My Adventures on Rady’s Annual Bay Area MBA Career Trek

In this post, my aim is to provide a sample of day-to-day life as a UC San Diego Rady MBA student on Rady’s annual Bay Area Career Trek. But first, a little background information: I am currently a second year, full-time Rady MBA Student (‘15) and an Admissions Ambassador with experience in software engineering and business intelligence. My summer MBA internship was with Sony PlayStation’s Strategic Business Development Team, working with virtual reality. As part of last year’s Bay Area Trek, I enjoyed exploring companies in numerous spaces, from Finance to Consumer Electronics and Technology, including Sony PlayStation.

The annual Bay Area Trek is not only a key element of Rady’s MBA experience for those interested in working or interning in the Silicon Valley, but also an opportunity to learn about a vast array of career opportunities and industry trends at large corporations and startups. Arranged by the Rady Careers Department, the Bay Area Trek includes visits anywhere from Google and Charles Schwab to Andreesen Horowitz and NetApp.

Trek Preparation – Rady Careers Department

The Trek begins long before the two to four day trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. Weeks and days prior, second and first year MBA students learn about the companies, career options, and current industry trends through on and off-campus events. For those who deviate from the planned visits, the Rady Trek is a great time to catch up with old coworkers or potential leads in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Trek Day 0 – Lab to Market

My last class of the day is Lab to Market, an entrepreneurial class focused on building a startup company and a business plan from the ground up. One of my favorite courses, Lab-to-Market hosts many notable guest speakers, most recently Founder of ecoATM Mark Bowles. When class finishes, I head home to collect my luggage and take the shuttle to the sunny San Diego Airport. Once there, I meet a number of fellow MBA’s and Master of Finance students to fly to SFO.

Trek Day 1

Pandora, Oakland

At 9am I leave the Peninsula and travel to Pandora’s Oakland Headquarters. There, I am met by fellow classmates and Pandora’s head recruiter who leads the tour and informational session. Fellow MBA students join the visit from Silicon Valley Bank, HP, and Gilead. The tour begins and we are led through the well-designed, colorful, open office space that is reminiscent of a large startup. The host answers our questions about Pandora’s intriguing listener-oriented strategy in Internet Radio, the Music Genome Project, market growth and open career roles. Next for the day’s adventures include visits to leader in 3D Printing’s revolution, 3D Systems, as well as Bloomberg Institute and Electronic Arts.

3D Systems, San Francisco

My next visit is to 3D Systems’ location in the heart of San Francisco. A difference from Pandora’s lobby entrance, we walk through 3D Systems’ smaller residential office space nestled in San Francisco’s SoMa district. Across the office there is an abundance of 3D printed products – from chess pieces and candy to medical devices – that have all been previously displayed at CES. Our timely visit gives us a great opportunity to ask questions about their newly announced partnership with Hershey’s, and learn more about the future of 3D printing. At the end of the visit I am amazed at the vast array of applications for 3D printing that provide great clarity to future business applications of the technology.

LinkedIn, San Francisco

Following my interest in a career in Technology, I head over to a coffee chat with a contact at LinkedIn’s San Francisco location. Not having seen him since a Rady Alumni event and my last company visit, I am able to catch up with him and learn more about his experience at LinkedIn.

Rady Alumni Reception, San Mateo

From there, I take a BART train down to the Millbrae Peninsula and join the Rady Alumni Reception Dinner. I am greeted by a large Alumni turnout and Rady’s Dean, Robert Sullivan. The Rady Alumni Dinner proves to be a great chance to spark conversations with the always-active Rady Alumni, including directors with whom I had consulted for on class projects, recent graduates at dream companies and, of course, fellow classmates.

Trek Day 2