What career or personal update would you like to give to your fellow Florida Tech Panthers alumni?
Many years have gone by since my graduation from Florida Tech. A few months after I obtained my master´s, I move to Belgium, where I have been working ever since, first as an Application Engineer, and later as a Service Delivery Manager for a satellite communications company. During that time, I have had the privilege to meet many customers, gain extensive knowledge about satellite communications and travelled to remote areas, including a 6-month stay in Norway, as an embedded engineer. The last changes have happened in the last few months. In August I was promoted to Product Owner. After 5 years working and operations, I have also changed location and moved back to Spain, my home country, to work remotely as a consultant. This position has helped me reach a better work-life balance, so I can spend more So my former employer has become my client. Alongside with my full-time job, I have enrolled an Executive MBA at IESE Business School, so for the next 18 months I will be combining both work and study.
How did your time at Florida Tech help get you to where you are today?
My time in Florida Tech has definitely boosted my career. I already had some years of experience in the space industry when I decided to pursue my master´s degree. Shortly after graduation, I applied for a position of more responsibility, which required solid knowledge in project management. Coming from a very technical background (I am a telecommunications engineer), what I had learned at Florida Tech help me bridge that gap. In addition, the topics I covered in my studies helped me get some professional certifications, like ITIL or PMP, which are internationally recognized and highly regarded by many companies as an asset.
What is your favorite Florida Tech memory?
There are many, but I would highlight the business management work I did in the last semester. It was intense, very challenging, and we spent a lot of hours of hard work on it, but it was also very rewarding. In my team, there were people located in the U.S and Europe, so it was quite difficult to find a time slot where everybody could be available to join the team meetings. It was not easy to complete the tasks we were assigned, while ensuring the team project was progressing ahead of schedule, at the same time. But we had all the support we needed from the professors, and we had the opportunity to apply what we had learned to the real world.
Was there a mentor or professor who had a big impact on you personally and/or professionally?
I have good memories from professor Jeff Mitchell. He was my professor of Introduction to Space Systems, Space Power Systems, Space Propulsion Systems and Spacecraft Environment. He is passionate about the subjects he teaches and was able to transmit his passion to the students, despite the difficulty of rocket science. I also remember professor Alfred Menendez. He was my professor of Space Systems Astrodynamics. He was able to create a friendly environment in the class and made complex concepts easy to understand Something that makes the learning experience richer is that Florida Tech professors are also working professionals on the field, so they always share the application of their teachings to the real world.
Please share any advice you have for current Florida Tech students.
When I was undergraduate, I wanted to do my internship in a foreign country, so I Googled a lot of research articles related to my bachelor thesis, from different space agencies in Europe. Since the corporate email address of the authors was mentioned in the paper, I decided to go ahead and contact them to introduce myself. In the email, I would include some questions on the article, a brief presentation of my thesis, and I would ask them whether my work could be of any interest to their organization. I probably contacted over 30 professionals. Most of them replied to me to thank me for the interest but they did not need an intern back them. However, I received the reply from one manager who was working in the Centre National d´Études Spatiales (National French Space Agency). He was looking for an engineering student to create a software tool for the optimization of satellite communication links, which was in direct line with my thesis. After exchanging a few emails and a few phone calls, I was offered an internship to work within his team in the South of France. The most important lessons I learned from that experience (and my advice to you) are: think outside the box, try to find opportunities to take the initiative, and most importantly, networking is priceless. It is equally important to sharpen your soft skills as your technical skills. It will only open you more doors in your career and it will enrich your personal life.
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