Jasvinder Khera, Mini MBA ’19
Manager, Information Security
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Why did you choose to pursue an executive education course? What was going on in your career that made you want to improve your skills?
Some professions are more likely to attract those with a lifelong passion for learning than others. Many of the friends and colleagues that I’ve met since starting my career in information security can be described in this way. In part, it’s because you need to constantly refresh your skills and familiarize yourself with new technologies in order to stay relevant, but for many, there’s also a deeper desire to immerse yourself in the unknown.
Why this particular program at Bentley?
I chose the Essentials of Management Mini-MBA because I was keen to explore this area and better understand my employer on a macro level so that, ultimately, I could be more effective in conducting my day-to-day responsibilities. Staff in STEM fields gradually gain exposure to team-leading and management responsibilities during their careers, but business administration — how a company actually works — is something that we don’t usually have the chance to learn about.
Can you please talk about specific skills or insights you gained from the program?
Two big highlights were negotiations and marketing. Negotiating is something that I’m just as likely to use in my personal life as my work life, so that’s great. With marketing, being able to see the end-to-end process has helped me better position my own offerings since taking the course. But perhaps more than any other aspect of the program, what furthered my understanding of business at a macro level was the in-depth discussion on how the stock market works.
How have these skills helped you in your career?
In short, much more than I could have imagined! As my management responsibilities have increased, so too has my exposure to budgets. Until I took this course, I always felt like I was missing the bigger picture, how those department-level budgets connect to my organization’s overall operations. The level of depth that our finance lecturer went to on financial and accounting calculations was surprising, but it couldn’t have been more enlightening.