Corrin Whitener ’22
Education: MS Management Information Systems Internship: Professional: |
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Describe your career and what led you to your current position. I began my college career here at Texas A&M in the Finance department. I graduated in May of 2020, right in the peak of the pandemic. At the time, I didn’t have a job offer lined up, and a large number of reputable financial institutions were on hiring freezes for the foreseeable future. At the same time, I had a friend enroll in a Master’s program through the quick-admit program that A&M had designed. I was already interested in MIS, at one point considering changing majors during undergrad, and I also knew that I wanted to get an advanced degree at some point in my life, so I decided to apply. The situation leading up to my decision to enroll here may not have been ideal, but I am thankful that it ended up working out for the better. What were your job responsibilities in your internship? How did the MS-MIS program prepare you for this position? I was responsible for pulling data from the necessary database, parse it and attempt to find trends and patterns. My job was very SQL heavy, and I was definitely at an advantage starting off due to my experience with SQL and database structures gained during my time in the MS-MIS program. What was your favorite course at A&M? Business Information Security (ISTM 635) was my favorite course I’ve taken at A&M. There were many difficult aspects to the course, but getting hands on experience and an inside look at how information security works was extremely interesting to me. It was astounding to me the number and breadth of tools concerning computer security that are available to both malicious and benevolent actors alike. What was the most beneficial course you took at A&M? Advanced Data Management (ISTM 622) was perhaps the most beneficial course I took at A&M. The course was designed to provide maximum hands-on experience without sacrificing the lecture aspect of the course. Learning about how databases are designed, built, and maintained was something that I think will be beneficial for any tech career, even if not explicitly managing databases. What advice do you have for someone who is considering returning to school to earn a master’s degree? I decided to pursue a Master’s degree for two reasons. The first is simply that I enjoy learning, and I knew that a Master’s program would delve deeper into material than is possible in an Undergraduate program. The second reason is that a Master’s degree (or other advanced degrees) can be leveraged to get access to better, more fulfilling jobs and firms. What is the biggest challenge you faced in graduate school? The biggest challenge I faced was my lack of experience in the field of MIS. I have always been adept at using computers, so going from Finance to MIS wasn’t extremely daunting. Still, I definitely had to play catch up in some aspects, such as coding and math, in order to get the most out of this program. What is the biggest reward for earning your MS-MIS degree? For me, it’s the comfort of knowing you have such a useful degree. Basically every industry requires technology for their business to function. Because of this, it’s possible to work in nearly any industry you please, whether it be healthcare, construction, finance, or software development. It is unlikely to ever be “trapped” in one particular career with an MIS degree. |
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