What Careers Do Sci-Tech Students Want for their Future?
Software developer, data scientist, information security analyst and tech engineer are some of the hottest jobs recent graduates seek upon graduation. According to Forbes, eight out of thirty of the fastest-growing jobs belong to the fields of data, analytics, and programming– and the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics expects as much as a 36% growth in cloud scientist positions alone this year. IE School of Science and Technology students getting ready to enter the market recently shared their career dreams and goals and talked about how IE helps them build their future after graduation. biotechnology and pharmaceutics to data science and startupper, with an eye on creative ways to help society.
The diversity of sci-tech students’ desired career paths–biotechnology and pharmaceutics to data science and startup founder– is the best example of Sci-Tech students’ creativity, determination, and ambition.
Joana Rocha Camargo
Joana Rocha Camargo, a second-year Bachelor in Data and Business Analytics student, chose her degree with the objective of working in biotechnology and the pharmaceutical field, specializing in the creation of drugs and using data and AI to test chemical reactions, as well as the body’s response to those medicines through the computer.
“We can help solve those issues of diseases that are not so common,” said Camargo enthusiastically.
She said IE School of Science and Technology guides her in achieving such a noble goal and that she most enjoys classes like Data Analysis and Algorithms structure, since they help her deepen the knowledge in the field.
“In that job [of biotechnologist], what I could be doing is analyzing individuals’ scores, characteristics, diseases. The creation of the systems, testing tools that I will be using would also go into algorithms and data structures that we study.”
Beyond her academic endeavors, Camargo said IE University offers opportunities for enriching her C.V. and enhancing her knowledge in her chosen field. She is an officer in the IE Coding Club and is responsible for Tech IE Conference’s partnerships, where she hosts events with renowned professionals that facilitate networking and learning more about the field of data and technology.
“IE gives you resources and directions,” commented Camargo.
Dyanna Rivera
Dyanna Rivera, a third-year Computer Science and AI student, explains her choice of degree more by her love for coding and working with numbers rather than having particular career prospects in mind. However, innovations in healthcare and natural sciences with regards to technology have made Rivera an enthusiast interested in biotechnology. She aims to work in the pharmaceutical sector and hopes to help run simulations to develop treatments for genetic testing for different drugs.
“I would like to do analysis for them [pharmaceutical company], run though their data and do operations. It is hard work but it’s really interesting,” said Rivera.
Rivera said many IE departments and services aided her in creating such a rewarding student journey, but emphasized the help of the advisory program, the free guidance from an assigned professor. She is in close contact with her advisor on themes like plans of graduation, help with individual projects and career counseling.
“I feel very fortunate that at IE you get such individualized attention,” Rivera said.
Nathaniel Zeidel
Nathaniel Zeidel, a second-year undergrad who studies Data and Business Analytics, was influenced by his brother’s work in data when choosing a degree. Although studying a technological subject, Zeidel wants to apply the knowledge he is getting at IE to his future in a more humanistic field. Zeidel said he wants to combine art and analytics, so he strives for a career in creative programming, a field that is becoming increasingly popular in branding, advertising, and design.
“I think I am very creative, but, as a child, I did not stick to any hobby. So, maybe with programming I think I could express myself,” said Zeidel.
As an example of being artistic with data, he referred to several options like Spotify and VR.
“I would like to work in a humanistic field of data. I love music, so working for Spotify, analyzing what music people listen to –and why– would be cool. Or I would also love to work in the Virtual Reality field, as it is up and coming.”
Francisco III Alba de los Reyes
Francisco III Alba de los Reyes, second-year Data and Business Analytics student, aspires to a career in data science and engineering, where he could apply all the mathematics he enjoys. To achieve his goal, Alba said he invests himself in classes like Algorithms and Data Structures that give him practice before stepping out in the real data world.
“It is very applicable for jobs in the future for me,” says Alba.
Besides classes, Alba makes time to take advantage of other learning opportunities IE offers. Last year, he took part in the Amazon Datathon, for which Alba and his group had to create a regression model in predicting the expected deliveries for Amazon Europe.
“The datathon is very important for my degree, it helped me learn a lot,” Alba said.
