Gaylon Blank
Manager, Partner Hardware
Microsoft
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Had a passion for electronics and programming.
Pursued a degree aligned to my interests and aspirations.
Worked while going to school. The jobs I had were relevant and aligned to my long term goals.
Watched others and listened to sound wisdom.
Was not afraid to take an entry level job that got my foot in the door.
Worked hard, never afraid to take on more responsibility and trying new things.
Education
High School
Jenkins High School
Jenkins High School
Career
Manager, Partner Hardware
I manage a team that creates and oversees development of Xbox hardware.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Engineering
Accomplishing Goals
Day to Day
A typical day on our team includes Skype conference calls with strategic hardware partners, in person meetings to triage the week's issues, as well as hands on testing of a variety of hardware both being built by Xbox but also accessories being developed by our hardware partners. With over 100 active products being developed in parallel there is a lot of collaboration and opportunities to see many different technical disciplines working together.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
Take school seriously. Don't do the minimum effort but put in 110% in everything you do. The lab report you do in school will be the baseline on how you think about requirements and technical specifications in the future. Be present and participate in clubs. Relating to people and being able to have real conversations with people is key to being successful regardless of how smart or technical you might be.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
