Alumni Spotlight | How Lehigh Unlocks Endless Possibilities for a Business-to-Tech Career

“Banks and Big Four firms on the East Coast are particularly interested in recruiting Lehigh graduates. Lehigh has an especially strong reputation throughout the eastern United States.”

Lehigh University’s extensive alumni network is one of its greatest strengths. Today, we are officially launching our Chinese Alumni Spotlight series, through which outstanding Chinese graduates will share their Lehigh stories and offer firsthand perspectives on studying and working in the United States.

Our first guest is Jie Huang, a member of Lehigh University’s Class of 2011 who currently works at Amazon in the United States as a Senior Technical Program Manager.

The interview was conducted and compiled by two current Lehigh students and student ambassadors: Winnie Wu, a senior majoring in Business Information Systems, and Clarie Cai, a graduate student in Business Analytics. Through Huang’s academic and professional journey, they hope to offer useful insights to students considering Lehigh or interested in pursuing data-related careers.

Read on to discover Jie Huang’s story.

01 Discovering Lehigh: From the Big Four to Amazon
02 Breaking into Tech: How Can Business Students Make the Transition?
03 Early Career Planning Can Help You Avoid Unnecessary Detours
04 Lehigh: A Choice I Will Never Regret

Discovering Lehigh: From the Big Four to Amazon

At Lehigh, I completed a graduate program in Analytical Finance, which has since been renamed Financial Engineering. It was an interdisciplinary program jointly offered by the College of Business and the College of Engineering.

When selecting a graduate school, I conducted extensive research. As an undergraduate at Jiao Tong University, I studied Economics and Finance. For graduate school, I wanted to choose a program that would broaden my future career possibilities rather than limit me to traditional finance or economics roles. After considering the program’s overall value and cost-effectiveness, I ultimately chose Lehigh’s Analytical Finance program.

My experience at Lehigh did not disappoint me. After enrolling, I took courses in Financial Mathematics and Programming alongside students majoring in mathematics and computer science. In class, professors taught us not only financial concepts but also how to apply programming, modeling, and other technical knowledge to real-world cases.

The program was an excellent choice for students from both technical and business backgrounds. While developing quantitative and technical expertise, students could also build a strong foundation in finance. As a result, graduates were prepared for a broad range of career opportunities, including high-demand, well-compensated positions in financial data analytics and trading.

After graduating from Lehigh in 2011, I joined a data consulting company, where I worked in data analytics and consulting. Our primary clients included large banks and telecommunications companies.

I later received a referral through Lehigh’s alumni network and joined the Advisory practice at EY, one of the Big Four accounting firms. There, I used modeling and statistical methods to help clients solve practical business problems. Most recently, I moved to Amazon, where I now work as a Senior Technical Program Manager.

Breaking into Tech: How Can Business Students Make the Transition?

As the internet and big data have become increasingly important, more students from business, humanities, and liberal arts backgrounds have begun looking for opportunities to develop technical knowledge during graduate school—particularly in computer science and data analytics—to broaden their future career options.

When it comes to the growing trend of transitioning from business to technology, I believe students from purely business or liberal arts backgrounds may encounter certain challenges when moving into programming or other technical fields.

Although such a transition can certainly create a wider range of employment opportunities, the most important question is still what kind of work you ultimately want to do. Students should make this decision based on their interests, abilities, and personal circumstances.

Data Science vs. Business Intelligence and Business Analytics

I would also like to explain the differences between two of today’s most popular data-related fields: Data Science and Business Intelligence, also commonly referred to as Business Analytics.

Data Science focuses more heavily on collecting, cleaning, processing, and modeling data. It generally requires stronger programming and data-processing skills. Data scientists commonly use Python and other tools designed to handle large datasets.

Business Intelligence and Business Analytics, on the other hand, involve using models developed by data scientists or working with integrated datasets to identify and present trends. Professionals in this field discuss different metrics and use tools such as Tableau to build dashboards that help stakeholders monitor progress toward their business goals. This background is particularly relevant to positions such as Product Analyst or Product Analytics roles.

Transitioning from business to technology is not easy. Before changing fields, I recommend independently studying some programming and mathematics courses and developing a systematic understanding of the relevant subjects. This will help you determine whether the transition is truly right for you.

