My Professional Objectives - Personal Statement Example

Professional Goal ment Sherry Kilpatrick About myself - I am interested to pursue a Doctoral degree in Applied Management and Decision Science with an emphasis on the Engineering Management in development and research. I am interested in pursuing higher education and graduate training at this University because in my opinion, the faculty, the departmental research initiatives and the overall academic environment presiding over here will effectively provide me with the suitable platform to formulate my aspirations, channelizing them toward proper fulfillment of both my immediate and long term objectives in this field. My professional objectives - Being from a core technical background, in Software Engineering, I felt the urge to self groom as a successful Engineering Manager to monitor a full fledged project and its progressive elaborative steps, thereby guiding it to its proper fate leading to quantifiable positive results, accordingly complying with preset deadlines and quality standards. After an Undergraduate exposure in Engineering and a double Masters in both Project and Information Technology Management, I feel the urge to walk along the dividing line between technical application and management propositions. I want to assimilate the two disciplines for further value addition to my potency in order to come up with creative solutions providing technical leadership in project research and development, thereby maintaining the standards and leading to a positive organizational change. In short my objective is to pursue for the necessary academic and research backup in Applied Management and Decision Science in order to be able to plan, act and accomplish a project facing both technological and managerial challenges as an independent problem solver in the near future. My Academic Experience - As I have mentioned before, my academic interests comply well with the direction of my future endeavors in assimilating further academic and professional content into my existing credibility as a successful technical and business strategist, providing innovation, leadership, team organization and, managerial decision making guidelines for successful accomplishment of an assignment. Completing a baccalaureate in Software Engineering at the Colorado Technical University, I have had exposure in Network Concepts, Web Publishing, both core and advanced Object Oriented Programming, Database Concepts, Operating System Concepts, Software Testing Methods and the relevant intricacies of Software Programming and Design. Soon working as a Technical Advisor and a Dbase IV programmer, I felt an urge to hone my multitasking ability in the technological aspect of task coordination and management. The obvious outcome was to go for a dual Masters program in Project Management and Information Technology Management and excelled in my growing professional sphere serving as a multitasking professional taking up a wide range of responsibilities both at the execution and supervision levels, being a quality engineer, financial supervisor and project accountant, purchasing supervisor, site contract administrator, program analyst and systems engineer. Presently, while pursuing the graduate training, I am working as a responsible contract specialist in CAS Corporation, Huntsville, Alabama and this is providing me an ideal ground to implement my currently acquired knowledge in contract management and project supervision skills. It is indeed a difficult task to effectively complement the academic and professional involvements that I presently have, but sincerely speaking; working in a real time environment has enabled me to understand and absorb the technical aspects of managerial problem solving skills with respect to the academic exposure in IT Management, Managerial Marketing, Contract Management, Project Accomplishment and Applied Managerial Decision Making Strategies that I am presently acquiring under departmental tutelage. My passion for research - As far as research is concerned, I sincerely feel that even after an intense academic instruction in Project Management and vivid experience in an existent professional field, I definitely need to provide a conclusive finale to my profile by getting the desired exposure in proper doctoral research. I need to be adept with the self governing skills and the heuristic bends required for strategically complementing the technological, organizational and business oriented needs, thereby positively leading a committed team of technical experts and professionals to their desired solution. My principal research objectives center on the requirements to identify and implement the key determinants in developing and maintaining a flexible infrastructure of technicians and professionals in order to deliver diversified projects complying perfectly with deadline, quality and standards. I further want to develop the tact for effectively overseeing and monitoring the behavior, attitude and performance of committed team of professionals in order to equip them with the required leadership and motivation for proper implementation and execution of an adaptive plan to the unprecedented variations in both the professional and consumer milieu. In the doctoral program that I aspire to undertake, I need to concentrate on the intricate aspects dealing with the importance of advanced planning and corporate decision making strategies by learning to comprehend and combine the exact set of tools needed for providing target oriented organizational leadership for future real life application in solving a problem. I need a formidable training on the aspects of formulating decision modeling and analysis, acquisition of information and optimization of decision algorithms to come up with an effectively chosen solution for even a highly complex scenario working with scarce resources. (Monahan, P. 2) My professional experience - By continuously complementing my professional and academic involvements, I have gained insights in time bound project coordination from the technical and managerial perspectives, figuring out a workable way for implementing the final solutions in complex problem scenarios. After working as a Technical Advisor and Dbase IV programmer in Bechtel, Athens, I had moved on to Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant as Financial Supervisor, dealing with data analysis, job cost, cost accounting and budget reports. Soon I was fulfilling the duties of a Senior Purchasing and Accounting Supervisor in Toray Carbon Fibers at Decatur before I planned to make a move to the Austin/ Alberici Boeing Delta IV Plant to gain further insights in multitasking skills as a Quality Engineer and Accountant looking after quality maintenance, cost accounting and budget reports for ongoing projects. After complementing the combined duties of a Site Contract Administrator, Program Analyst and Systems Engineer at Colsa Corporation, in Huntsville, I have moved on to CAS Corporation as a Contract Specialist. In my opinion, such an intense professional exposure can definitely provide me with a solid stand in acquiring further knowledge and insights in the doctoral program that I aspire to attend. My concluding statement - I have acquired motivational, leadership and organizational skills by monitoring controlled groups of professionals and reinforced communication skills by acting as a liaison between customers, corporate department personnel, and subcontractors/consultants for effective acquisition, maintenance and execution of contracts. My core competencies that I have acquired through my professional exposure in all these years of project management; organization, team leadership, and negotiation have ripened my consciousness to an extent that will definitely come to my assistance and provide me with an inherent intellectual support throughout my doctoral research. I feel that this University by complementing the insights of effective business practices with technological advancements will provide me with a supportive ground to learn, know and interact for harnessing the so far hard earned knowledge, wisdom and skill. References: 1. Monahan, George Edward, Management Decision Making, Cambridge University Press, 2000 Read More