Full Name: Victor Sanchez
Class Year: 2020
Major: Mathematics
Shadowing Visit Site: Amazon Robotics
Describe your visit and what did you gain from the experience?
When I first arrived at Amazon Robotics, Chad (HC Alumni) brought me into his office and gave me an overview of his position at Amazon Robotics. Then we talked about how he made his way to the position he was in now (Senior Director IT). Afterwards, Chad gave me a full tour of the Amazon Robotics office and warehouse (where they actually build ALL of the robots, and do all the testing and everything). Then I followed a schedule Chad had set up for me, to meet people in all different positions at Amazon Robotics. So I was able to meet people in all kinds of fields, such as computer engineers, electrical engineers, cybersecurity, business analyst, IT, etc. Within these meetings I was able to get a sense of all of these different possible careers, and was able to discuss with them on how they got to their position today and what sort of things they do on a day to day basis in their career. From this experience, I was able to get a better sense of the workforce, better understand many possible career paths I would like to take, create relationships with people in many fields that I am interested that I can now refer to if I have any questions about the specific career. Additionally, it gave me motivation, because the work environment there seemed so enjoyable. And it reassured me that I do want to go into the fields of engineering, mathematics, or CS. Lastly it made me realize the many possible career paths I could take with my specific major (mathematics).
How did this experience influence or connect to your future career plans/goal?
This experience was perfect for my future career plans because it solidified/reassured that I want to be a Mathematics major. It made me enjoy the field that I want to go into even more because actually seeing these robots in action was a surreal experience. I told myself “I 100% want to do something like this for the rest of my life.”
What is some helpful advice your alumni host shared with you?
My alumni told me that there are so many jobs out there that I could possibly do, to not limit myself because of my specific major. As well as to do what I want/enjoy because you have to remember you are going to be doing this for the rest of your life. So just think to yourself, do I see myself doing this for the rest of my life?
Why would you recommend the Alumni Job Shadowing Program to other students?
I truly recommend the AJSP to other students because it is really helpful. Doing the AJSP is a win-win situation because at the end of the visit you for sure know something, either you are interested in that field and would like to learn more about it. Or you will walk out of there and think I DO NOT want to do that for the rest of my life, and that’s one career off of your possible careers list. With that being said, it truly does help you decide what field you want to get in. Lastly, you are able to network with people in your potential field. So if you build and maintain a relationship with these people it can give you a reference to go to when you have a question about the field, and who knows, they might like you enough and help you get a job once you graduate!
