Prepare Yourself for the Career You Want

Name: Mingyang Yang 
Role: Senior Consultant 
Location: Indiana
Practice: Insights & Data 
Joined Sogeti: 2016

I have Mark Zuckerberg to thank for influencing my choice of career. When I was an undergraduate, I was a finance major in the business school. I saw “The Social Network” when it came out and went back to read the book the movie was based on, “The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal.” I was fascinated by his dedication and the work that he did with Facebook, and that made me switch gears and change to information technology.  

One thing that impresses me was his character; he’s not afraid to voice his opinion. He’s not passively obedient to authority, and he has his own way of fighting back. I think of him as a symbol for my generation, and he was a big influence when I was exploring my career path.

So, during my senior year, I applied to the information systems graduate program at the business school, and I was accepted. Before starting my graduate program, I went back to China for a year and worked as a product manager in the IT department at a bank. That was great because it gave me some real-life experience in my field of study.

I’m glad that I made the career change that I did, because it led me to a career that really suits me. As a consultant, you work on a project basis, which gives you an opportunity to work with a wide array of clients in several different industries.

During my first year at Sogeti—when I was working in the Digital Assurance & Testing practice—I worked with a medical device company to implement a warehouse management system. On this project, I had the opportunity to work with different vendors, client staff, and teams from Europe and Asia. Making a project successful is a collaborative effort that I really enjoy, and it allows you to make a lot of professional connections with clients who appreciate the work that you do.  

As a consultant, it’s very important to me that I continually learn and improve. Since I’ve been working at Sogeti, I’ve gotten several valuable certifications, including Project Management Professional (PMP) and Professional Scrum Master (PSM). You have to prepare yourself for that project that could prove to be a game-changer for your career. So, when this opportunity presents itself, you will be ready to take it.

I look to Zuckerberg as an inspiration, someone who was not afraid to be bold and put himself out there. We miss opportunities for greatness when we stay in our comfort zone.