Essay Topic:

What are your professional goals? How do your past and present experiences relate to those goals? (approximately 750 words)

“What are your professional goals?” I kept shouting the question into the crisp air that was already getting chilly. Walking aimlessly on the streets of the Silicon Valley, I had the fear that the answer might be blown in the wind.

I knew I had come to the cross-section of my life. That was all because I had come to the Silicon Valley. Upon completing my Master’s program in Computer Engineering at ## University and cherishing the American dream of becoming an accomplished software engineer, I arrived in the summer of 1997 in Silicon Valley where I first worked with ##. as a technical assistant (acquiring experiences of implementing projects for clients in various fields and involving diverse technologies, like ## and ##, and laying a good foundation for technical management) and then in 1999 with ##, Inc. as a senior engineer, responsible for developing ## Protocol. Finally, I joined ## System, Inc. that specialized in Internet security products. As key designer, I developed Online Transaction Authentication System, with VISA as our biggest client and Citibank and other major credit card issuers as our prospective clients.

With the bubbles of IT industry bursting in quick successions in the second half of 2001 and the occurrence of “Sept. 11 Terror Attack” that blasted away the last ray of hope of an immediate American economic recovery, ##, which was busy preparing for becoming a listed company just a few months ago, shifted all its software development and maintenance to India and laid off all the software engineers in the US. Naturally I was on the layoff list. On the very day of my layoff, my wife told me she was pregnant. To make matters worse, I was a H1 Visa holder. If I remained unemployed for over two months, I had to leave the U.S. The alarming downturn of the IT industry made it virtually impossible for a foreigner to be reemployed within two months.

That year I was 30 and according to traditional Chinese values a man should be well established in his profession or business at that very age. “Do you mean to be a frustrated, despondent, crestfallen, and out-of-job father to a new-born babe instead of a persistent, goal-oriented achiever?” I asked myself.

Two months later, I was boarding a China-bound plane, not because my visa was going to expire, but because I was going to work as senior engineering manager based in ##, responsible for developing Video Conferencing and Online Education System on behalf of ##, Inc.(invested by ## located in ##, ). “I will make it!” were my farewell words to my wife and my mother who had come over from China to look after my wife.

As leader of a 15-member R & D team consisting of three groups, I coordinated the intra-group research and development in addition to solving technical problems and performing quality control. Within three months, we turned out our first new product and with my managerial skills duly recognized by the top management, I was promoted to be associate engineering director. Apart from product development and market expansion, I assisted CTO explicate ##’s ideas and product orientations to its investors to win their confidence in our business operations.

My success with ## heightened my determination to become a senior manager of IT industry at a major multinational company. However, I was soberly aware of my weaknesses. My career was primarily characterized by technical management and to become a senior manager I had to build up skills in business administration. This realization motivated me to join ##, Inc., a software developer. As general manager of the Department of Project Management, I oversee 20 subordinates including project managers, presale engineers, technical support engineers, testing engineers, and project administrators. My responsibilities include (a) market development, presale planning and demonstration, devising business proposals and bidding for contracts; (b) optimizing business plans, appointing project managers and setting up project teams; (c) supervising project implementation, communicating with clients to ensure the final acceptance of the projects; and (d) providing user training and technical support. I work in close collaboration with both the Marketing Department and the R & D Department. The Statistic Meta Database we developed for China National Bureau of Statistics is expected to be adopted by 78 ministries and commissions of the Central Government and 31 provinces in the year 2004.

My past and present experiences, on academic, technical and administrative levels, all point to the professional goal of becoming a senior manager of IT industry at a leading multinational company. My unique Chinese and American backgrounds, particularly 4-year work experience at the Silicon Valley, has made me familiar with the situation of IT industry across North America and Asia. My 10-year professional experiences, encompassing both technical and administrative work, will be the best subject matter for my MBA education and your program is all that I need to effect a turning point in my career.