Career Path of an IT Manager at Public Bay Area Biotech
Harold's initial foray into IT began pre-college with an IT sales job to fund education, but the role focused heavily on customer service and upselling rather than technical work, "they didn't let me touch a computer". College courses emphasized programming and high-level math, which Harold found largely irrelevant to hands-on IT work, leading to an exploratory detour into pre-med, ultimately solidifying a path in IT management rather than medicine when Harold's brother excelled in organic chemistry.
IT Sales, Career Path, College Experience, Upskilling, Job Expectations
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Harold Wong
IT Manager
Public Bay Area Biotech
CUNY, NYU
NA
Computer Science
Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical
Cyber Security and IT
Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Early exposure to IT through sales role: Despite not being technical, it sparked interest and provided initial insights into customer service and upselling, valuable skills transferable to various IT roles.
2. College curriculum mismatch: The interviewee found that the programming and high-level math taught in college were not directly applicable to their day-to-day IT work, highlighting the importance of practical experience and continuous learning outside of formal education.
3. Exploration of alternative career paths: The interviewee's attempt to pursue a pre-med track demonstrates the value of exploring different options and not being afraid to change course, even if it means deviating from initial plans or expectations.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Do you have any internships or jobs that you had before your current role?
My college path was kind of unusual. I first started in IT sales, not even in a help desk role. This was a job to pay for college, even before I started.
I was handy with technology and people asked me to help them fix their computers or upgrade them. I thought, "This seems like a good field. I'll turn it into a job, and that job will pay for my college, which will then give me the education to further my career." That was my understanding, but it was completely different.
In IT sales, I wasn't allowed to touch a computer. My job was customer service and upselling. People came in for computer checkups, and I would try to upsell them on extra RAM or hard drive upgrades. It wasn't what I expected.
In college, since IT and technology were relatively new, the focus was on programming. I hate programming and rarely use it in my day-to-day work. I only use it to craft specific web integrations and plugins. Normally, I don't touch the coding or scripting side of things, and once it's set up, it's done.
I feel like what I learned in college didn't apply at all to what I did. Especially in the early days, they tried to teach us really high-level math, which I never used. It felt like a waste to learn calculus, differential equations, and integration when they weren't applied at all.
After I got my first degree, I considered going pre-med. Being Asian, there was pressure to achieve more. While volunteering at a hospital, everyone encouraged me to pursue it. I tried, but my brother, who is three years younger, ended up in the same classes. He got an A in organic chemistry, while I didn't. Now he's a doctor, and I guess that's why I'm not.
Advizer Personal Links