From Big Four Consulting to a Technical Role at Amazon

Why did I leave the Big Four and join Amazon? This is a question that many people begin to consider after working in consulting for several years.

Consulting is particularly suitable for recent graduates because it allows them to gain exposure to many different industries and fields within a relatively short period. It also provides an excellent platform for exploring possible long-term career directions.

After gaining this experience, people usually begin to reconsider what they truly want from their careers. Those who are more technically oriented or prefer hands-on work may want to reduce the amount of time they spend on sales and business development. However, doing so may limit their opportunities for advancement within the consulting industry.

At that point, they may begin considering whether it is time to move into a different environment and pursue a role that better aligns with their interests and previous experience.

Early Career Planning Can Help You Avoid Unnecessary Detours

Can early career planning genuinely help you avoid taking unnecessary detours? The most important thing is to first understand what kind of work you would like to pursue and then gradually build the skills and experience required for that career.

Building Industry Experience

If you have already identified your desired career direction, you should begin looking for relevant internships at least one year before completing your undergraduate degree. Participating in different interviews will also help you accumulate valuable experience.

If you secure an interview or internship with a major company during the summer before graduation, you may have a strong chance of joining that company full-time after graduation. Many large companies extend return offers to a significant proportion of their interns.

For master’s students, completing an internship during a short graduate program may not always be realistic. In that case, students should focus on gaining practical experience through projects with their professors or academic advisors.

If you want to pursue a nontechnical position, I recommend dedicating more time to networking. If joining a major company immediately after graduation seems difficult, you can begin with a smaller company in a relevant field.

Moving from a smaller company to a major corporation is also a practical career path, since not everyone can enter a large company immediately after graduation. I followed that path myself, moving from a smaller company to the Big Four and then to Amazon.

If you cannot join a major company right away, the important thing is to find a role at a smaller organization that aligns with your long-term career goals. Relevant internship or work experience can significantly increase your chances of later transitioning into a larger company.

Large companies also place considerable emphasis on whether applicants can demonstrate strong hard skills during interviews, which makes interview preparation especially important.

The Importance of Interview Preparation

Interviews at major companies tend to follow relatively predictable structures. Before an interview, carefully study the job description and learn what kinds of projects people in that role typically handle.

You can then search online or within your university for similar projects and gain relevant hands-on experience. During the interview, you will be able to demonstrate the experience and skills that most closely match the position’s requirements.

For students interested in working at technology companies, I recommend 1Point3Acres as a useful interview-preparation resource. By reading interview experiences shared by other applicants, you can learn what kinds of questions are commonly asked for different positions. You can also seek advice from friends who already work at major technology companies.

If a position requires programming knowledge, you can practice solving problems on LeetCode. Applying for a technical role requires significant preparation. Once you decide to pursue this direction, make the most of your time at university and begin preparing as early as possible.

Lehigh: A Choice I Will Never Regret

When studying abroad, the learning environment was extremely important to me. Lehigh’s campus is located on a mountain and offers beautiful scenery and surroundings. I genuinely enjoyed the atmosphere of the university.

Lehigh is also close to major cities such as New York and Philadelphia, both of which can be reached by bus in approximately one to two hours. This made searching for employment much more convenient, while the local cost of living remained relatively affordable.

Lehigh also has an extensive and supportive alumni network. The university organizes numerous career fairs, and many alumni are willing to provide referrals. I joined EY through a referral from one of my classmates.

Banks and Big Four firms on the East Coast are particularly interested in recruiting Lehigh students. Lehigh has an especially strong reputation throughout the eastern United States.

We have discussed many serious topics related to academics and career development, but it is also worth mentioning that Lehigh is not only strong in engineering—it is also a university with a distinctive artistic and architectural atmosphere.

Walking along the main campus paths can feel like entering the world of Harry Potter, particularly around places such as Linderman Library and the academic quadrangle. On this storybook-like campus, I met friends from many different places and created countless memories that I still treasure.

A university is not simply a place where students acquire knowledge. More importantly, it is a platform that helps people grow and shapes their values and outlook on life. The classmates, professors, and friends you meet will all influence your personal and professional development.

That is why I remain convinced that Lehigh was an excellent choice—and one I will never regret.