{"402271":{"#nid":"402271","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Advice from the Wise: Kathy Pham","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2007, Kathy Pham earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech, and in 2009, she earned a master\u2019s in Human-Computer Interaction from Georgia Tech-Lorraine (GTL) and Superlec. Read on to learn more about Pham\u2019s experiences and her advice to graduate students starting their careers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your current job title, and where do you work?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI most recently resigned from my role as a program manager for Google Search to serve full time at the new U.S. Digital Service as the senior health data advisor to the U.S. chief data scientist. I have worked in many roles including associate product manager, software engineer, software consultant, and data scientist.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy did you decide to go to graduate school? Why Georgia Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI didn\u2019t decide to go to graduate school until just one month before graduation, when the GTL and Supelec opportunity was presented to me. I was offered a stipend to go to GTL in Metz, France. I got to go live in France, continue studying something I love, and tell my parents I was doing something useful with my life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is one thing you wish you\u2019d known about graduate school that you weren\u2019t aware of early on?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EGoing to graduate school outside of the country is a great idea! It\u2019s a great time to pursue your dream program or go live in a different country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat role did your graduate advisor\/mentor play in shaping your career?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJames Foley, Professor, College of Computing, was my advisor. Since my senior year as an undergraduate, both he and his wife, Marylou Foley, have been great mentors. They introduced me to others who would later help me with my career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy would you recommend that people spend the time and money to pursue a graduate degree?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI would actually recommend finding a program that will fund you to get your graduate degree, master\u2019s, or doctorate. Funding comes from sources like grants, stipends, and teaching assistant positions. Also, I think people should go for a graduate degree if it is in an area of study they really want to pursue. If the program or field of study doesn\u2019t make them feel this way, I wouldn\u2019t recommend spending the time and money on doing this.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDid you participate in the co\u2010op program? How was your experience?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EYes! I co\u2010oped at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). I had a great experience with great mentors and peers. GTRI allowed me to see what it was like to work for a government contractor. I learned C# (programming language) and got to work on campus, and take a class at the same time. But I felt that the GTRI work environment was not the best fit for my interests and passion, so I explored other opportunities. Eventually I got an internship with Google as an associate product manager, and the study abroad program in Barcelona, Spain. Instead of co-oping for all four terms, I interned and studied abroad.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow has earning a graduate degree assisted you in your career?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe most valuable part to me about graduate school was the GTL program. I lived in France, became acclimated to the culture, traveled often, and worked with international students from around the world. When I work with teams from different countries around the globe, I am always cognizant of time zones and cultural differences. Across the world, we run meetings differently, answer the phone differently, have different work schedules, and take breaks differently. My experience with GTL prepared me for making it a norm in my life to consider each individual and each culture as I interact with people from around the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat three pieces of advice do you have for students searching for a job?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u2022 Be sincere. Learn what interests you the most, and pursue opportunities that would allow you to work in that area.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u2022 Shake off rejection. It happens all of the time. There are plenty of opportunities out there. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u2022 Be audacious. Reach out to that senior executive whose talk inspired you at a conference. You never know where that will go.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your number one interviewing tip?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch and fully understand the company you\u2019re interviewing with. Know the major cause of its loss in productivity, its greatest assets, and give some thought to how it should grow.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow important is networking to a career? Please share two to three tips for students.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ENetworking is critical. I think the best kind of networking is the organic, natural kind of networking. Develop great relationships by doing great work with team members, professors, teaching assistants, peers, and colleagues. One day, these people may be at the company you really want to join or may be starting a new company \u2014 and they may well remember that you were their rockstar team member!\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2007, Kathy Pham earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech, and in 2009, she earned a master\u2019s in Human-Computer Interaction from Georgia Tech-Lorraine (GTL) and Superlec. Read on to learn more about Pham\u2019s experiences and her advice to graduate students starting their careers. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In 2007, Kathy Pham earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech, and in 2009, she earned a master\u2019s in Human-Computer Interaction from Georgia Tech-Lorraine (GTL) and Superlec. Read on to learn more about Pham\u2019s experiences."}],"uid":"27569","created_gmt":"2015-05-06 12:29:50","changed_gmt":"2022-05-26 17:09:36","author":"Vivek Kannan","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-05-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-05-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"402261":{"id":"402261","type":"image","title":"Kathy Pham","body":null,"created":"1449252000","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:00:00","changed":"1475895122","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:02","alt":"Kathy Pham","file":{"fid":"75922","name":"img_2950.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_2950.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_2950.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6075720,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_2950.jpg?itok=l4oPr5zm"}}},"media_ids":["402261"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.grad.gatech.edu\/","title":"Graduate Studies and Research"}],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2694","name":"alumna"},{"id":"2180","name":"co-op"},{"id":"4407","name":"Graduate Student"},{"id":"115131","name":"kathy pham"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EVivek Kannan - Student Communications Assistant - Office of Graduate Education and Faculty Development\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["vivekkannan01@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}