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The following article originally appeared in the alumni opinion column, "What Matters," on the MIT Alumni Association web site on January 4, 2005. View a short video about UPOP, featuring author Ian Ybarra.

Traveling on the Road to Success with UPOP

by Ian Ybarra '04

Since I became an alumnus only recently, you can probably imagine the beginning of a typical conversation I have with new acquaintances.

Acquaintance: Where did you go to college?

Me: MIT

A: MIT? Wow. That's impressive.

Me: Thanks. It's a great place. I was fortunate to be there.

A: So what's your degree in?

Me: I studied materials science and engineering (Course 3, of course).

A: What do you do now? (Few people have the courage to simply ask 'What's that?')

Me: I'm a writer. (This is the simple answer.)

A: Pause. (I wish you could see their faces.)

Naturally, people recover with a quip similar to "Well, aren't you putting your education to good use!" We share a chuckle. Then I explain a little of what I'll now share with you.

If you're wondering, I'm not a novelist. I suspect I wouldn't be able to write fiction to save my life. In fact, I'm convinced I got several A's for effort, but none for merit, in Stephen Alter's short story class at MIT.

This summer I worked for Inc. magazine in New York. It was a dream come true, because I've been fascinated with business magazines for years. Most of my effort was for the annual special issue called the Inc. 500. It's a famous list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. The best part of the job was interviewing the founders and CEOs of companies which made the list. I even got to do the reporting on the #1 company. In the end, it was great to have some bylines (and my picture!) in a magazine that's on newsstands everywhere.

Still, I don't think journalism is exactly the right fit for me. When I grow up, I want to be an author and speaker. I want to dream up ideas, write books about them, and teach people how to use them to enhance their lives. In a way, I want to be a teacher, just not in a traditional classroom. And what better stepping stone for my career than to assist someone who's already doing just that! So I'm helping Keith Ferrazzi, CEO of a sales and marketing consulting firm and one of the world's most "connected" people, launch his book Never Eat Alone, and teach people how to build relationships to advance their careers, boost company sales, and change the world.

Today, I'm told my answers to questions like "What do you do?" and "What do you want to be when you grow up?" sound quite nice, that I deliver them with confidence and apparent passion. But it wasn't always this way.

In high school I barely had time to sleep after packing my days with school, sports, and other activities meant to be fun and impress college admissions officers. I didn't have time to dream about what I wanted do with my life, so I did what many people do. I said my profession would be the same as my expected college major. My official answer, for college admissions essays, scholarship applications, and badgering relatives, was "mechanical engineer." Was it the truth? Come on! I was 18. I didn't have a clue about what mechanical engineers really do. But it made for a logical ending to a story about how my love for sport stretched beyond my athletic achievements to my fascination with new alloys and structures for baseball bats. Indeed, told with excitement and curiosity, the story was convincing enough to help me win a lot of money and a seat at the Institute.

Imaginary intentions could only take me so far. My first year at MIT was as hectic as high school. Then I struggled through the fall term of my sophomore year. Wrestling with problem sets in the first core classes of my major (which had changed to materials science and engineering, but hey, most of my "baseball bat story" was about materials) and worrying about earning the first B's of my academic life, I reached a breaking point. I wanted to know what it all was for. I wanted to understand how studying at MIT would help me make impact in the world after graduation. After all, college, even the hallowed MIT, is not IT. It's just one step along the journey. I needed to figure out what I really wanted to do after college. Assuming I would do something after graduation by default wasn't good enough anymore. I did not want to get a materials science job just because that's what I was studying. Nor did I want to go into management consulting or finance just to get away from engineering (like I had seen so many seniors and alumni do). I realized that if I were to be happy, I would have to choose a professional path, not merely accept one.

Then, the School of Engineering launched the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program (UPOP). UPOP was billed as an innovative new professional development program that would expose engineering sophomores to the multi-faceted nature of professional practice. It promised to help me build a foundation of skills not taught in the engineering core curriculum and learn more about what the working world is really like by learning from real professionals and experiencing it firsthand. Just what I needed.

First, there was the weeklong IAP workshop, unlike any other class at MIT. I was told it resembled a corporate training seminar, but as a sophomore who had no sense of what happens when you start a job, it felt more like summer camp -- fast-paced and fun, with a ton of learning. My eight student teammates and I played roles in one working-world simulation after another. We enjoyed quite a few "a-ha!" moments, absorbing lessons that can only be understood through experience with things like resolving conflicts, communicating with people of different personalities, and determining technical specifications for a product. Enthusiastic professors from the School of Engineering and the Sloan School of Management ran all the exercises. But the truly remarkable thing was how my team had the undivided attention of a real professional from industry to help us along. And when we asked, she told us about her work with artificial intelligence, her experience managing teams, and working for former supervisors -- knowledge we could get from nowhere else.

At evening seminars throughout the spring term, MIT alumni and non-MIT-affiliated professionals volunteered to coach and mentor us. They taught us about job-hunting basics, such as writing resumes and interviewing with employers, as well as the importance of networking and how to make the most of our summer internships. Although I appreciated those essential bits of knowledge, I knew I was accelerating my development most by talking with and learning from the alumni about their early (and later) career decisions and my possible career paths. Then in the summer, I had my first work experience as an intern at a major manufacturing company. Finally, there was a massive UPOP dinner in the fall where we students reunited to share our work stories with each other - a great way to quickly learn the ins and outs of other types of jobs.

Through UPOP, I gained a new awareness of the infinite opportunities in the professional world. I realized it wasn't just okay to begin thinking about and taking responsibility for my career; it was mandatory! I was given access to caring MIT alumni who shared what they've learned from going before me. I was inspired by the community of students who also cared about their careers. And, finally, I was re-energized about attending MIT by seeing how I could apply the skills I was building as an engineering student to any profession I chose.

After my UPOP experience, I was convinced that preparing for life after MIT mattered as much as what I did while I was still there. While I learned to work more efficiently and continued to earn above-average marks in my coursework, I sought out to find what I really wanted to do after college. I spent many hours reading all the magazines and books I could find on topics that intrigued me. I asked everyone I met if they were happy with their careers, how they got where they were, and what they wanted to be when they grew up. And in my final term at MIT, I finally got serious about writing. I contributed a weekly column to The Tech which explored the many factors influencing early career decisions and encouraged fellow MIT undergraduates to find and pursue work that is fun, rewarding, and remarkable.

I eventually found my answers (at least for now) to questions like "What do you do?" and "What do you want to be when you grow up?" However, doing that as an MIT undergraduate was quite difficult. That needs to change. Everyone should have their own answers to these questions, and UPOP is helping hundreds of students find theirs. Furthermore, I know firsthand how critical alumni involvement has been to propelling UPOP toward that goal. So now that I'm an alumnus, helping MIT undergraduates take charge of their careers and pursue their dreams is what matters to me.