Microsoft Business Program Manager Used Her Outer Network

Name: Sabrina Bonaparte (she/her)

PhD: Sociology, University of Washington, 2012

What is your current job?

I am a Senior Business Program Manager for Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington.

I am a program manager on a data science team. I used to be a data scientist, but made the switch about 2.5 years ago. Currently, my job is varied. I run rhythms of business, create learning programs for my team, manage accessibility efforts, and collaborate with our larger org on inclusive programming for our 5k person team.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

The people - I work on the most amazing team!

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

Being able to read critically and synthesize a lot of information. Also, being able to write clearly and concisely.

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

I relied a lot on my coworkers who already had the skills to do the job. Generally, learning on the job was more helpful than any of the trainings I took.

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

An internal transfer within my team.

PhD graduate ➡️ intern ➡️ full time employee

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

• Talk to your friends. What do they do? Are you interested in it?

• Go to professional conferences around topics you're interested in (non-academic), read blogs and publications on the topics and publish your own blogs and articles.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

I had an experience where I felt my faculty acted very unprofessionally towards me after my general exams. After that, I was 100% convinced of my decision to leave. I didn't tell anyone, finished my PhD, and then pursued my career.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

Rely on your outer network (not just cohort members and others at the university!) I got my first job through a friend who was already in that field. I had 0 support or connections from anyone in my graduate program.

Are there any components of your identity you would like to share, including how they have impacted your journey?

Honestly, being a woman (especially a Latina) I knew my chances of making it in academia were slim. The statistics were greatly stacked against me.

And for those interested, what was your main area of research?

I primarily studied demography and social statistics. My focus was specifically on educational attainment across immigrant groups in America. I do not use any of my knowledge from my PhD in my current role.