Current Job:
Doctoral Candidate
University of Minnesota

Sue's Story:
“When I first took my course in computer programming in college I thought to myself ‘This is what I’m going to do,’” says MSSE alumna Sue Van Riper. Van Riper had taken programming classes in high school, but it was when she got to college at Winona State that she truly connected with computer science. Since then she has received her undergraduate degree, her Masters degree in Software Engineering and is now working on her Ph.D. in the Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology (BICB) program. Before starting at the University of Minnesota, Van Riper had been a programmer, and had her own consulting company. After the Y2K recession she began working for a financial institution. It was while there that she began looking for graduate programs in computer science. “I was looking for a challenge,” Van Riper says. At that time, she was living near Duluth and working remotely. When it came to her search for a graduate program, location and schedule were a major factor in her decision-making process. “One of the things that attracted me to the MSSE program was the schedule, the format and that it had a cohort,” she says. “I also appreciated that the program was designed for working professionals.” Van Riper also adds, “I also wasn’t sure that I was ready to give up working in order to go to school.”

It was while she was in the program that she became interested in computational techniques for better medical diagnoses. Now in her fourth year of Ph.D. study, Van Riper’s research uses identification and quantification algorithms in proteomics to discover new diagnostic biomarkers in saliva. The group is looking for biomarkers for oral cancer, with the hope that someday these could be used to create an at-home diagnostic kit.

When she is done with her Ph.D., Van Riper says that the ideal for her would be “some sort of combination of teaching and research, as a professor, an adjunct, a postdoc or even industry bioinformatician. There are a number of ways to make it work, but my preference is to stay in academia in or near the Twin Cities.” She enjoys the sense of satisfaction that she gets from teaching, “there is that moment when the lights go on and you can see that the students get it. It’s especially rewarding in a field that is abstract as computer science.”

Right now, she finds that academia fits her personality. She sets her own schedule. As she puts it, “I can work 80 hours a week however I want.” She adds, “But you have to feel passionate about it. It’s rewarding, and I’m happy doing this work.”

MSSE Grad:
2004

Current Job:
Senior Director
Digital River, Inc.

Jim’s Story:
“Ever since I got my undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1992, I had always wanted to go back to school at some point to get a Master’s degree in a related field. This goal was always a little bit more of a personal goal that I was wanting to achieve to help me feel like I was doing a good job towards continuing my education and getting to the next level. I thought that getting my Master’s degree would affect my career only slightly given that I had already moved up quite a bit over the years within Digital River. But once I did get my graduate degree in Software Engineering, I was very much pleased to find out that I had achieved significant progress towards both my personal and career goals. Personally, I felt gratification that I had set out to do something difficult and had persevered through full time work plus full time school which can be a challenge in terms of having limited time to do fun things. During the two school years, I did sacrifice social activities but felt tremendously satisfied knowing that studying time really meant something special towards achieving my goals. Looking back it really wasn’t a big deal for those two years to not go a few extra trips or a few extra events; it was really worth it to focus on school and to learn the material that was presented to me.

“But, the unexpected result of getting my Master’s degree on my career was simply what I would state as ‘context’. I had been doing software development and software lifecycle project management ever since I got my undergraduate degree in 1992, which amounted to about nine years worth of experience before I went back to school. Going through the program helped me to be able to put a framework around the experiences that I had, and to properly reflect on things that I had done and their place in the world of software engineering. I understood now why it was so difficult to bring about software process change, and also how important things that I had done naturally really were in the whole picture of managing a software project such as estimation and planning. As I went along in the program, the educational material could be easily placed into personal experiences of mine, hence really helping to complete my full circle of context with the software engineering world.

“And now the added benefits as I move forward in my career are to have a solid set of software engineering fundamentals, to be able to refer back to the principles via real experience that I have gained, and to help me in my current work to have a full picture of things in order to make the best decisions I possibly can for the projects that I am working on for increased benefit of my company. I think my ability to manage software projects and to predict things that may go wrong is ten times better than it was pre–Master’s degree, and I really feel completely prepared for all the things that can go wrong on a project and to be able to turn things around for the better to have a lot more successful projects that are delivered on time and on budget. I take a more disciplined approach to my every day tasks and I am always trying to quantify aspects of software engineering project to align to the business goals within our organization, which I feel I am completely more successful at doing with my Master’s degree in software engineering from the U of MN Software Engineering Center.”

