Saurabh Patil
MSIM student
Q: Please share any additional academic plans (dual degree, research focus, minor, specialization, etc.) you may be pursuing.
A: I am currently pursuing my Information Management degree, specializing in User Experience and Product/Program Management & Consulting.
Q: Please tell us about your background and why you decided to come to the iSchool.
A: Before joining the UW MSIM program, I worked as a Technical Consultant at Oracle for nearly 3½ years as a team lead and a data analyst in a health-care startup. While I have had numerous experiences that have helped build my skills and experience, I wanted to bring all my experiences and academic learnings to focus on one particular role and industry, making me select the iSchool's MSIM program. The flexibility of iSchool courses and the way they prepare you for every respective field that you want to pursue as your career path was one reason I chose the iSchool.
Q: What excites you about the information field?
A: As someone who likes to build knowledge through various resources, I have always struggled with making sense of all the information I have gathered and how best to use it for my personal and professional growth. Like me, many individuals struggle with this daily. Therefore, I intend to use information to the best of my ability and use it to solve more significant challenges like social justice and climate change.
Q: What’s been your favorite iSchool course or learning experience (i.e., directed fieldwork, research project, etc.)?
A: I consider IMT 540, Design Methods for Interactive Systems, to be the best course in my learning experience. My engineering mindset used to make me jump to solutions without even thinking whether it is the right problem to solve for or not. This course helped me in understanding the user mindset when it comes to solving problems and not getting too worried about providing solutions. Understanding the problem was a key skill that I have learned from this course, which will be helpful for me going forward.
Q: Tell us about an experience you’ve had at the iSchool that has informed or reshaped your career goals.
A: Over the course of my past two years at the iSchool, I have been able to take a variety of courses such as information architecture and cybersecurity in addition to those centered around my specialization. These different courses have provided me with exposure to different industries and different perspectives. I think an advantage of the iSchool is that I can jump into whatever courses I feel I could connect with. One of my most memorable experiences was with a cybersecurity class I took with William Li. Prior to the course I had minimal knowledge of cybersecurity, but after taking Li’s class I understood very well how to do concise analysis and getting from point A to point B in cybersecurity. This class really taught me how in industry we have loads of information and how we can connect this information together and bring out perspectives in our business, social or economic objectives.
Q: What about your iSchool journey thus far are you most proud of?
A: After I got an internship last year, I really made it a goal of mine to build my social and communication skills. I have been volunteering at different events like Convocation, Capstone and the iSchool Career Fair. I am also proud to be a part of the Association of Information Management Students (AIMS) because it has allowed me to discover my passion for student advocacy and being a voice for the voiceless. People often have concerns that they are not able to raise directly, but rather through a channel of teams. Being a part of AIMS, I have been given the opportunity to be that voice. My involvement in these different avenues has helped me become more of a leader and better communicator. When I graduate from the iSchool, I will carry these leadership values with me and work to serve marginalized communities in my Information Management career.
Q: What is next on the horizon for you?
A: I am looking forward to building my career in product management and solving the challenges of the user and businesses to make their work more successful by focusing on their highest pain points. While I currently plan on sticking to the more technical side of product management, I hope to continue to learn how to be a better communicator and storyteller and understand human emotions and empathy more. Through my professional and leadership experiences, I have come to realize that the work close to my heart is that which brings happiness to people and helps change lives for the better. For this reason, I am also looking forward to using my knowledge and experiences to solve more significant problems on social justice and climate change.
Q: What’s the best advice you have ever received?
A: The best advice I’ve ever gotten is from the book The Obstacle is the Way, by Ryan Holiday, which says, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” This quote goes back to every obstacle that I’ve faced, whether it's being an international student, adjusting to a different culture, academic challenges or even my career search. There were often times where I wanted to give up and go back to my comfort zone, but this quote has inspired me to push forward no matter what. It has helped me realize that instead of competing with other people, I should strive to be a better version of myself. Looking back at when I first landed in the U.S., I have grown a lot since then and each obstacle has given me a different perspective and inspiration to move forward.