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Noorbanu Masharib
Noorbanu Masharib
01:18

Noorbanu Masharib

Strada Education Network

Indianapolis, IN USA

"Change is a mindset. If you want to continue to make self-improvements, then you have to understand yourself."

Career Roadmap

Noorbanu's work combines: Business, Technology, and Problem Solving

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Day In The Life

Project Manager

I manage projects approved by the PM Office in order to implement solutions for business partners.

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Business Administration and Management, General

    Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis

  • Certification

    CSQA

    online

  • Certification

    CISA

    online

Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Project Manager:

Bachelor's Degree: Business/Commerce, General

Graduate Degree: Business Administration and Management, General

Certification: Project Management

Learn more about different paths to this career

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life took a while to figure out

  • 1.

    I was born in Uganda, but when I was six years old, my family immigrated to the U.S. and I mainly grew up in a small town in Indiana.

  • 2.

    My father ran a chain of laundromats throughout Indianapolis and my main objective in going to college was to help support his business endeavors in any way that I could.

  • 3.

    After graduating from high school, I attended Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in business management.

  • 4.

    Took a job as a manager at a fast-food restaurant, but after only three months, I realized I hated the food service industry and didn’t enjoy the responsibility of managing other people.

  • 5.

    Through the networking connections I’d made in college, I got a job at Sallie Mae as a business analyst and worked there for 10 years.

  • 6.

    I eventually decided to transition into a more technical role in quality assurance and testing at Eli Lilly and Company and worked there for almost 10 years.

  • 7.

    I began working at Strada Education Network as a consultant in a technical role, but decided to switch back to my business roots and am now a project manager.

  • 8.

    I also am the co-owner of M&A Investments, a small business venture managing real estate investments and rental properties.

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from Peers:

    Find another field or type of work to do, the potential for this work is not high and it's not highly valued.

  • How I responded:

    When I was between jobs, I reached out to an executive at a company I thought I might be interested in and was told this. Every job is full of new possibilities. I went into each job thinking about what I wanted to accomplish by using my skills and with high hopes of learning something new. I could add what I learned to my back pocket and I would take that with me as I continue to grow.

Experiences and challenges that shaped me

Click to expand

  • I had to rely on public resources to help with the financial restrictions.

  • There were expectations on me to complete college and make a difference via connections to business. My Asian background/family provided so much support along the path, sometimes there was no option but to go forward to reach out for successes.

  • Switching from being in a technical role to working in project management was really scary. I had to start completely fresh and from scratch. Even though it was hard, it was an exciting challenge.