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Now since you went the traditional college route as well as well as the trade route, what do you think the benefit of both of them is? &gt;&gt; So for me the pros in a college degree is a lot of it has to do with you can prove that you can have a goal for four years and you can meet it. So it's really more about the people that are hiring you have a perception that if you have a four year degree, you are worthy enough for us to give you a chance even if you have no particular set of skills. Ultimately the person who's gonna hire you, it's not yourself, so you have to convince other people. And so if you look at the people that you're going to be convincing, and when I looked at what an HR person looks like, an HR person typically has a four year degree. So for them, they tend to value what they've experienced. There is also that benefit of being able to connect with people. So I'm able to go and call any Fordham grad and even though I've never met the person before, we went to the same college, we wore the same colors, we go for the rams, we have the same team. And you almost feel like a mini community of people. I do think that the cost is very high. When I was a sophomore, I felt I was getting a lot of theories, concepts that I couldn't quite understand how is this going to help me go to and get a job. And because my grandparents have only done jobs either as a farmer or at a bodega or things that are not necessarily in an office, they couldn't explain to me. And I found out from one of my students that there was Prescholars who teaches you IT training. So I said forget this computer science degree, I'm gonna over there and I'm gonna apply for this technical training so I can be more hands-on. That was really focused on that really intensive training that honestly even the paid training, when I see it, you just don't get that. For them to be so invested in your knowledge it's been amazing, it's been life changing. I wouldn't be where I am had it not be for that foundation. 

If you haven’t figured out what your passion is yet, make a point to try a lot of different things to see if any of them really spark your interest. Take note of the things you spend your free time doing and which things you gravitate towards when you’re stressed to try and figure out what you could be happy doing as a career.

As a child, I witnessed the immense stress that my mother had due to her finances. She would even struggle to buy food. I decided to become a career woman and really manage my finances in order to avoid that same stress.

I came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic when I was 12 and didn't take classes in English until I was a junior in high school. I was very uncomfortable with English as a second language and ultimately steered away from majors heavy in it.

I was bullied in school because I didn't look like everyone else. I was an immigrant, overweight, and didn't fit in. I became depressed and wouldn't even go to the lunch room. I eventually decided that I needed to just push through and move forward.

My family are immigrants and I'm the first to go to college. They didn't understand dorms or going away to college, so I had to stay close to home. They also couldn't advise me when I struggled because they didn't know what it was like.

I have faced a lot of doubt and criticism as a female in the technology field. A lot of people assume that women can't be successful in technology. I worked hard to prove them wrong and try my best to help other women facing that discrimination too.

I manage a team of 1 (myself) in process improvement initiatives to either save money or time. I use technology to create new models, functions, and tools that more teams can continue to use in the future to improve our processes. My day-to-day responsibilities include utilizing technology and speaking to people.

Vice President of Global Technology, Engineering & Operations

You will never be successful in technology. You should do diversity inclusion or HR instead.

Iris Otano

About Iris

Iris Otano

About Iris

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