William's Growth Story: From DHSZ to Amazon

William Dai

-DHSZ Class of 2015

-Emory University, BBA in Information Systems and Operation Management (ISOM). BA in Mathematics

-The University of Chicago, MS in Analytics (MScA)

William graduated from DHSZ in 2015 and studied Business Administration and Mathematics at Emory University's Goizueta Business School as an undergraduate. He went on to graduate from the University of Chicago recently with a Master's degree in Data Analytics and has successfully transitioned into a new field of data analytics. Before graduating he already had a job as a data analyst at Amazon. In this article, we will tell the story of William about his career development journey.

The path of discovery is also a valuable experience

William's undergraduate degree was in business management with a focus on finance, information systems and operations management, and he chose mathematics as a second major because he had enjoyed it since high school. As well as being organised with his academic work, he also uses his time productively after class. William's years at DHSZ have developed his leadership skills and self-confidence. "It has been a pleasure to be involved in and manage the diverse events and CCAs at Dulwich. This experience has helped me to become more confident in many ways." Right after entering university, William worked as a maths tutor, answering students' questions and helping them communicate effectively with their teachers. In between his studies, he also interned with major companies in the US, Beijing and Shanghai, gaining work experience in marketing and data analysis.

In terms of undergraduate study experience, William believes that it is important to choose a major that you have a passion in. If you are also considering employment needs, it is advisable to research the job market and your career plan early. William worked in the US for a year before applying to graduate school, and accepted the offer from an education training organisation to see if he could start a business in this field. After doing so, he realised that the industry was not really his interest and that starting a business was challenging, so the idea of studying in graduate school came to him. After some exploration, William found out that Big Data was a very popular industry and was closely related to his area of expertise in mathematics, so he decided to go on that pathway.

Let your love show you the way

William was working and preparing for graduate school at the same time, applying to different universities and finally choosing the University of Chicago, based on his preferred major. William said that, while doing the graduate school application, his undergraduate GPA, activities and internships related to his major were very important. The application documents for graduate students are very much about relevant professional experience and love for the subject. Therefore, he advises students to start planning their career direction and goals earlier when they enter undergraduate studies, so that they can make the application process easier.

At the graduate level, William attends classes at the University of Chicago's downtown campus for a total of 15 months, with a focus on doing projects. The University of Chicago's Career Development Center offers activities such as CV guidance, internship and job services, and also arranges job fairs related to students’ majors. The University also encourages students to find their own internship opportunities through other channels, and William's postgraduate course has a strong programming component and application of mathematical knowledge. As William has been good at maths since he was a child, he has enjoyed his postgraduate course and has learnt it very well.

William's postgraduate studies are in demand in today's digital society. In his view, postgraduate courses are more interactive and some of them are project-based, so there are many 'hands-on' opportunities. In June last year, he successfully joined Amazon in the US as an intern, working on internal product feature development projects to improve user experience, database maintenance, etc. After the internship, William received a formal offer for a data engineer position at Amazon.

Discovering new scenery through trial and error

Looking back on his studying journey, William admits that although his undergraduate studies at the Business School were rewarding, he would have been more considered in his career planning if he had the chance again. However, it is because of these 'trial and error' experiences that William has learned and gained a clearer understanding of what he loves and what he is good at that he has returned to a path that is a #bestfit for him. He said, "I may look back on this journey some years from now and find it inadequate, but at least for the moment I'm happy with the path I've chosen."

In our opinion, it's because he is on an uphill climb that let’s him so easily notice areas for improvement. It's because he has discovered what he loves that he can fearlessly see it through. We wish William the best of luck as he continues to shine in the field he loves.