"Written and verbal communication are key skills to a successful career. Many people in the corporate world lack these two skills. Someone who can master these skills has a significant advantage over others."
When did you graduate from BYU?
BA English 2017
What is your job/position? And how would you describe what you do in that job/position?
I’m a manager of revenue operations at Qualtrics. Soon I am transitioning into a new role in product marketing and product management. In my current role, I manage a team of proposal and content managers, both in North America and Latin America.
Describe the path that you took from your BYU English degree to your current career, highlighting the important realizations and turning points that paved the path for you.
I had a unique background upon graduation: an English major and a business strategy minor. Qualtrics reached out to me. I'm still not sure how they got ahold of my resume (probably the BYU Bridge). I have now been at Qualtrics for five years, having three major promotions. Many different career options have opened to me in sales, marketing, operations, and product development.
What are the specific skills that you cultivated as an English major that you now use in your professional life? And how do you use those skills in ways that set you apart from your colleagues?
Written and verbal communication are key skills to a successful career. Many people in the corporate world lack these two skills. Someone who can master these skills has a significant advantage over others. Executives are often masterful communicators. In addition, I do think English can teach critical thinking very well. However, it can be difficult to apply critical thinking in the corporate world without some business acumen. I think it's a good idea for English majors to pair their degree with a minor like business, computer science, etc. unless they plan to go into academia, publishing, editing, or an adjacent field.
What do you wish you had known as an English major? Is there any advice you’d like to share with current students?
I did four internships while in college. Get as much experience as possible during your time as a student. Be proactive. This will help you gain a strong start at the beginning of your career, opening graduate school opportunities, future employers, and career pivots or changes. The type of people willing to respond to an undergraduate student is astounding. You will never have this opportunity again. You can reach out to alumni, professors, and others who will be much more likely to talk to you when you're an undergraduate student. Most students do not take advantage of this opportunity. There is also a lot of fluidity as an English major as well. You can claim a wide array of interests as a deep reader, which can open a wide variety of doors.
Contact
joshua.david.dyer@gmail.com