To celebrate this week’s Women in Technology World Series Online Festival, we talked to Brittany Belt, Cambridge MBA alumna who graduated in 2013, and went on to pursue a successful career in tech.
What inspired you to work in the technology industy?
I was drawn to the pace of work. I believe one of the most important muscles you can build as a business leader is decision making. And, with the speed with which tech evolves and tech companies grow, there are opportunities abound to hone this skill. In other industries, your product development cycle may be several years from inception to execution. In most tech companies, you’re shipping new products and features monthly or quicker. This means you are constantly practising and getting (close to) real time feedback on the decisions you make – your ability to assess impact, weigh risks and dependencies, leverage data/insights and so on, all at a rapid pace.
Was there a key moment during your Cambridge MBA which helped you in your career progression in tech?
I had some prior consulting experience in tech before beginning my MBA programme. However, during the Cambridge MBA programme I was able to expand this experience to both startup, midsize, and more established tech businesses through my work with organisations in the broader University of Cambridge, and during the Cambridge MBA programme. These engagements gave me practical skills that directly translated into in-house roles at tech firms, and which became key talking points when I began interviewing for jobs.
What would you tell other women with aspirations for business school and a tech career?
We often focus on the job search, but I found enormous value in simply reaching out to connect and pick the brains of interesting leaders in tech. When done appropriately, I found very often people were quite willing to discuss problems they were trying to solve within the business, how they view the current landscape in their respective industries, and so on. The University of Cambridge global reputation and brand cannot be underutilised. I would encourage anyone interested in making a transition to tech, to leverage it in outreach to business leaders throughout the year (and afterward), simply to learn, without the agenda of a job search.
To read more about Cambridge MBA women visit our Community pages on our main MBA webpages.