn't very successful, but I learned a lot of hard lessons. Most importantly, I learned that I didn't want to do manual labor for the rest of my life. That was the most valuable lesson learned.
Things really took off in my senior year when I landed a co-op at GE Capital. My school initially said co-ops like that weren't part of their curriculum, but I was able to fight against the bureaucracy a little bit and eventually got them to add it. So, I worked at GE Capital for nine months during my senior year and still finished school.
In the spring of my senior year, there was a career fair, and my current company was there. I knew I wanted to be in a leadership development program but wasn't sure which company or function. I talked to a lot of people at the career fair and then went to the booth of my current company.
I immediately knew that was going to be it. It was such a good match personality-wise and with what the job entailed. The person at the career booth clearly had good taste and talent, as he ultimately became the vice president. So, that all worked out well. That's kind of how I got from looking for my major and internships to my current role.