Prattfolio connected with the members of Pratt’s Young Alumni Leadership Group, a program of Pratt Alumni Engagement, to talk about where they landed after Pratt, changing paths, and what’s energizing them now. Ziqi Wang, MS Data Analytics and Visualization ’23, took an unexpected path from a background in journalism to work as a full-stack developer.
What was your first job after graduation from Pratt?
Being a GIS developer at a retail real estate company in the city, with a very small GIS team, I was given the opportunity to create new products from scratch, which is something a newly graduated student can only hope for.
What’s your favorite part of the work you’re doing now?
One of my favorite parts of the job is the freedom and support that I have. This is something that I never thought I would be doing, since I come from a journalism background. [This is my first time] being a full-stack developer, and even for a medium-sized company, the pressure is still immense. I am glad that I have a lot of control over what kind of work I do and how I do it. I work with a team of women who are young and bright, and the work environment that we create is supportive.
I don’t really see this as a pivot per se. I’d like to think this is part of a journey. From how I see it, everyone starts somewhere and wants to reach a destination. However, the road is not always straight and the future is not always clear—you don’t always get to pick where you walk. But that is OK, because every step you take will eventually connect, and when you look back, that’s when your path will show and you will gain clarity.
“The world is big and wide, your ability and skills will be able to take you wherever you need to go.”
Is there an experience you had at Pratt that prepared you especially well for your career?
I think the projects I did for almost all of my classes—GIS, Python, D3.js—all of them helped me develop skills that I am using in the workplace on a daily basis.
One of the big things I learned is how you approach a project. It’s not just about what kind of data you need or what kind of programming language you use, but how you talk to people to understand their needs or what they are looking for; how you help people understand how you are approaching it and make sure things align; how you estimate a completion time or break it down to have check-ins with your teammates. All of these are important skills that I brought to my job that make me stand out because this is how they know they can count on me to finish a project beautifully.
What advice do you have for a student about to enter their next chapter, work after graduation?
Something that always worked for me is having clear, open communication. I was very stressed out about job searching because I knew it would not be easy for an international student. In the back of my mind, I always thought about what to say when [an employer] would ask about work visa sponsorship. What I did in the end was literally tell them: It would be great to have one, but also I just want this opportunity to work. If you see value in me and want to keep me, then we have to talk about a sponsorship; if you can’t, then we will work together and figure something out.
I am fortunate enough to have options . . . but for those who are struggling, please know that you are not alone in this. Working in the US will never be the only option. The world is big and wide, your ability and skills will be able to take you wherever you need to go.
What’s inspiring you now?
My friends. I made some of the best friends while I was at Pratt, and to this day, the bond we share is still strong. The love and support I get from them is amazing.