Claudia Johnson Herman, Engineering LDP Sr.

Claudia Herman, 2008

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
B.S. Management Science, 2004

I work at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. Since I’m in the Engineering Leadership Development Program (ELDP) my job title is Engineering LDP Sr. But once I’m done with the program I’ll go back to the Operations Analysis group and my job title will be Systems Engineer Sr.

Right now I’m in a Finance Rotation and I’m helping several programs prepare for an audit coming up next year. Since most of our programs are with the government, we get audited every so often. I’m also learning how the money gets allocated and how to set up the accounts so people can charge to the correct activity.

I would definitely recommend MS as a major. It gives you such a variety of opportunities because you learn both engineering and business. You learn so much from the classes where you have group projects. Although a lot of people don’t like the group projects because it’s hard to coordinate with everyone’s schedule. They give you real life experience of how to manage your time, how to work in a team environment and how to deal with different personalities. It was a great experience for me and it gave me a strong foundation for my career.

Kevin Lavelle, Analyst

Oliver Wyman FZ-LLC
B.S. Management Science, 2008
President’s Scholar, 2007

I work for Oliver Wyman as an Analyst for the Dubai office which serves as headquarters for Oliver Wyman’s operations throughout the Middle East and Africa.

What do I do in this job? That answer literally changes every day, which makes this job even more exciting. Essentially, Analysts at Oliver Wyman perform research and do analysis on a range of different topics. Your responsibilities depend entirely on the project you are staffed on and your specific role on that project. I have been responsible for research and data collection, complex quantitative and qualitative analyses, working with clients, and developing strategic models. In reality, my job changes every day, and I get to learn about all aspects of businesses from creation to redesign across a variety of companies throughout many different industries.

I would recommend Management Science as a major because the various components of the major come together to teach you to think critically. I would recommend that students also take as many finance and accounting classes as possible in order to build a solid foundation in business fundamentals.  The most important skills coming out of university are critical thinking and problem structuring, and the classes offered in this major help develop those skills.

Tabatha Olaechea, Advertising and Sales Coordinator

Replay Sports Monthly, Franchise Sports Marketing
B.S. Management Science, 2004

I currently work for Replay Sports Monthly, a DFW Sports & Lifestyle Publication, and for a Sports Marketing Agency called Franchise Sports Marketing. With Franchise Sports I work directly with the Founder & President of the company, overseeing all the marketing aspects of current and new contracts and deals we have set in place for our players. We mainly represent Dallas Stars hockey players and Texas Rangers players. With Replay Sports Monthly, I am the Advertising and Sales Coordinator, overseeing all aspects of ad content in the magazine, advertising contracts and producing events with sponsors and advertisers of the publication.

I initially entered Engineering because it ran in the family and figured it would be a great career to have… it was hard, but totally worth it! I would absolutely recommend EMIS! I changed my major from EE to EMIS, during my last year at SMU because I wanted to have some knowledge of the business world as well as engineering. EMIS was the perfect solution because it was still in the School of Engineering but still had the business and business management aspects that I wanted to learn about. I can now work with technical people but can also relate to the businessman that doesn’t know anything about the technical aspects; it’s great…and apparently it’s rare to find. Having studied Engineering has really opened a lot of doors for me because employers perceive you as an analytical thinker, problem solver, and someone that can pick things up quickly, in addition to knowing business aspects… They love it!

Sky Noyd, Systems Integration Analyst

Accenture
B.S. Management Science, 2008

Basically, I work with the client to gain understanding of how they currently operate their business. I then work with them to understand where they would like to be. This could be anything from downsizing to expanding globally. I then work with my team at Accenture to design and build a system to meet their demand. Five months out of college I never thought I could have these sort of experiences with the largest companies in the world.

[Would you recommend Management Science as a major?] Yes. You gain a sound understanding of business optimization. Whether its a supply chain problem or a financial problem, I feel that my degree had provided me with the tools necessary to compete in the world TODAY. Also, I the curriculum was very flexible. I was able to obtain degrees in Management Science, Mathematics, and Economics. All in four years. You won’t find that flexibility anywhere else.

