Careers Explained

Learn what a Senior Operations Research Scientist at Wayfair does, how Ryo Kimura got into this role, and what career advice he has learned. He received his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in Mathematics and his master's and Ph.D. in operations research from Carnegie Mellon University. His previous work experience includes being a research Fellow at GE Global Research and a Data Analysis Intern at Compassionate Care Hospice. Timestamps: 0:28: An overview of what a research operations scientist does 1:09: His typical roles and responsibilities 4:59: What the software engineering aspect of his roles entails 6:10: An example of the projects he works on 9:17: The typical timeline of his projects 10:57: What he likes about the role 12:04: Challenges of the role 13:05: The education requirements for his role 22:09: Advice on applying to operations research roles 23:23: General career advice

In this interview, Grant Sheely will share what he does in his current role, how he got this role, and some career advice he has learned. He received his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in Math and Physics, with a minor in Environmental studies. His work experience includes being a Green House Gas Inventory Intern at Oberlin College, a Sustainability Coordinator at Vornado Realty Trust, and a Project Manager at MaGrann Associates. He is now a Codes and Policy Project Analyst at the New Buildings Institute. We discuss: 1:13: What he does in his current role 2:23: What a typical day is like 4:09: What his general schedule is like 5:02: How many projects he works on at a time 5:51: The type of work his projects entail 7:13: How social his role is 8:01: An example of his projects  9:41: The typical timelines of his projects 11:01: What the job training is like 12:10: Prerequisites needed for the role 13:39: An overview of the required certifications for the role 16:32: Challenges of the role 17:50: What the on the job training is like 19:46: How he got into this field and role  24:27: Advice on career exploration 25:54: How to explore this industry without a formal job 27:20: Advice on networking 28:29: General career advice

Jack Armstrong shares about his career path and current role as a Financial Services Representative at Barnum Financial Group. He received his bachelor's degree from Providence College in Business and Managerial Economics and his previous work experience includes being an Account Manager with Coastline Risk and working at the front desk of the Cape Cod Country Club. We discuss: 0:39 - What he does in his current role as a Financial Services Representative 2:17 - The educational courses required to move up from his role within the company 3:53 - How to take certification courses 5:14 - What a typical day or week is like for him 6:35 - Barnum’s company culture 7:10 - Overview of what customer outreach entails 9:01 - How long outreach phone calls last 11:21 - What the on-the-job training is like 12:22 - The long-term trajectory of the role 12:57 - The typical timeline for moving up 1437 - What he likes about the role 15:16 - What the industry is like 15:36 - Challenges of the role 16:27 - Industry drop-out rates 17:24 - How success is measured 17:53 - His company’s culture around competition 19:06 - What made him interested in this field, position, and company 20:58 - Prerequisites to apply 22:41 - Most important qualities for the job 24:19 - Advice on how to explore whether this role is a good fit 26:14 - Types of roles that can help you gain experience 27:22 - General career advice

In this episode, Nolan Piatkowski describes his career path and current role as a Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Analyst at IMAX. He received his bachelor's degree from Northeastern University in Finance and Business Analytics. His work experience includes working as an FP&A Coop at Salsify and as a Corporate Finance Coop at Boston Consulting Group. We discuss: His current role: 0:44 - Overview of his current role 1:36 - His roles and responsibilities  2:33 - The timeline of his tasks  6:27 - How many projects he works on simultaneously 7:03 - What a typical day looks like 7:39 - How social his role is 8:34 - How collaborative his assignments are 9:47 - What he likes about the role  10:40 - Challenges of the role 12:00 - What the training was like 13:12 - Examples of specialties within IMAX Career path: 14:17 - What made him interested in finance 14:54 - Why he wanted to be an FP&A analyst 15:41 - Factors he did and didn't want in a role Advice: 17:12 - Advice on how to explore career options 18:25 - Advice when applying to jobs 19:27 - Networking advice 20:43 - Advice on how to set yourself up for success 22:25 - General career advice

Evan Carter describes his career path and current role as a cinematographer. He received his bachelor's degree from Davidson College in Political Science and after college has held many different filmmaking roles including being the Director of Photography on an Emmy award-winning PBS show and working on a wide variety of projects such as a documentary about feminists in Chile, and commercials for brands like Huggies and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. He is currently a Freelance Filmmaker, working as both a production company and as an individual part of a team in multiple roles. We discuss: 0:56 - An overview of his role  1:51 - The difference between cinematography and other filmmaking roles 5:44 - How he gets his projects 6:07 - The challenges of freelancing 7:15 - Aspects he likes about his role 8:06 - What a typical day and week is like as a cinematographer  9:24 - How much travel the role entails  12:02 - An overview of the film making process 14:23 - How many projects he works on simultaneously 17:07 - Things he loves about the role 18:44 - How he got into his current role 22:14 - How to get into the filmmaking world 23:42 - Advice on how to be proactive in getting into the film industry 25:15 - Advice on how to get film experience  27:14 - The culture of film sets 28:31 - Advice on how to network 31:39 - General career advice

