Microsoft Technical Manager Keeps Dallas Customers' Business Flowing
Shelly Joseph felt that she was bad at math but was excellent in reading. She was diagnosed with dyslexia in her late teens. When she was in high school, an electronics teacher showed her patterns in writing formulas that opened her mind and she found she wasn't bad at math, it was just the way that her brain worked in putting things together. Joseph excelled in technical aspects of electronics. Her teacher suggested that she look at DeVry University because it offered hands on learning. He said that she could look at being an engineer or a programmer in the computer industry.
Joseph earned her Bachelor's of Science in Electronics Engineering from DeVry University, a Master's of Business Administration and a Master's of Project Management from Keller Graduate School.
"I wanted to make computers better, faster. I wanted to tear them apart and see how to improve them. I used that same mindset when I worked at Hewlett-Packard as a mission critical customer engineer. A customer who had spent millions of dollars on a computer system had a problem. I had four hours to get to the client site and then get the customer's computer system up and running. Because of the way my mind worked, I had already solved the problem in my head," said Joseph.
"Technology is what most businesses today run on and I had a great command of that but found that I didn't have a thorough understanding of business. While pursuing my master's there were some things that I knew I needed to fill my learning gaps and have credibility in meetings with my customers. My M.B.A. gave me exactly what I was looking for," said Joseph.
"I learned to not procrastinate because I didn't know what would happen later in my work-week that might take up the time I needed for my school work," said Joseph.
My biggest reward in earning my master's degrees was the knowledge I gained. I thought I knew business well but there were things I didn't know. Now I can sit in on a conference call, executive or project meeting, engineering review and lead those conversations. Before I was limited to just one field now I'm well rounded and understand how to communicate to people in all levels of business and technology leadership.
"More women need to be in technology. Women write it off as being a guy's profession. It isn't a 'guy's thing;' it is a people thing. Education is a fantastic adventure if you let it be," said Joseph.
Robin D. Everson is a native Chicagoan who resides in Dallas, Texas. Her appreciation for art, food, wine, people and places has helped her become a well-respected journalist. A life-long lover of education, Robin seeks to learn and enlighten others about culture. You can find her work at Examiner.com