Laura Bailey, Business Technology Analyst

Laura Bailey, 2008

Deloitte Consulting LLP
B.S. Management Science, 2006

Great to hear from you! I would be happy to go into detail about my current job and how my SMU degree served as a perfect platform prior to launching into a full-time career.

First off, I’m glad you are still teaching this class for undecided first-years because I think that that was my biggest question when entering the engineering school for me and others. Meaning, many of us were strong in math and analytics so we started off on the Management Science route, but the question still lingered upon what to do with the degree upon graduation. I have found the answer: Consulting!

As you may remember, I initially entered into industry upon graduation at JPMorgan Chase within technology (first doing testing, then project management), but I found my roles to be less challenging than I had anticipated and I wanted a faster pace. I wanted to be able to travel and I wanted a lot of responsibility, even if I was an analyst at the bottom of the hierarchy. I didn’t know much about consulting, but I decided to apply to a few consulting firms during the Fall, after graduating that previous Spring. Long story short, I have now been at Deloitte for more than a year and a half. It’s great! Lots of travel, lots of opportunity (TONS!), and an amazing group of immensely talented co-workers who never hesitate to answer my questions or help me grow in the firm.

My role at Deloitte is as a Business Technology Analyst (BTA). So I am a BTA within Deloitte’s Oracle practice. At a high level, I’m a practitioner specializing in Oracle 11i E-business Suite, spanning every stage of the Order to Cash business process and I’m involved in every stage of the project lifecycle from requirements gathering to go-live. We perform large-scale, global ERP implementations for clients across all industries, specifically looking to upgrade, consolidate, or change their financial systems.

My typical week is:

• Monday: fly out of Dallas to client site (currently staffed in the Silicon Valley, 40 minutes from San Francisco)
• Tuesday through Thursday: Work hard and meet with clients on-site once I get in on Monday through Thursday afternoon (responsibilities include anything from helping solve/solution any business problems or customizations the client may need to managing client resources overseas to configuring the modules within the order to cash thread to building out a project plan, etc. It can be very challenging, but you learn quickly)
• Thursday night: fly back to Dallas
• Friday: Work from home (hopefully Friday serves as an easy day after 4 intense days at the client)

Also, it’s worth mentioning that I plan to attend grad school in 2010. Deloitte does not require their analysts to go to b-school, but will support and pay for those that decide to take this route. Consulting is great experience prior to entering an MBA program so I’ve been actively researching schools that I’m interested in (currently looking at Kellogg, Stern, Columbia, Tuck, and McCombs).

In summary, since Management Science is in the engineering school, I think there is a lot of emphasis on moving into a technical career post-college, but it’s actually kind of a hybrid degree between business and technology. Because of this, I think students graduating in Management Science are very marketable to consulting firms (especially Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, Bearing Point, etc.)

Hopefully that gives you a good snapshot of my career path. Let me know if you would like me to expand on any of the above. And if any of the students need additional convincing about choosing Management Science, let me know!

Kyle Kidd, Senior Manager

Deloitte Consulting LLP
B.S. Management Science, 1995

I work with clients to help them optimize their supply chains. This means driving benefits through lower inventory, lower operating costs and higher customer service. My projects have involved a wide variety of specific initiatives but a lot of them focus on:

• Improving forecast accuracy through the use of advanced mathematical models and process improvements
• Improving inventory planning through statistical calculations based on known variability
• Improving how companies allocate supply to forecasts (master production planning, distribution planning, shop floor scheduling)
• Lowering total landed cost of a product by calculating the trade-offs of different scenarios and considering the balance of production, inventory, transportation and other costs
• Determining the optimal distribution network based on the cost trade-offs of different scenarios

Most of my work has been for large consumer products companies like Tropicana, Frito-Lay, Kraft and Heinz.

– Would you recommend Management Science as a major? Why?

Absolutely. Most of my work falls directly in the sweet spot of what Management Science is all about - using math to solve business problems. MS will give you a skill set to know how to calculate and model complex situations to drive tangible, real value which is very important - especially in this economic environment.

Matt Hale, Investment Banking Analyst

Merrill Lynch & Co.
B.S. Management Science, 2008

I work at Merrill Lynch & Co. as an investment banking analyst. I model debt and equity offerings, mergers, joint ventures, acquisitions and divestures. I create presentations of the material I prepare and manage the processes for each of those types of projects. Engineering was a great thing to have on my resume, and I believe it very much helped my resume grab attention.

