Alumni Spotlight

Exploring the MIS Field with Alexandre Chung

As students prepare to enter the workforce, they must identify their path to success. Success comes in many forms and is unique to every individual. Nevertheless, students should pick a career that is well suited for them. Depending on one’s major, there are many career paths that one can take, and choosing one poses a significant challenge.

In an effort to learn more about career opportunities in the MIS field, I reached out to Alexandre Chung, a former MISA Board Member who graduated from SJSU in 2012. During our discussion, I learned more about current industry trends and the opportunities that come with having a degree in MIS.

Alexandre spent his undergraduate years as a MISA historian, club officer, and intern. His career started while he was in college and interning at Marvell as a Desktop Support Engineer. Now, he is a Video Collaboration Engineer at Electronic Arts, a digital interactive entertainment company that specializes in games, content, and online services for consoles, mobile devices, and personal computers. Alexandre is well aware that choosing your career path as an MIS major can be quite difficult. To help you choose the right path for yourself, Alexandre shared the following tips.

What can you do with an MIS degree?

Identifying the right path starts with answering the following question: Do you like to create project plans and handle the business side of things or do you enjoy diving into the technical aspects of a particular technology? Your answer to this question will help you determine whether you should take the project management route or the technical route.

“There is a project management route and a technical route.”

To help you identify which path may best fit you, the SJSU MIS program offers a wide range of available courses, including programming, networking, database management, and project management. Take a few courses in each of these subjects and “identify the one that excites you and makes you passionate and focus on that.”

“Identify the one that excites you and makes you passionate and focus on that.”

Now that you have narrowed your path down to its core, prepare to enter the workforce. After gaining real-world work experience, you can decide whether you wish to further your career or to try something new. Just know that if you are not happy with your chosen career, “there are opportunities to switch once you’ve gotten your foot in the door.”

“There are opportunities to switch once you’ve gotten your foot in the door.”

As you progress in your career, continue to “further yourself in the educational space.” If you find yourself in the project management route, consider pursuing a master’s degree. Master programs offer a wide range of business skills that will enhance your management capabilities and will help you in leading successful teams. If you take the technical route, consider pursuing technical certifications to become a subject matter expert in your field. Regardless of the path you choose, always make an effort to learn and enhance your skills.

“Further yourself in the educational space.”