Graduated: 2020
What was your MCS program of study?
I majored in Mathematics and Computer Science at UTM from 2015-2020.
What did you learn while at UTM?
Easily, the most important thing I learned was time management. I now look back to when I was juggling projects, essays, and test preparation for different courses (with different teammates). Being forced to plan how to approach each task, reprioritize work, and keep teammates happy was an invaluable experience, and is essential in my job today.
Can you share with us your career story to date?
I was fortunate to get a 16-month internship as a QA Analyst with Proofpoint in 2018! Despite my title and though I did a fair bit of code testing, I was also given chances to try other things, such as even setting up a new data center, which was pretty cool.
After my final year, I returned to Proofpoint as a DevOps Engineer. Simply put, I’m a software engineer for our software engineers, building tools to boost their productivity. Since then I’ve been promoted, and have become an SME on certain topics, and now it’s already 2024!
Any advice on career planning and job search?
I’m only 5 years into this career with the same company, so I’m aware that my view is quite limited. That being said, the best advice I can give is to network with experienced professionals. Regardless if they’re direct or through mutual connections, here are a few reasons why:
- In a lengthy career they may have specialized in various roles in tech, and will have worked alongside many people in many roles. They can give you their unique experiences that you won’t find in the job description, and that you can factor in when planning your career.
- After speaking with enough people, you’ll notice a lot of overlapping responsibilities between tech job titles. Keep those conversations in mind when job searching, so you can widen (or shorten) your criteria.
- Practically, they could be your reference when applying for jobs, which is the best kind of help you can ask for in this highly competitive job climate.
Can you share any industry insights?
There’s been a huge push for AI in the tech industry over the past year, and companies (I can speak from experience) are heavily investing time and money to reap its projected benefits. If you’re planning to work in software, you'll have more options with a machine learning background. Don’t just be limited to university courses, there are so many low-cost platforms and online resources that you can just experiment with.
How can MCS students connect with you?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juwon-obatolu/
Website: https://josusb.com/