Rachel Potter Goodman, System Engineer (Level II)

Rachael Goodman, 2008

Raytheon Corp.
B.S. Management Science, 2006

I have had the AMAZING opportunity to be part of Raytheon’s Leadership Development Program in the contracts and business development functions upon receiving my B.S. in both Management Science and Mathematics in May 2006.

The LDP is a two-year rotational program focusing on professional development, contracts specific training courses, leadership development through seminars and mentoring with upper-management, cross-functional training and interaction, exposure to more than twenty different Raytheon facilities and all six businesses, and networking with both Raytheon’s internal and external customers.

Also, while I was in the LDP program, Raytheon supported my desire for advanced education and helped fund my MSEM degree from SMU. Because of the 4+1 program SMU offers I was able to graduate in May 2007.

In May 2008, I graduated the LDP program where I decided to participate in another cross-functional assignment. I am now working as a Senior Systems Engineer in Plano, TX for the Future Combat Systems Program for the U.S. Army. In my current role, I perform reliability predictions, modeling and simulation, failure analysis, and system integration for the medium range electro-optic sensor that will be placed upon the war fighter’s Army tank.

Choosing Management Science as my degree was one of the best and smartest decisions I have made in my career so far. What other engineering degree allows you to work on the business side and engineering side at the same company? Management Science combines core engineering principles, while exposing you to the broad area of business so you are infinitely more marketable because of the depth and breadth you bring to the table.

If students have particular questions they are more than welcome to email me!! (rachelgoodman1121@gmail.com)

Katy Moffett, Senior Consultant

Katy Moffett, 2008

Deloitte Consulting
Outside hitter, SMU Women’s Volleyball
B.S. Management Science, 2004

I am still working for Deloitte Consulting as a Senior Consultant in the Human Capital practice. I am currently on a project in New Jersey working with a company who is outsourcing their HR functions (Payroll, HR, Benefits, Recruitment, Compensation, etc.) to an Outsourcing Company. My role on this project is to analyze their current system requirements, document them, implement the new system, test the new system, and provide support after they have successfully transitioned to the new platform. I have also worked on a variety of other projects ranging from technical implementations of new PeopleSoft payroll systems to mapping current processes and procedures and standardizing them across business units in various countries.

I think that my degree in Management Science has helped me at my job because I am able to understand the technical side and the business side of my projects. While I do not work on the fully technical side of projects, my computer programming classes have helped me to understand what needs to be included in functional specifications for systems and even helped me to write some pseudocode for a very complex enhancement on a past project. My business classes have helped me to understand the business issues that drive companies. I think the degree is the perfect combination of business and technology, which enables graduates to be flexible in the types of jobs they choose after college.

I still think about my Senior Design project whenever I hear Baylor Hospital on the news. That was a really fun class and I think that the project really helped to prepare me for my current job. If you need anything else please let me know. I really valued the classes that I took in school and all of the help that you gave me during my time there. I still miss the summers too!

Brandon Ha, Systems Engineer

Brandon Ha, 2008

Raytheon Corporation
B.S. Management Science, 2008
Valedictorian, SMU School of Engineering

I am currently an employee of Raytheon at the St Petersburg, FL Site. My title is Systems Engineer (Level II). A Systems Engineer has multiple functional roles through out the life cycle of a system, ranging from systems requirement, proposal, to integration, evaluation, and testing. I am ‘fresh’ in the field and can’t tell you much about it. Currently, I am working on an intellectual research and development (IRAD) project, in the knowledge management/knowledge discovery (KM/KD), and information fusion (IF) domain. The research is about Resource Management and Course of Action Analysis. In short, it is about putting the right resources in the right places at the right time to perform the tasks on the set of objects of interest. My goal is to get it submitted and published in a technical journal at the end of the year. As it sounds, it is a complex Operations Research problem. My background in MS/OR prepares me well for this assignment.

My personal message to the prospective engineering students: “Management Science is a good major for those of you who like to solve problems and have the ability to see beyond the ordinary. I use the skills I acquired everyday at work, at home, and anywhere I go. It makes me a better decision-maker.”