Career Path of a Senior Technical Project Manager at Specright
Tessa's career path was unconventional, starting with an art history degree and a year as an au pair in France before transitioning into business operations roles. Driven by a natural inclination toward "managing projects and organization," their self-directed project work, coupled with CAPM and PMP certifications, ultimately led to their current senior technical project management position.
Project Management, Career Exploration, Non-Traditional Career Path, Professional Certifications, Overcoming Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Tessa Frey
Sr. Technical Project Manager, PMO Special Projects
Specright
University of California, Irvine - 2013
N/A
History, Art History
Technology
Operations and Project Management
Honors Student, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Tessa's career path was non-traditional, starting with an art history major and evolving into a successful career in technical project management.
2. She gained valuable project management experience by actively taking on projects in various roles, even before formally becoming a project manager.
3. Earning relevant certifications like CAPM and PMP was crucial in advancing her career in project management.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path? Please start with your experiences in college, any internships, or jobs you had leading up to your current role.
My career path wasn't super traditional. I was an art history major at the University of California, Irvine. I originally thought I would get a PhD and then be a professor.
However, I gained a lot of experience doing what professors do, and I loved the teaching side but not the research and writing. So, I went on a bit of a journey after graduating.
I ended up traveling for a bit, working as an au pair and nanny in France for a year. When I returned, I started working and got a French-speaking role, which helped me move into business operations.
I've always been interested in managing projects and organization. I gravitated towards that in all my jobs. Even while experimenting in other roles that weren't project management, I always took on projects wherever I was.
This led me to get a CAPM certification from the PMI. That then led to a project manager role in software. After that, I got my PMP certification, and now here I am. I did not take a traditional route to this job at all. It was a humanities major, and I just did what I liked in any of my jobs, which led me to where I fit.