Curious what the pros think.
25 Y/o Persian American (will apply just before my 26th birthday)
Goal Schools: HBS / GBS / MIT / Wharton / UCLA
Post MBA Goal: Work to relieve poverty in underserved regions by transitioning into a blockchain startup that emphasizes building financial blockchain platforms that directly connect into remote regions of the world. Inspired by the promise of distributed networks allowing scale and services into markets that traditional infrastructure could not feasibly support.
GMAT -730 (Q49, V40)
May 2013- Dec 2015 (Full courses every semester including all summers)
Bachelors of Science in Security and Risk Analysis, option in Information and Cyber security from Penn State World Campus.
Penn State GPA: 3.70 ,
5x Recipient of Dean's List.
Certificate of Achievement from National Security Agency recognizing graduates of programs meeting NSA/DHS standard for cyber security professionals.
Fall 2010- Early 2013
Studied Computer Science at Cal Poly Pomona. GPA ~3.4
Expelled from all Cal State Universities during the first quarter of 2013 due to behavior incidents (minor drug offenses - no criminal charges or academic dishonesty) .
Elephant in the room...
2013 was a turning point in my life. I was forced to accept that my poor decisions had permanently damaged by life goals and I came close to giving up on education. After a lot of painful self reflection, I realized I had to go back to school and not be defined by mistakes but learn from them. I opted for online because I had to get back into school as fast as possible (UC deadlines were very far out) and work outside of school to support myself. My family couldn't help me heavily at this time so I privately tutored SAT/ACT Math and Calculus along with performed Computer Repair as my job while in school full time. I worked hard to move past this event.
Work History
Jun 2012 - Aug 2012: Robotics Research Apprentice at Cal Poly Pomona. Presented at Summer Synopsis my work with Robotics Operating System to control an Roomba Create
Aug 2012 - Dec 2014: Private Tutor for essentially all subjects grades 7-12 Math Pre-Algebra to Calculus 1, SAT/ACT prep, physics, and English.
Jan 2015 - June 2015: Solution Engineering Intern (hired full time in June) - I was one of 9 interns nationwide with over 1000 applicants total
July 2015 - Sept 2017: Solutions Engineer 1 (Support Team)
Sept 2017 - Present: Solutions Engineer 2 (Field Team - Security Specialist, Blockchain Specialty building)
Accomplishments/Other:
Next Leader Program 2017-2018 - Selected as a protege for a highly regarded internal leadership development program that is offered to less than 1% of employees each year.
Cloud Security Expert - Only junior engineer to join a subject matter expert team support a new product launch.
Cisco Cybersecurity Scholarship recipient - full courses and exams given by cisco for the CCNA Cyber Ops.
Penn State Alumni Ambassador - Jan 18-present
Certifications:
Cisco Certified Network Associate in Routing and Switching (CCNA R/S)
Cisco Certified Network Associate in Cyber Operations (CCNA Cyber Ops) **Security-based cert
Fortinet Network Security Expert level 3 (NSE 3)
Zscaler Certified Sales Engineer (ZCSE)
The rundown is, I'm currently a solutions engineer in a fortune 100 telecommunications company. I started as an intern where I worked 40 hours a week for 6 months while simultaneously going to school full time. After the 6 month internship, I was promoted and brought on full time but still was in school for 6 additional months until I graduated. During that time, I've obtained industry-relevant certifications, and was rewarded by being the only member of my team invited to attend a conference in Las Vegas alongside senior engineers. I've built strong relationships with team members and management, and am viewed as a consultant in security products. I've recently began working with our technology strategy team to build blockchain proof of concepts for potential customers. This is a side project to my day to day job of sales engineering. I'll be able to score glowing recommendations by former manager (until sep 17) and my engineering director.
I posted this before last year, but lots has changed since then for the better
Hi - Thanks for sharing! Think you will get some serious discussion at many of the schools. I would try to get as much management/leadership roles in your position. You seem very qualified - but will need some luck. You will likely want to try as many schools as practicable - and perhaps replace some of the schools you list with other top 10 schools that might be a more amenable to your particular history. Hope a bit of help.
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22 Mar 2018, 20:28
