How Shawn Used Minerva’s MDA to Expand His Career Possibilities

For many people in tech, the career path can feel mapped out in advance. Study computer science, land a role at a top company, build expertise, and keep climbing. Shawn followed that path, earning a CS degree and spending years in big tech, including Google.

But last October, he stepped away to rethink what he wanted next — traveling, reflecting, and reconnecting with the Minerva community. That reconnection, along with the decision-making tools he developed in Minerva’s Master’s in Decision Analysis (MDA), helped him approach his next phase with more clarity, confidence, and openness than he expected.

A Program Designed to Broaden Perspective

Shawn came to Minerva with a strong technical background and admits he’d been highly specialized during undergrad. Looking back, he realized that focus came with a tradeoff: less time exploring other disciplines and fewer opportunities to build comfort outside his core domain.

Minerva stood out because it offered the opposite of narrow specialization. The MDA’s emphasis on critical thinking, decision-making, and real-world problem solving immediately resonated for him. 

“I felt like I had squandered a little opportunity in undergrad… I was so tunnel-visioned on computer science that I didn’t spend as much time exploring other areas.” 

For Shawn, the program was about becoming more well-rounded and more comfortable tackling unfamiliar problems.

The Tools That Still Shape How He Thinks

When Shawn reflects on the experience, two elements stand out.

1) Minerva’s habits, concepts, and shared language (HCs)
Early courses helped him develop a new way of thinking, especially because the program names key concepts in a way that makes them easier to discuss, practice, and apply.

“Having names for these core concepts made it really convenient to talk about them, reason about them, and figure out how to use them.”

He also emphasizes how foundational the early problem-solving tools were, skills like choosing the right problem, gap analysis, and constraints, because they’re useful in virtually any domain.

2) Complex systems thinking
Later coursework helped him understand how interconnected systems shape real-world outcomes, from organizations to societies to entire professional environments.

“Having tools to explain emergent phenomena in systems… I don’t think I’d ever gotten formally educated about any of this until Minerva.”

For someone coming from a purely technical background, this expanded lens became essential for understanding how decisions play out beyond code or engineering.

Shawn completed the program while working full-time at Google. Its structure is built for working professionals, making it possible to balance rigorous study with a full-time job.

Learning by Doing

For Shawn, Minerva’s value wasn’t just what he learned, but how he learned it. Minerva’s MDA classes emphasize active participation, such as discussing ideas aloud, applying frameworks in real time, and practicing skills repeatedly until they become natural.

“It makes a huge difference whether you’re just reading about it versus actively applying it in practice.” 

His MDA thesis also focused on a real-world challenge of whether improving access to information about college pathways, majors, and career options could improve outcomes for students from underprivileged backgrounds. The project reflected his growing interest in how information, systems, and opportunity intersect.

A Global Network — and New Possibilities

One of the most unexpected parts of the program for Shawn was how much the global community shaped his experience. Because Minerva’s graduate students come from professional backgrounds across industries and countries, discussions constantly included perspectives far beyond a single region or market. For someone based in the United States, this exposure proved especially powerful.

“It’s easy to forget the rest of the world exists… being able to connect with people outside the States in this way is super valuable.”

He describes the Minerva network as unusually strong since the experience creates an immediate connection among alumni worldwide. Even meeting someone new from Minerva often feels like picking up a conversation midstream.

During one program visit, Shawn met professionals from companies he still keeps in touch with today — connections that are actively shaping his exploration of future opportunities.

Prepared for What Comes Next

Today, Shawn is experimenting with freelance work and exploring new professional directions after stepping away from big tech. He credits the MDA for giving him the confidence, tools, and global perspective to navigate whatever comes next.

“It gave me more motivation to not be so locked into the traditional way forward… the tools and the confidence to be an intelligent contributor no matter what field I get thrown into.”

For Shawn, that may be the program’s biggest impact: transforming him from a highly specialized engineer into a well-rounded decision-maker ready for opportunities he may not have considered before.

Shawn’s story reflects what many mid-career professionals discover in the MDA: along with new knowledge, it established a broader way of thinking, a stronger global network, and the confidence to navigate careers that don’t follow a single predefined path.

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→ Ready to build the tools, global network, and confidence to expand your own career possibilities? Learn more about Minerva’s MDA program here.