Carlson Goes West!!

Monday, November 9, 2015

Are you interested in cool gadgets and latest technology or do you want to make a difference in Tech industry? Do you want to know why San Francisco is called "Silicon Valley"? Being in Carlson you can get that experience in the "Carlson Goes West" treks!!

"Carlson Goes West" is a bi-annual event organized by the Graduate Business Career Centre of Carlson School of Management for MBA (Master in Business Administration) and MSBA (Master of Science in Business Analytics) students. The first trek is usually organized between the 2 terms of first semester, whereas the second trek is generally organized in January. Both the treks are planned to give students a better perspective of current market trends in Tech industry. During our first trek, which was a 3-day event, we visited San Francisco in October. We covered a perfect mix of small and large technology focused companies with varied business models. We visited few well established companies like Linkedin, OpenTable, BOX, EA Sports and a few upcoming companies like Ampush, Taskrabbit, Zynga and AirBNB.

If you think you need to be technologically savvy to be in Tech industry, you are mistaken. You just need to be passionate about the Tech world and you will get myriad opportunities. It is only about finding the right fit for yourself in the industry. Tech industry gives you a wide variety of career options, whether it is about in sales, marketing, customer insights, data analytics or product management roles.
The trek helped students understand the importance of analytics in this new data driven world. It gave students exposure on how digital marketing is playing a key role for the growth of companies. It also helped students understand how social platforms are being used to drive new growth for the companies. The wide variety of companies helped students understand the difference of working in a 50 employee company to a 10,000 employee company. One of the highlight in the West coast is the work environment in SFO. Each office has a different theme for eg. Zynga offices were based on gaming theme, whereas Airbnb meeting rooms are designed based on their top recommended rooms. Most of the offices are designed in such a way that there is enough place for teams to brainstorm and enough place for individuals to have quite personal space.

One of the best value addition of the trek was the Carlson Alum Panel event. The panelists consisted of a mix of Carlson alumni, having more than 15 years of experience to 2 years of experience. Each one of them shared their unique story, how they moved from Carlson to West coast. They helped us to understand how the work culture is different in West Coast.

Along with all the other benefits, these treks are a great opportunity for networking, not only with the companies you visit but also with your own network. You need to spend time on the West coast, to grow your network and for various informational interviews.

Screen of Linked In Welcoming the Carlson School
Attendees at Site Visit
Attendees at Site Visit
Speaker Talking with Microphone to Group
Titanfall Sculpture
Two Attendees Smiling