Entry Level Positions For Aspiring Program Managers At Deliverr
Nicholas, a Senior Program Manager at Deliverr, advises that a traditional path in consulting or investment banking first provides valuable "generalist perspective" and essential skills before transitioning to a startup. Entry-level roles such as analyst positions, operational roles, or software engineering roles exist, but Nicholas suggests these are often better suited after gaining experience in larger companies, noting that "mature startups want to see people with some experience".
Career Exploration, Data Analysis, Problem-Solving, Teamwork, Communication
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Nicholas Fong
Senior Program Manager
Deliverr
UC Merced, 2014
None
Economics
Technology
Strategic Management and Executive
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Gain generalist experience and soft skills by working in traditional industries like consulting or investment banking before transitioning to a startup.
2. Consider analyst roles, which often involve data manipulation and analysis, if you have a business-related undergraduate degree.
3. Explore entry-level operational roles in operationally intensive startups or software engineering roles in tech-focused startups, but be aware that experience is often preferred for these positions.
Transcript
What entry-level positions in this field might an undergraduate college student consider?
I don't think a lot of people go directly into startups, to be honest. I think the usual path that I see is people spend a couple of years working in a traditional industry, like consulting or investment banking.
I think that gives a good generalist perspective and an ability to gain that toolkit. This isn't just the hard skills, like manipulating data through spreadsheets or writing SQL queries, which first and second-year analysts do a lot of. It also involves learning softer skills like how to work with other people and how to work on deadlines.
I'd almost recommend for most people that going down one of those traditional paths and then reassessing things after the second or third year is a good starting point. This is usually when competitive firms tell you it's "up or out."
Besides that, it depends on the undergraduate field. If you come from a business side, like I did studying economics, there are sometimes analyst roles. It depends on the type of training your university gives you for an entry-level position.
Analysts are typically expected to write some basic queries and be able to manipulate data. They also have operational roles. If you're working in a startup that's more operationally intensive, there might be entry-level operations roles.
For the other side of a startup, which is usually technical or engineering-related, there are often entry-level software engineering roles. However, I've also been seeing more often that especially mature startups want to see people with some experience before hiring for those roles, even for startups.
I think it goes back to that point: entry-level positions in traditional industry might be a better path initially. It also helps to get a taste of working at a big company and then spending a bit more time talking to people within the startup industry to see if that's what you really want to do.