What are the odds of a student graduating with a master鈥檚 degree in sociology and entering the work force as a marketing analyst for an aviation company? That鈥檚 what happened to Onttu Lindeman, who graduated from 成人头条 State in 2007 and went to work for Cessna Aircraft in 成人头条.
Although Lindeman didn鈥檛 realize it at the time, the work experience he received through WSU鈥檚 Cooperative Education and Work-Based Learning program altered his career path.
Onttu Lindeman
鈥淲hen the position to work for Dr. Kathleen Perez came up at 成人头条 State, I got a chance to use most of the skills WSU had taught,鈥� said Lindeman.
Those duties included updating lead economic indicators for the 成人头条 greater metro area and Kansas.
Lindeman is certain that 成人头条鈥檚 location and real-world connections affected the education he received in the classroom in ways he can鈥檛 quantify.
鈥淎s for real world, it taught me far and above statistical methods that are used in everyday business,鈥� said Lindeman.
And he says the experience he gained at 成人头条 State gave him an advantage over other graduates.
鈥淭hat advantage is largely gained by a 180-degree change from undergraduate classes to graduate classes,鈥� said Lindeman. 鈥淢y technical skills were far above those who competed against me, according to the marketing director who hired me (at Cessna).鈥�
Real-world experience
Gaining real-world experience while at 成人头条 State also made a difference for Lindeman.
鈥淗aving a master鈥檚 degree played the largest role, but that extra bit of experience sure helped,鈥� said Lindeman. 鈥淚 think most students should try the fields they plan to work in before taking their first career job.
鈥淵ou have to show value added in the private sector; any way to do that helps. One of the most valuable things you can show a prospective employer is 鈥業 have done this before and I can do this again.鈥�
鈥淪ure, they may understand you just graduated and are not expecting you to have a resume a mile long, but if you can show any direct in-field experience, you will elevate above the rest,鈥� said Lindeman.
At one point, Lindeman was interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in sociology, but the programs he was interested in were out of state and he wasn鈥檛 ready to leave Kansas.
鈥淚 started evaluating local companies I wanted to work for,鈥� said Lindeman. 鈥淎t the time I had a short list all in the manufacturing sector, and Cessna was the first to make an offer.鈥�
Two job offers
In fact, Cessna offered Lindeman two jobs, one in marketing and one in engineering. He felt the marketing job was a better fit.
Being a market analyst involves research on a project and the market in general. According to Lindeman, the project research side involves working closely with advance design engineering, and the marketing side involves ultra high net worth customer research.
He was drawn to his present career after an introductory sociology class, and the logic of the field appealed to him. Sociology at the undergraduate level was blended with psychology; however, the research and analytical piece came alive at the master鈥檚 level for Lindeman.
He credits WSU sociologist David Wright for strengthening his problem-solving skills by teaching formal processes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 that problem-solving that I enjoy most,鈥� said Lindeman. 鈥淭his training allows me to know how, when challenged with a problem that is beyond my education or skills, to use this formal process.
鈥淒r. Wright taught a very analytical no-nonsense program. While I have to be diplomatic, sometimes the data says what the data says,鈥� said Lindeman.