In this episode, Jani-Mikael Kuusisto describes his career path in the corporate world and how he switched over to founding and running his own startup. We discuss: His current role: 0:27: Overview of his current role as CEO  1:26: His schedule balancing being CEO and a Director of another company 2:14: What a typical day or week in his role as CEO entails 3:49: His process of acquiring funding for a startup  5:18: What he does around proof of concept for his product 6:28: How social his role is 7:05: What he likes and finds challenging about his role  8:01: The signs of success for a startup 9:00: His role in recruiting talent  His career path: 10:26: The major steps of his career path 14:08: How he became CEO 15:53: What he learned he did and didn't want in a job 18:15: Opportunities to grow as a CEO Career advice: 19:52: Advice on how to be resilient  21:10: Advice on when to attempt entrepreneurship 23:19: Advice on how to balance practicality with passion in one's career 24:46: Advice on how to develop interpersonal skills 26:06: How to find job opportunities  27:17: Why everyone should think of themselves as an entrepreneur regardless of their career

In this interview, Gabrielle Mauro describes her career path from getting her degree in social work to her current role as a Senior Patient and Customer Experience Specialist for neurosurgery patients and families at Northwell Health. She received his bachelor's degree from Siena College in social work and her Master's degree in social work from Adelphi University. Her previous work experience includes working being a Teacher Aide at Nassau BOCES, a social work case manager at Bethany House of Nassau County Corporation, and a Coordinator of Neurology and Critical Care at Northwell Health. We discuss: 0:50: Overview of her current role 1:44: Examples of the types of programming she creates 3:41: What makes her role unique from patient navigators 4:40: What a typical day and week is like in her role 8:46: An overview of how she supports patients and families 11:25: Her most common roles and responsibilities 13:35: The frequency of the educational programming she runs 14:48: What she likes and finds challenging about her role 17:39: Opportunities for moving up 21:26: How she got into her current role 22:42: The major steps that led to her current role 27:46: Advice on how to ask for what you want 30:01: Advice on networking 33:10: Leadership advice 35:07: General career advice

In this interview, Kellie Bland describes her career path and current role. She is currently a Program Analyst at the U.S. Department of State. She received his bachelor's degree from Elon University in Communications and her Master of Arts in international and intercultural communication from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Her previous work experience includes working as an English Teacher Trainer for the Peace Corps, as a Shriver Peaceworker Fellow for Friends of Patterson Park, and as a Team Development Specialist for AFS Intercultural Programs. We discuss: 0:38: Overview of current role 1:29: Most common roles and responsibilities 3:07: The process and timeline for some of her tasks 4:55: How many projects she works on simultaneously 5:35: What a typical day is like 7:41: Examples of her work outside of on demand tasks  11:04: Additional roles of the job 12:56: The benefit of having diverse and dynamic roles  13:05: Things she likes and finds challenging about her role 14:44: Opportunities for moving up or into different roles 16:12: The process of moving up 18:26: What the training was like for her role 20:51: The prerequisites to getting into her role 22:55: The points of her career path that led her to this role 25:42: The job qualities she learned she did and didn't want along her path 28:03: Advice for reframing the question of "what do you want to do" 28:24: Advice for those who want to follow her path 30:38: Advice on how to explore career options  31:00: Career advice to decrease stress 

In this interview, Erik Schnurstein describes his career path and current role as a Manager of Change Management and Communications for Ford Motor Company, where he has worked for over 20 years. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in French and English and his Master’s in Business Administration from Lawrence Technological University. His previous work experience includes working as a Department Manager of Market Research for CX Group, as an Installation Coordinator for General Motors, and as a Project Analyst and Team Leader for Trilogy International. We discuss: 0:48: An overview of his current role  2:30: Examples of tasks in his role  3:46: His typical roles and responsibilities 4:30: What a typical day in his role is like 15:35: How many projects he typically works on at a time and their average timeline 18:43: Opportunities for moving up 23:33 Tips on how to achieve a promotion 25:30: Additional advice on how to move up 28:51: How he got into this career  34:05: The impact jobs that weren't on his resume had on his career path 40:30: Advice on how to figure out what you want to do 43:14: Advice on whether an MBA is helpful 45:54: Advice on how to strategize your professional development  48:29: Questions to ask yourself about what type of company to work for 49:12: Advice on how to effectively manage your time

In this interview, Mimi Schwanda describes her career path as a teacher and her current role as a high school Math Teacher and a Dorm Head at Episcopal High School. She received her bachelor's degree from Davidson College in mathematics and her Master’s in Education from the University of Virginia. Her previous work experience includes working as a teaching assistant in Andover Massachusetts. We discuss: 00:38: An overview of what she does as a high school Math Teacher and a Dorm Head 1:27: Her typical roles and responsibilities 4:53: Her typical schedule in a typical week 7:55: Her annual schedule 9:28: When she plans her lessons 11:56: Things she likes and finds challenging about the role 14:05: Opportunities for moving up 19:32: What the training entails for her roles 21:36: Why she wanted to be a teacher and work at an independent school 24:00: Why she chose to work at a boarding school 26:10: Advice for aspiring teachers 27:46: Advice on the interview and application process