amanda.k
Community Manager
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Education-Fusion-360-workshop-006.jpgJohn Peros is a Senior Technical Program Manager who has been with Autodesk for 6 years. This is the third role that John has explored at Autodesk, and currently focuses on how to deliver product training and adoption activities to various education institutions across the world.  He’s the perfect person for the role (and to be interviewed!) as he’s a maker at heart and spends his free time welding, 3D printing and fabricating various projects (especially ones that drive).

 

Question: What degree did you graduate with, and how has it affected your career? Or, what education / training do you have that has helped with your role?

John: I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA and though my current role doesn’t specifically call for engineering experience, that degree has certainly helped shaped my career. In general, I feel the goal of any program is less about learning the ins-and-outs of specific things (like thermodynamics) and more about learning how to identify, assess, and solve a problem. Whether it’s solving for the hydraulic pressure needed to perform and axial swage or identifying problems in lead routing and finding automated solutions, that foundation in problem solving has helped me in every stage of my career.

 

Question: How would you describe your role at Autodesk? What does a typical workday look like and qualities are important to be successful in your role?

John: My current position at Autodesk is focused on enabling our Autodesk Learning Partners (ALPs) to deliver product training and adoption activities to various education institutions across the world.  Driving a multi-faceted program like that requires exceptional organization and multi-tasking skills and a high degree of problem solving and practical analysis.  Each region in the world has its own nuances so we can never assume that what works in one region will work in all regions.  A role like this also involves significant collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders.  On any given day, I’ll work with our Demand Generation (marketing) team, Product teams, our legal business partners, commercial sales teams, and systems and operations teams in addition to our external distributors’ teams and the ALPs themselves.  Identifying and understanding the needs and goals of each individual stakeholder in the broader process helps us focus on solutions that work for everyone.  A typical day sees me in numerous Zoom meetings, crafting presentations in PowerPoint, analyzing data in Excel, and answering a myriad of e-mails, among other things.

 

 

Question: What do you find interesting about your role? What are the challenges? What do you find satisfying about your work? 

John: Having a degree in engineering and being a very hands-on person has led me to hold mostly technical roles in the 18 years since I graduated.  While I enjoyed each of those roles, this is the first role I’ve had where “technical chops” isn’t the main requirement.  That transition has come with many challenges.  One of the biggest for me has been learning to let go and realize that I can’t do everything on my own.  When so many things need to be accomplished you must learn to rely on others and it’s something I am working on every day.  On the flip side, those challenges come with the opportunity for great personal growth.  I know more about our business now than I ever thought I would (and there is still so much more to learn) and I feel significantly more confident in having strategic discussions with our leaders instead of just speaking to tactical solutions. The personal growth opportunity creates a lot of my drive but the fact that we’re making an impact on the next generation of design and manufacturing talent really gives this role purpose for me and it’s why I push so hard to make sure we’re doing the right things.

 

 

Question: What advice would you give to a student who is interested in pursuing a role like yours? Is there anything that you would have done differently before you graduated to prepare for your role? Is there a piece of advice you would give yourself back on day one in your role?

John: My biggest piece of advice to students (and to my past self, if I could) is to be flexible in your career expectations.  I went into college dreaming of building a shuttle that would take humans to Mars and graduated dreaming of building the first cam-less American V8 engine. Though I never ended up working on either of those projects, I feel a massive sense of impact and purpose in the path I have taken. It’s a path I would have never mapped out for myself, but being open to change, being willing to try something new, and recognizing the points in life when I don’t feel fulfilled by my work has gotten me to where I am today and I honestly wouldn’t change a single thing about that journey.

 

Want to talk more about Mars with John? Discuss more about what you can do with an engineering degree that’s not engineering? Let him know below or give a “like” to this article to let him know his advice was useful!