As the first graduate of the Master's degree program Computational Social Systems, Mr. Gigerl was faced with a career decision in the last semester for which he was looking for support. Through the Career Mentoring Program, he found an internationally active mentor in Ms. Pfingstl who accompanied him through this process - with a surprising twist included.
Mr. Gigerl, could you briefly describe your career development so far?
After the HTL, I first completed a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration at the University of Graz. and then a Master's degree in Computational Social Systems (CSS), as I had already taken my electives in the field of computer science and was particularly interested in this subject.
I felt it was important to keep a foot in the business world,
that's why, while I was studying, I worked for a global technical company
based in Weiz and Erlangen, where I started out as a design engineer
and became most recently, due to internal job changes after completing my studies, responsible for over 30 production sites worldwide in the area of process digitization.
What was the reason you were looking for a mentor?
I was specifically looking for a mentor in the "international" field, as one of my goals was to decide whether I wanted to continue my current job after completing my master's degree or emigrate professionally, or even to start my own business there.
How was the first meeting for you?
Our meetings took place online via MS Teams, as my mentor lives in Dubai. We talked for over two hours at our first meeting and it wasn't just about organizational matters, but a lot has already happened in terms of content. My mentor also studied business administration here in Graz, so we talked about my studies, my career plans and our shared experiences in Dubai and Qatar, and Ms. Pfingstl told me about her career path and described her current areas of activity.
In my conversation with Ms. Pfingstl I realized: You can already have a certain plan [ ... ], and then an unexpected professional opportunity comes at exactly the the right time, and as well as the topic and the new challenge fits.
How long did your mentorship last?
The mentoring program lasted 12 months and we had a total of ten meetings that lasted between one and one and a half hours. We discussed already discussed at the first meeting what the meetings should be about and included and planned this in the mentoring agreement.
In a document, I wrote down my updates and desired topics for the next meetings with Ms. Pfingstl and sent them to her about a week before the next the next appointment to her. At the end of the mentoring session we went through everything again and checked whether we had covered everything. have covered everything.
What topics did you discuss in mentoring?
One big focus was job postings in abroad and we looked through my prepared applications and optimized my CV. Because during the mentoring I moved to a new position, we also talked about changing jobs job change, salary negotiations and about what I generally wanted professionally. want in general.
About important things when planning to emigrate - such as cultural differences between Europe and other parts of the world, the differences in living cost of living and prestigious universities - and how to build a network abroad. also how to build a network abroad, what channels are available and what to look out for you need to watch out for if you want to set up a company.
My goals at the beginning were very broad and we talked about the topics agreed at the beginning, towards the end I talked more about current I talked about current developments in my new position as a data scientist.
And now my plans have changed completely. I have my job and will start in June as a PhD student on the topic of "Automated Machine Learning (AutoML)" at the University of Graz with my former master thesis supervisor Dr. Thalmann.
How long did your mentorship last?
The mentoring program lasted 12 months and we had a total of ten meetings that lasted between one and one and a half hours. We already discussed at the first meeting what the meetings should be about and included and planned this in the mentoring agreement.
In a document, I wrote down my updates and desired topics for the next meetings with Ms. Pfingstl and sent them to her about a week before the next appointment. At the end of the mentoring we went through everything again and checked whether we had covered everything.
Is this change of plans a result of your mentoring with Ms. Pfingstl or did it "just happen"?
In my conversation on the topic of "What do I want professionally?" that I had with Ms. Pfingstl, I realized one thing: You can already have a certain plan in life, but it may be that something changes in the department, in management or even in my private situation, over which I have little influence. And then an unexpected professional opportunity comes along at just the right time, where the topic and the new challenge fit.
I take a more relaxed view of it all now after mentoring. I I can also go abroad after the PhD, because after the four years postdoc you generally spend a year and a half abroad. There I can still implement the plan.
The openness in the interview was really important to me. I had a level of trust with my mentor in which I could discuss topics such as change of job and salary. The exchange with Ms. Pfingstl broadened my horizons and the mentoring in general really exceeded my expectations. I can definitely recommend it to others, regardless of whether you are at the end of your Bachelor's degree or after your Master's degreeand are looking for professional decision support.
Have you achieved all of your mentoring goals?
My goal was: Successful emigration and job in the Data science field. We achieved the second goal and I am really happy with this development and the decision for a funded PhD position in exactly my field of interest at the University of Graz.
Dear Mr. Gigerl, thank you very much for the very interesting
interview and all the best for your future career!
Personal information:
Benjamin Gigerl graduated from the University of Graz with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and the Master's degree in CSS - Computational Computational Social Systems at the University of Graz.