Career Path Of A Firmware Manager At Zoox
Ryan's career path, beginning with college involvement in robotics and student government, was impacted by the dot-com bubble burst, leading to graduate school instead of internships. After graduation, the job market improved, and subsequent career moves, never exceeding five years at a single company, reflected a strategic approach to gaining "new experiences, new cultures, new environments," while recommending reevaluating career opportunities every three to five years.
Career Development, Overcoming Challenges, Technology, Job Search, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Ryan Gleim
Firmware Manager
Zoox
California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University
Computer Science
Technology
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Video Highlights
1. He participated in the DARPA Grand Challenge, which involved autonomous vehicles.
2. He emphasizes the value of changing jobs every 3-5 years to gain new experiences and improve one's financial situation.
3. Ryan highlights that he did not secure internships easily and decided to pursue graduate school to improve his job prospects after his undergraduate degree, eventually receiving three job offers after graduation.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path? Please start with your experiences in college.
What internships or jobs did you have before your current role?
College experiences were mostly focused on major courses and different groups and projects that had involvement and interests. I was involved with the robotics club periodically.
They also had something called the DARPA Grand Challenge, which was an early idea of autonomous vehicles navigating through terrain by themselves. I also participated in student government, which at Cal Poly was called ASI.
I also did community service, though I forget the exact name of that organization. These were my primary activities during college.
Regarding internships, I didn't really have one. I did some work at the college for a program that utilized software. This was during grad school.
Part of my reason for going to grad school was that it was at the end of the dot-com bubble burst, making internships difficult to obtain. When I inquired about internships, I was often asked if I had prior internship experience, which was counterintuitive.
I would advise others not to be discouraged if internship opportunities aren't readily available. I decided to pursue grad school because I couldn't secure an internship and wasn't finding a decent job that met my salary expectations with a bachelor's degree.
Upon graduating from grad school, I had three job offers from different companies. I chose San Diego as my preferred location, and one of the offers was there.
Since then, I've had several jobs. I haven't stayed in any one company for more than five years. I believe it's beneficial to move between companies to gain new experiences, cultures, and environments.
However, I do think it's good to stay at a place for at least three years to gain good insight and experience. In my field, especially in technology, it's beneficial to reassess your position every three to five years. This allows you to look for opportunities that can enhance your career and financial situation.
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