Section Three:
AN MBA IN YOUR STEM CAREER
USBE&IT magazine conducted an informal
Joan Robinson-Berry is an engineer with a stellar career.
survey among high-tech leaders asking the
She holds a patent in chemical processing and was the
question: Why do an MBA after a STEM de-
first ever African American woman to sit on Boeing’s
technology strategy council. But, she says, it was her
gree? Respondents agree that a combination
MBA that gave her the skills to drive strategy and de-
velop solutions. She advises wanna-be MBAs to gain
of a technical degree and business education
core competency in a technical field before pursuing the
provides a solid foundation for bringing in-
degree. Her supplier diversity team makes more than $5
billion annually in small and diverse business placements,
novations to the marketplace. Some said the
and she works to boost the ranks of minority STEM
specialists.
MBA helped broaden their perspective on
managing business and operations, while oth-
Joan Robinson-Berry
ers said the degree reinforced what they had Strategic Work
already learned about strategy, management
Placement IDS
Enterprise Small Business
and problem solving. One consensus was that
Liaison Officer
Boeing
the MBA showed them the connection between
finance and operations—gave business insight
that would have taken years to obtain, and
prepared them for senior positions with wide
organizational and financial responsibilities. In
short, an MBA combined technical know-how
One of Jim Wigfall’s proudest accomplishments is
with real-life monetary effects.
leading his 330-member group to save Boeing more than
$750 million through contracts negotiation, standards
Grad School trend watchers expect 2010 to implementation, and leveraging the spend of the entire
be a bustling year for grad schools. The Gradu-
company during 2007—the same year he obtained his
MBA. “I’ve had quite a journey to my MBA,” he explains.
ate Management Admission Test, which is used
“I started a few years after graduating from college, but
I moved to work at Boeing. At the time, there weren’t
as part of the admissions process at thousands many options while you worked. Then family and work
of MBA programs, was administered a record-
took priority.” Consequently Wigfall advises would-be
MBA’s to “obtain it early in your career.”
setting 246,957 times during the testing year
that concluded June 30, 2008. And though the
Jim Wigfall
recession has forced cutbacks in MBA recruit- Vice President,
ing, employers continue to place a high premi-
Shared Services Group
Supplier Management
um on people with an MBA or other graduate
Boeing
management degrees.
continued on page 63
60 USBE&IT | Fall/Winter 2009
www.blackengineer.com
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