MSSE Grad:
2002

Current Job:
Customer Environment Test Team Lead
IBM Corporation

Jason’s Story:
“I joined IBM Global Services in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. My role when I started at IBM was a multidimensional database consultant. After a couple of years, I changed roles and became an eCommerce consultant within IBM Global Services. While working at IBM, in 2000, I started taking courses in the MSSE program. During the final semester of the MSSE program, in 2002, I changed careers within IBM and moved into the IBM software development lab test organization. I have been in test and quality assurance since that time.

“The knowledge and experience gained from the MSSE program helped me to make the change from consultant to tester. Since the job change in 2002, I have taken on many different roles within the IBM test organization. Currently, I am the team lead for the IBM Virtualization Engine Customer Environment Test team. Our team utilizes IBM Virtualization Engine technology in complex customer–like environments to ensure product quality prior to the release of the product.

“Although the drive from Rochester to Minneapolis was painful at times during the winter months, I made it to class every week. The MSSE program offered excellent courses in difficult subjects and provided a forum for social and business networking with other technology professionals. Ideas generated from discussions with students with diverse backgrounds proved to be beneficial for expanding my knowledge of software engineering. Furthermore, course work and interaction with other students helped me solve problems at work.

“The courses provided by MSSE offered a balance of technical and process knowledge. Undergraduate programs are good at teaching computer science theory and programming, but seldom focus on the difficult problems of software quality and development process issues. The MSSE program provided me with the knowledge to accelerate my career in quality assurance and software development.”

MSSE Grad:
2001

Current Job:
Senior Principal Engineer
Deltec (Deltec promoted Zalesky the same year that he completed his Master of Science degree in software engineering.)

Larry’s Story:
Larry Zalesky decided to attend the program with his wife, Pam. The two worked collaboratively on a Plan B project to explore the software issues behind the use of palm pilots in drug delivery. The Plan B project was the start of work that continues today. Larry said, “I wanted a degree with a technical emphasis. I liked the software engineering classes in design and was able to take ideas from class back to work.”

Current Job:
Business Analyst
Target Corporation

Megan’s Story:
The master of science degree in software engineering supplemented Megan’s job experiences, giving her a solid foundation to grow her career. She said, “I learned about software engineering as a discipline, and that has helped me to develop into a more well–rounded software engineer.

“Each week, I brought something new back to work with me that I could use immediately. There was a symbiotic relationship between my education and my work experience that allowed me to enhance both simultaneously.

“There is an opportunity to gain from other students’ work experiences, which enhances the learning environment. The format allows students and professors to develop into a team, and as a team we are better able to learn from each other.

“I would definitely recommend the program and have! It’s a great opportunity to take your career to the next level, as well as to develop relationships with software professionals.”

Current Job:
Enterprise Software Architect
Vertex Inc.

Tao He’s Story:
With its emphasis on practical issues, its flexible schedule, and its outstanding teaching staff, the software engineering program was just what Tao He wanted in a master’s program.

“The education in software engineering has helped me move in my career from a molecular biology scientist, to a programmer, to an Enterprise Software Architect. The experiences I gained from the program can apply to the job right away. The teamwork experiences in the classes are truly valuable.

“What I have learned from the outstanding teaching staff and diversified classmates prepared me to solve the real problems in software development process.

“I strongly recommend this program to all software professionals. It will help you to establish a solid foundation of theoretical skills and problem–solving ability in software development.”

Current Job:
Senior Software Engineer
Macromedia

Mike Calvo’s Story:
Mike Calvo enjoyed the program so much that he returned to teach a course on graphical user interfaces. He emphasizes hands–on learning in helping students gain a high–level understanding of what it really takes to build a user interface.

He applied what he learned in the program immediately. The degree succeeds in increasing the professional flexibility of its graduates, he said.

“Going through the program exposed me to different types of work and the different types of skills that it takes to be a complete engineer. It really added to my understanding of software development and the software development process.”