ENDPIECE
Want to Stand Out in a Tech Career? Try majoring in philosophy by Jadon Naas ’11
I graduated from Centre College 10 years ago and have had successful careers in hospitality and in information technology (IT). I truly believe the liberal arts education I received at Centre has been the foundation of my professional success. Full disclosure: I have a philosophy degree. I didn’t go to graduate school or get a job in philosophy. Nor did I have prior training in hospitality or information technology. I want you to know that’s OK. Your Centre education is still one of the most valuable assets you can have. I know it has been for me. In hospitality and in IT, my ability to articulate my thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively unlocked opportunities at every step of my career. When I worked in hospitality, I once had the honor of introducing an important new company-wide initiative to my hotel’s hundreds of team members.
28
Centrepiece Spring/Summer 2021
In 2014, I took an entry-level job doing technical support with an IT company. I had dabbled in computers and wanted to turn my hobby interest into a career. Now, in 2021, I am responsible for the overall success of the newest, most technologically advanced, and largest product offering the company has ever developed. My ability to communicate and discuss the finer points of technology or business proposals to both technical and non-technical audiences helped me stand out among peers who had better technological skills. The company I work for chose me to represent it at conferences and tradeshows even though there were other team members who worked more closely with the products on display. But I was better able to explain the product simply and succinctly. At every step of my career, I have been able to express my ideas effectively and clearly. Where some of my peers actively avoid giving presentations on their work, I can confidently stand in front of the president and C-suite leaders in meetings to talk on any topic, especially during Q&A sessions. I developed these skills through the presentations I had to give in class at Centre. In addition to teaching me how to communicate, Centre taught me how to look beyond initial appearances and set aside my own preconceptions when solving problems. Being able to see the wider effect or application of technology has helped me make a bigger impact than my peers who know more about the technology. As several areas in the IT industry see approaching shortages of qualified workers, some major companies are starting to look at humanities majors and non-IT majors to fill IT positions. They have found that the communication, interpersonal skills, analysis, and creativity of humanities majors are valuable because it is easier to train someone
how to use the company's tools and technology than it is to train someone how to speak convincingly or think creatively. In an extremely competitive and rapidly evolving job market, a liberal arts education still makes sense. The ability to ask good questions, communicate ideas, and think differently are
My ability to communicate and discuss the finer points of technology or business proposals to both technical and non-technical audiences helped me stand out among peers who had better technological skills. more valuable than the technical knowledge for a given field. Employers can teach the technical skills they need. What they can’t easily teach, however, is how to be a lifelong learner, an effective communicator, and a critical thinker. If you have a Centre education, you have already done this work. I didn’t realize until years after graduating from Centre that I did get a job with my philosophy degree. Even though I don’t write philosophical theories, I use my degree every day when I propose a course of action for my team or when I help someone solve a problem.
Jadon Naas ’11 is the product line manager for Flex Metal Cloud—InMotion Hosting's new OpenStack Private Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform. He currently lives in Virginia Beach, Va., with his wife, Andy Rapone ’09, and their two-year-old daughter, Alexandra.
