At Indium Corporation and RIT, I am outnumbered. Indium Corporation’s slogan is “From One Engineer to Another®", yet I am not an engineer. RIT is a technology school, yet I am not a technology major. From my experience, this is not the case for most businesses and colleges. In my graduating class from high school, most of the top ranked students were going to college for degrees in the business field. At my prior internship, business employees outnumbered STEM employees considerably. So, what during these past few years has drawn me to places where STEM workers/students are the majority?
In the end, it comes down to my personality. While many people in the business field have extroverted personalities, I consider myself to be more of an ambivert. My personality helps me relate to those on both sides of the introvert/extrovert scale. For instance,I do enjoy talking to people and getting to know them, a must for those in business and marketing. However, I also enjoy my time alone. Very much like engineers, I prefer that things are structured, organized, and have a procedure. Applying this mindset to creative work might sound difficult, but it's a natural process for me. For example, before I begin work on a poster or advertisement, I pick out what images I want to use and then organize a basic layout. From that bare-bones structure, I add in the more artistic minor details and then format accordingly.
Whether you're an extroverted marketer, an introverted researcher, or somewhere in between, I believe you should try to surround yourself with those who are like you and those who are not. By doing so, you will gain a new perspective that can help you look at problems and solutions differently. I'm lucky in that my unique personality benefits me in all environments. Being creative and structured is a rare combination that will serve me well in business, and being able to relate to both introverted and extroverted people allows me to look at the whole picture. It helps me be both a valuable individual contributor and a supportive teammate. Ultimately, it's what allows me to be in business in a world of engineers.
All the best,
Zach