How does an English major end up as a business technology analyst? For Shelby Cannon (MBA and MSIT ’15), it’s been a winding but logical journey.
She completed her BA in English Language and Literature/Letters in 2011, when the economy was still scrambling to recover from the 2008 Great Recession. It was difficult to find a job at the time, and she ended up accepting an offer from a prior internship.
This first job was a client-facing role working in the deregulated energy space. Eventually, she moved to a more technical role in the same company, working as an implementation specialist.
Cannon found her passion in the middle. She says she “enjoy[s] helping people use technology to solve business goals.”
This clarity in her focus allowed her to reshape her career path, leading her to Bentley University and a career at Deloitte.
Making the Jump from English to Information Technology
Originally, Cannon planned to attend law school for graduate studies.
However, the economy wasn’t fully recovered, and she knew job prospects were bleak. She wanted a university that could provide her with superior career support and a graduate degree “that backed the experience that [she] already had.”
Bentley was a clear choice. Cannon worked in the intersection of technology and business; the dual MBA and MS program at Bentley was exactly what she wanted.
She enrolled in both the MBA and Master of Science in Information Technology programs.
“[The dual-degree] does a great job of tying together business and IT,” explains Cannon. “Many of the business classes are heavily focused on technology and tech strategy, while some of the IT classes drive home the business benefits of technology.”
A Career in Consulting
Upon graduating in 2015, Cannon accepted a position at Deloitte as a business technology analyst. As a consultant, she used both the technical and business sides of her education to help companies.
She recognizes that this dual-focus is now the norm.
“I think that the lines between IT and business will continue to blur and that tech skills will become even more important as we move forward,” she says.
Though Cannon felt prepared for this role at Deloitte, working as a consultant — especially a travelling consultant — did present some challenges. She lived out of a hotel Monday through Thursday, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance was tricky.
In addition, hours varied based on the projects themselves, and could be pretty aggressive during critical times.
However, Cannon says, “it is rewarding to see a project go live, and to see the real life impacts of all of your hard work.”
She also valued the travel because of the exposure it allowed her. She had the chance to work with industries and clients all over the world.
Working with this variety of clientele requires an extremely practiced communicator, a skill Cannon honed at Bentley.
“Ninety percent of consulting is communicating,” she says, “and good communication skills are highly sought after.”
Transitioning from IT Consulting to Marketing
Today, Cannon is enjoying her latest career move to marketing. In April 2017, she became a campaign manager for Deloitte Digital.
In this new role, Cannon will continue to implement her technology expertise. Deloitte Digital is a digital consulting agency that “brings together creative and technology capabilities,” making Cannon an ideal fit. And making the switch to marketing was easy with her holistic business education.
Cannon’s transition allows her to continue to pursue her original passion of helping people solve business problems using technology. Now, she’s added a third facet to the equation: her creative side from her undergraduate days.