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Career

This is my personal career from when I started college (Aug 2017) to the present.

Education​

If I could go back and change anything, I wouldn't. I was personally very happy with my educational career and felt that I learned a lot in the 8 years that I put into my schooling. I probably won't be doing a Ph.D or MBA though.

Georgia Tech (Jan 2023 - Jul 2025)​

  • MS in Computer Science
  • JPL paid for my entire education at Georgia Tech.
  • Balancing FT work and PT school was challenging as I was at a point in my life where school wasn't a necessity for my job.
    • When I started my master's, I knew that 2 years or however long it would take me to earn my degree would pass. I wanted to have my master's when the time passed.

Cal Poly Pomona (Aug 2019 - Dec 2021)​

  • BS in Electrical Engineering
  • Most of my time at CPP was during Covid so I didn't get a chance to have an on campus experience, but I still talk with one of my good friends in my graduating class.
  • I felt I would always be in electrical engineering, but work sometimes changes what I felt.
    • Be open to new opportunities.
    • In school I hated programming and thought I would never do it after I graduated. It's my career now and I can't see myself doing anything else.

Citrus College (Aug 2017 - Aug 2019)​

  • AS in Mathematics
  • I was very happy to start my educational career at a community college.
  • I made a lot of changes in my major while attending such as going from being a mechanic to a mechanical engineer to a electrical engineer.
    • There were a lot of non-traditional students when I attended who made career changes later on in their lives.

Experience​

JPL (Aug 2022 - present)​

  • Working for NASA and JPL has always been a dream of mine and I feel very satisfied that I am able to live that dream.
  • JPL does not pay the same amount compared to FAANGs or other tech companies, but the work I do gives me the income to do the things I want in my life while also giving me the work life balance to not be burnt out.
  • I personally think it's really cool to know my code is orbiting Jupiter or on Mars.
  • Historically, government work is more stable than private sector, but currently that is not the case.
    • Government work never gives stock options or RSUs that a private or publicly traded company offers.

Lockheed Martin (Jun 2020 - Jul 2022)​

  • I moved from SoCal to Denver to pursue this opportunity.
  • My first internship was fully remote due to the pandemic, but the second internship was not.
  • My internship was converted into a FT offer.
  • I was able to understand what I valued out of work and what jobs wouldn't be the best fit for me. I found that defense is not something I would work for again.
    • The people and code I got to write were really cool though. I just didn't like how my work was being used for.