For students looking to pivot careers, the challenge is often not effort—but direction.
That was the case for Rose, who entered Kogod’s STEM MBA after starting her career in retail leadership. With a background in fashion merchandising, she didn’t follow a traditional business or technical path. But she had built critical skills in customer insight, communication, and team leadership.
What she didn’t have—yet—was a clear pathway into a new industry.
After learning that advancing into corporate roles in her field could take years, she saw graduate school not as a pause but as a way to accelerate into something new.
Kogod’s STEM MBA integrates technical and business skill-building, with a strong emphasis on how emerging tools like AI shape real business decisions.
Students don’t just learn about AI—they use it across:
“I came in not even knowing what ChatGPT was,” Rose says. “Then it felt like it was everywhere—in classes, clubs, and competitions.”
That repeated exposure builds fluency quickly—and makes AI a practical tool, not an abstract concept.
After submitting dozens of applications with little success, Rose changed her approach.
Instead of continuing a broad search, she used an AI tool to generate targeted opportunities based on specific interests:
“I applied to like 70 internships… and they weren’t going well,” she says. “So I tried using AI to search differently—and that’s what worked.”
That search surfaced a company she hadn’t previously considered. She researched the organization, found a relevant role, and applied.
She got a callback—and ultimately, the internship.
One of the most important moments in Rose’s interview process came from a simple question: Was she an engineer or a salesperson?
Her answer reframed her value.
Instead of positioning herself as technical or non-technical, she described her strength as translation—connecting what technology does with what customers need.
That perspective stood out immediately.
“They told me that’s the hardest role to fill,” she says. “They wanted someone with emotional intelligence—skills you can’t teach easily."
Even in AI-driven environments, human-centered skills remain a critical differentiator.
In her internship, Rose worked with AI-powered agents designed to improve customer interactions.
These systems were built to:
Her role focused on how these tools are implemented and experienced—not just how they’re built.
That meant working at the intersection of:
This reflects a growing category of AI-related roles: professionals who help organizations apply AI effectively, not just develop it.
A key takeaway from Rose’s experience is that AI didn’t replace her previous skill set—it amplified it.
Her background in retail leadership translated directly into her internship through:
Even in highly technical organizations, those capabilities are essential.
Companies still need people who can bridge the gap between systems and users.
Rose’s path challenges a common misconception: that only technical backgrounds lead to tech careers.
Her experience in fashion merchandising had already developed analytical thinking in areas like:
“I’ve done this before,” she says. “Just in a different font."
For students considering a pivot, that insight matters. Transferable skills often matter more than titles.
For students exploring careers in AI or digital transformation, the takeaway is practical:
AI can change how you search.
But your value comes from how you apply what you already know.
At Kogod, that combination is central to the MBA experience:
Rose’s experience shows how those elements come together—not just in theory, but in outcomes.