Zhen Yi Hu Chen
Undergrad Zhen Yi Hu Chen studies Business Administration and Data and Business Analytics, and this mix of degrees awakened her entrepreneurial spirit and made her think of starting her own business using her knowledge in data science. Being interested in e-commerce, Hu Chen said she wishes to use the technological part of her education to modify and adapt her business to the developing world.
“My main goal in studying BBA and data is knowing the fundamentals of business but also using data to optimize the processes and some tools to make the business more efficient, like creating a website and analyzing the clients,” shared Hu Chen.
Hu Chen praised IE’s support of young entrepreneurs at the start of their long path.
“IE is always open to listening to entrepreneurs and to giving them a chance to present their ideas, like the Bleane app,” referring to a start-up launched by two IE sci-tech students that created an all-in-one organizational app. In autumn, the app was tested exclusively for free among the IE community.
“I think that, if your idea fits IE values and company culture, they may be very willing to help and give visibility,” said Hu Chen.
Keti Sulamanidze
Keti Sulamanidze, second-year Computer Science and AI student, strives for the free spirit of work in tech. Sulamanidze prefers not to define her exact career path at this moment, since she said she believes that life is full of unexplored opportunities. However, she says she definitely wants to work in the technical field and explore intersections of entrepreneurship, computer science, and mathematics. She wants to tap into the trend of new generations, to contradict traditional corporate culture and create a more lifestyle-friendly work environment.
“At some point in my life, I want to create a business where people feel at their fullest potential and welcome at work,” explained Sulamanidze.
This year, Sulamanidze founded a Google Developer Students Club at IE, a space that resembles the type of environment that she wants to have in her future startup: people with a logical mindset expressing their creativity and building impactful solutions through technology. The club is an example of Google developers communities which are created by experts and students interested in Google technologies around the world. This gives the club tools and connections for inviting speakers from the professional field, specialists from other Google communities. Since the establishment of the club, Sulamanidze has organized several events regarding technical interview preparation, web development, and women in tech . This semester she is planning on conducting even more events with her team.
Sulamanidze established Google Developer Students Club based on her interests, with the idea that there are more people similarly interested in technologies among IE students.
“IE gave me a big opportunity to open this club, and they have been supporting me throughout this way,” said Sulamanidze.
Ivan Ryazantsev
Entrepreneurship is a pillar of IE University and every degree reflects this value. So ambitious entrepreneurs can be found even among first-year students. For instance, Ivan Ryazantsev has just started his Data and Business Analytics program and said he is fluctuating between a career focused on entrepreneurship or consulting.
“I would like to do strategy or business consulting and solve whether a company should enter a market,” shared Ryazantsev.
To widen his knowledge in the field, Ryazantsev attends various events dedicated to consulting and entrepreneurship, where he participates in solving a business-advice case or looking for future recruiters at the Talent Forum. Additionally, Ryazantsev said he plans to enroll in the Start-Up Lab, specially designed for IE students to bring their business idea to life and present it to investors.
“I want to boost my entrepreneurship development,” Ryazantsev said.
Pilar Toboso Cárdenas
Another entrepreneurship enthusiast is Pilar Toboso Cárdenas, a second-year Business Administration and Data and Business Analytics student, who has always been keen on numbers and grew up in a business-owning family. She decided the dual degree that IE offers suited her perfectly.
“I was looking through different degrees and could not find anything combining both fields. And then, suddenly, I came across IE and found this dual degree and I thought ‘it is everything I am looking for’,” Toboso said.
Throughout her five-year IE program, Toboso aims to get internships in technological giants and learn how to use data in business, so that, by graduation, she will be prepared to start her own initiative. In fact, Toboso said her desire to get real-world practice during her studies was one of the reasons she chose IE University. According to Toboso, the institution has great tools, like Datathons, labs, and clubs that help her dive into the real professional world.
“What else is interesting is that there [at events] you meet people from tech companies, but then, in labs you become one of those that work in those companies,” Toboso said. “You see how the strategies you learn apply to the real world.”
Toboso is a third-place winner in the Celonis Datathon that took place last November, which challenged students to create a statistics-based process mining model. Toboso applauds that what she learned in both business and data classes will be useful and relevant for real life problems.
“We applied a cluster analysis in order to create buyer personas, which includes both statistics and marketing. Everything is getting together through Python, the programming language that we learn in another class,” she explained.