Networking Is An Important Aspect Says Philadelphia IT Entrepreneur
Adam Simons is the founder of a healthcare IT startup called, Cerora, Inc. Cerora focuses on supplying accessible and reasonably priced neuro-diagnostic information with a focus on concussion and Alzheimer's disease. Simons received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
What sort of education is needed to successfully do your job?
"Many different educational backgrounds can set someone up to be a successful entrepreneur. I believe keys are to have a broad set of skills, not be afraid to learn new ones, love business, and have a passion for creating value."
What is the most relevant aspect of your education that applies to your day-to-day job?
"Formally, I received my Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago with post-doctoral research at both Princeton University/NEC Research Institute (Princeton, NJ) and the École normale supérieure (Paris, France).
The most relevant aspect of my education as a physicist is the conception and creation of new tools to assess the human brain, the most complex object on earth with roughly 100 billion neurons, 10,000 times more connections, and millions of miles of "wires." Since we are developing biosensors that interface to a human to objectively measure some aspect of brain function, it is really important to understand the underlying semiconductor physics, the electrical and mechanical engineering to house the semiconductor sensors, and finally the software engineering to bring the whole system to life."
"It really helps to remain open to continuously learn new skills. Recently, I learned this is called a 'learning mindset' and this is a really positive attribute that my parents taught us as kids. I hope to continue to learn till 'the part with the dirt' as my mother-in-law likes to say."
What is the most fun aspect of your job?
"It is a lot of fun to design and build new tools that have never been put together before; I like to see things work. The collecting and analyzing of the data is enormous fun, especially when one gets to observe beautiful results for the first time, never before seen in the world."
What advice would you give someone just starting out in the field of technology?
"I would advise someone to get a great education and learn how to think creatively. Once you have that, a lot of possibilities emerge and one continuously generates choices in their career path. Also, to develop a 'learning mindset' and visit one of the excellent Philadelphia universities for business planning courses. It is important to find mentors if you can. And, lastly, it is an essential skill to learn how to network; folks need to learn to introduce themselves to strangers and be confident that an interesting conversation is about to take place with almost all of the people they meet."
Christina Thompson is a freelance writer living in Philadelphia. She reports on various topics such as: Social Media, Local Events, Entertainment, Food and Drink and more. Her work can be found at http://firstsendmedia.com/
