College Experiences That Helped an IT Manager at a Bay Area Biotech Succeed
Harold feels that college was "kind of a waste" academically for IT Management, but emphasizes the immense value of the relationships built with fellow students who can later provide career opportunities like referrals, calling it "a foot in the door." Harold suggests that taking advantage of relationship and communication building is more valuable than technical knowledge, drawing comparison to college dropouts who found success through their networks.
Networking, Relationships, Communication, Career Development, Job Search
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. Building relationships with fellow students can be more valuable than coursework, providing networking opportunities and potential job referrals.
2. College relationships can lead to opportunities at companies of interest and act as valuable references.
3. Take advantage of all aspects of college, focusing on communication and relationship-building alongside technical knowledge.
Transcript
What did you do in college to set you up for success in your career?
Okay. That's a doozy. I feel like college was kind of a waste. It was expensive, and I didn't really learn anything that applied to my field. Maybe if I became a programmer or something, it would have been more useful.
I would say the relationships are valuable. Other students are on the same journey, and they might join a company you want to join. You can bounce ideas off of them, and they act as good references.
They might say, "Hey, there's an open position here doing this. Do you want to join? I can give you a referral." It's a foot in the door. So, having those relationships and establishing that is, I think, more valuable than what you actually learn, especially if it's not tailored towards what you wanted to do.
A lot of billionaires now didn't even finish their college degrees. Some did, and some got honorary degrees, but a lot of them just went there to meet people and build their team. They created Facebook, they created this, they created that.
So, I'd say take advantage of everything, not just the technical knowledge you can get, but also the relationships and communication you can build with other people.
Advizer Personal Links