Career Path of a College Student at Intuit
Initially a pre-med student due to family influence, Henry pivoted to sociology after realizing "my motivations were all wrong" during a hospital volunteering experience. Their diverse work history, including temp jobs and an Apple internship which they declined to finish their degree, ultimately led to a role at Intuit, launching their career.
Career Exploration, Overcoming Challenges, Job Search, Networking, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Henry Sohn
Partner
Morado Ventures LLC
UC Berkeley
n/a
Anthropology, Sociology
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing), Technology
Finance
Disabled, Immigrant
Video Highlights
1. Henry's career path highlights a pivot from pre-med to sociology, showcasing adaptability and self-awareness.
2. His diverse work experience, including summer jobs and an internship at Apple, demonstrates valuable skills and networking opportunities.
3. His decision to prioritize finishing his degree over a full-time job at Apple shows commitment to education and long-term goals.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please include any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
When I was in college, I started as a pre-med student. I think this was mostly because many of my friends were pre-med, and I didn't really know what else I wanted to do. My parents were also the type who wanted us to become either a doctor or a lawyer. So, I initially went down that path.
About halfway through college, while volunteering at San Francisco General Hospital, I had a realization. My motivations were wrong, and I didn't have a strong interest in helping patients. I decided this wasn't the right direction for me.
I pivoted around the middle of my college career and explored the social sciences. I took courses in economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology, eventually settling on sociology. I ended up earning a degree in that field.
During college, I also worked consistently. I had summer jobs, often through temp agencies that placed people at various companies. Back then, before computers were widely used, these roles were usually as typists for companies needing people who could still use typewriters.
However, these places often had their first personal computers. I knew how to work them and ended up doing tasks on them. I also worked in restaurants, law firms, and banks during my summers, with some of those jobs continuing into the school year. This gave me diverse exposure to different environments.
In my last year at Cal, before the final year, I went to the TA eight building, which were temporary buildings next to Evans Hall. They had a career counseling service there. They were advertising an internship at Apple Computer to be a customer support representative, answering phone calls.
I applied for the internship and luckily got it. It was a full-time position, so I took a year and a half off from school. After the internship, Apple offered me a full-time job, but it required moving to Austin, Texas, as the entire group was relocating. I didn't want to move and wanted to finish my degree.
I declined the offer and returned to Cal to complete my degree. That exposure and experience at Apple helped me get my first job after college at a company called Intuit. Today, they are known for products like TurboTax and Quicken, which is what they started with. That's how I got my start.