Mind The Gap: How Jennifer Johnson Bridged Her Skill Sets
When Triple Jacket, Jennifer Johnson, recognized a deficiency in her data analysis skills, she decided it was time for a change.
Being a leader demands agility, the courage to embrace change, and a willingness to pivot when needed – traits no one exemplifies better than Triple Jacket Jennifer Johnson.
Earning both a Bachelor and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech is no small feat. However, when Johnson decided to return to her alma mater for a third degree, she elected to pivot into an entirely new field and ultimately a new career path.
The First Shift
Following a long and successful aeronautics career with Lockheed Martin, Johnson transitioned into independent consulting to achieve a better work-life balance for her growing family while remaining professionally engaged.
Once her children reached school age and she was ready to return to the traditional workspace, Johnson found it challenging to secure a job equivalent to her previous engineering position. When a director position at Spelman College became available, she elected to shift her knowledge, leadership, and experience into higher education.
As director of student success at Spelman, Johnson was responsible for increasing retention and graduation rates for undergraduate students. “I was working in a space that was heavily data-oriented and entailed creating databases and tracking student success,” Johnson said. “Tracking matriculation was straightforward, but to truly identify and measure predictors of success and intervene with impactful practices required a deeper dive."
"I wanted to upskill and have a broader toolkit that would allow me to uncover insights in the data sets and help the student population I was serving.”
Broadly aware of the things she could do with the data before her, Johnson realized she needed to advance her analytics skills to gain the insights she sought.
Minding the Gap
Her commitment to her work at Spelman and her desire to further develop her analytical abilities led her to search for top-ranked programs in data analytics. “I didn’t have to look very far,” Johnson recalled. “My research quickly led me to Tech’s OMS Analytics program."
“Georgia Tech is where I’d found success in the past. When I saw the course curriculum, the faculty engaged in the work, the time to degree, and the alumni feedback, I was certain this was the program for me," she continued.
"My personal knowledge about what it takes to be successful at Georgia Tech was instrumental. Whether online or on campus, Tech is rigorous. I knew I was capable of success given my history at the institution. It has always been the place that's launched me into the next phase of my career."
Once she began the Online Master of Science in Analytics (OMS Analytics) program, Johnson quickly realized the program would indeed help her achieve the changes she was looking to make at Spelman. “I was able to apply what I was learning in class directly to my job. There was an immediate value-add.”
The Second Shift
However, fate and Georgia Tech had an unexpected twist in store for Johnson, when her professional life took another unexpected turn. With her OMS Analytics degree as an additional credential in her professional arsenal, global giant Accenture invited her to join their team as an applied intelligence data scientist. Calling it the ultimate pivot, Johnson is thrilled with her new position where she leads teams focused on data analysis, data integrations, AI (inclusive of Gen AI), and predictive modeling initiatives in the health and public services industry.
“I love it!” Johnson shared with unbound enthusiasm. “I have a mindset that everything just compounds - and what I mean by that is I don’t feel like I abandoned any aspect of engineering. I just took those core problem-solving abilities and layered on a very specific skill set. All of it synergistically works together.”
Reflecting on her now Triple Jacket status, Johnson noted, “Each time I graduated from Georgia Tech, I accelerated my career. OMS Analytics really did change the trajectory of my career. The program has given me so much.”
“This may sound corny, " she continued, "but the impact has been life-changing. The decision to enter and complete the program was confidence-building and put me on a path that led me to a dream executive role, all while being engaged in doing meaningful work to help others live healthier, more productive lives. For this, I am grateful every day.”
Smiling, Johnson added, “A Georgia Tech credential once again changed the course of my career.”
Credits
Writer: Laurel-Ann Dooley
Editor: Teresa Daniel
Digital Producer: Kat Bell
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