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GIX Graduates: Where Are They Now?

Date: February 28, 2019

The interdisciplinary, project-based nature of GIX graduate programs opens the door to a variety of potential career paths, positioning graduates for success in a diverse range of roles and industries.

Since GIX’s inaugural graduation last December, we’ve already seen a number of graduates transition into exciting, impactful positions. Some have chosen to work in large-scale global corporations like Alibaba, Baidu, Ernst & Young, AMINO Capital, and more. Others are pursing roles in startups, based both locally and abroad.

Meet a few of our graduates below and learn more about what they’re up to right now.

Amit Anand
Product Analyst at TableSafe in Kirkland

Can you tell us a little bit about your current position?

I’m currently a Product Analyst for a locally-based startup in Kirkland, TableSafe, where I work right at the intersection of product and technology. I collaborate closely with a cross-functional team, tracking sprints and quarterly releases with the Product Director, and discussing and documenting new API features with the CTO. It’s a really varied role!

How did you get the job?

I joined the company as an intern, and after interviews with the Product Director, Software Engineer, and Quality Analyst, I was offered a full-time position straight after graduation.

Can you walk us through a day in your life?

Every day is different, but it tends to start with overseeing incoming feature requests and entering them into the business backlog. Next, I either lead or join multiple meetings with developers and designers to figure out feature implementation. Afterwards, I follow up with our UI/UX designers to develop some initial wireframes.

Following my meetings, I have more meetings! I discuss and prioritize issues faced by our stakeholders with the QA and support team, and then meet directly with the Product Director to provide an update on sprint roadblocks, while planning for future sprints and quarterly releases.

Have your experiences at GIX helped you be successful in your role? If so, how?

Definitely. Through GIX, I’ve become a great team player. I understand the importance of the interplay between design thinking, technology, and entrepreneurship. Our student-industry project was also a good stepping stone into the world I’m a part of right now.

Annie Zhang
Staff Consultant at Ernst & Young (EY)

Can you tell us a little bit about your current position?

I’m currently a staff consultant at EY, where I work in cross-functional teams to provide technical and business solutions to many large-scale, multi-national businesses and corporations. Teams are constructed by senior managers on a project-by-project basis, and who is in each team depends upon the nature of the challenge and what expertise is required.

I’m primarily focused on the technical challenges, but it’s a huge plus that I also understand the business side.

How did you get the job?

I applied directly through Handshake, a UW career network and job-posting platform. After three rounds of interviews, I was offered a job in early January.

What inspired this career path?

I found out about technology consultancy through online webinars. The consulting process in general reminded me of what we did for our GIX student-industry launch projects­, which increased its appeal.

Like the consulting process, our launch projects started with a broad problem space. We then worked collaboratively with a partner company to determine the project requirements and clearly outline the scope. From there, we proposed technology solutions, created a prototype, and began the iteration process until both sides were happy with the end result.

This doesn’t feel so different from the work I’m doing now. When I interviewed for the jobs, I highlighted these correlations to help demonstrate my work experience.

What are your future career goals?

I plan to stay in consultancy, and either work my way up to a management position – accumulating skills in hardware and software – or leverage my experiences, clients, resources, and network to one day create a consultancy company of my own.

Jay Xiong
Machine Learning Engineer at Baidu

Can you tell us a little bit about your current position?

I’m currently working for Baidu on a small research team focused on a cybersecurity-related privacy topic. The project itself is confidential, so I can’t give away too many details. However, at a high level, our objective is to enhance the company’s influence in the field of cybersecurity and demonstrate Baidu’s ability to respond well to potential online threats.

How did you get the job?

My team and I collaborated directly with Baidu for our student-industry launch project. When it was time to start applying for jobs, I reached out to my contacts there directly.

What are your future career goals?

Who knows! I’ve thought about a few potential paths, such as continuing my research in this field and later pursuing a doctoral degree. However, I might also continue to work in the industry until I advance into a senior or management role. We’ll see what happens.

Want to learn more about the types of career opportunities open to GIX graduate students?

Read on here.