Milestones

My road in life took a while to figure out.
Learned that I could succeed while in the Army.
Took a chance that getting a programming certificate would get me a job.
Worked my tail off in a company based training program that built a foundation for my resume.
Left a great 3rd level management position to join a small company that looked like fun called Apple.
Worked hard at learning from all the smart managers who were willing to mentor me.
Keep following my journey

Education

High School
Oregon City High School

Career

Director of Product

I manage teams that develop products.

Career Roadmap

Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Education
Building Things

Day to Day

Most of my days are filled with meetings, I'm lucky in the fact that the meetings can be about widely varied topics which keeps things interesting. I get to discuss both high level strategic topics as well as more tactical topics around getting things done. The meetings are with smart and passionate people so the discussions are very interesting. The challenges change all the time so I'm constantly learning and researching new areas.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for high school students

These days you'll need to be very comfortable with technology in general and if you want to move into any product development role you'll really need an undergraduate degree for most large companies. I think it's helpful to at least experience working in a large company that can provide good role models for the areas of work you are most interested in. Then you'll have a framework for either starting your own company or helping a smaller company grow.

Recommended Education

My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:

undergrad
Bachelor
Computer and Information Sciences, General
graduate
Graduate
Business Administration and Management, General

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Peers:

"In high school people said I wasn't very smart and couldn't do well since I wasn't going to go to college."

Challenges I Overcame

Learning Issues