Cathy Moya
Program Manager
Microsoft
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
I took a computer class my senior year '84. I loved it. I was good at it!
But I didn't know I could major in it, not ME. So I studied theater. There were computers in theater.
I got good with word processing to write plays and good with the computerized light board.
I graduated and ended up as the office manager for an environmental group, where I taught myself DOS.
I learned to use computerized spreadsheets to keep payroll. I learned how to write macros.
I worked temp computer jobs. I could use any program, troubleshoot any PC issue.
I started teaching computer apps, and learned how to network computers.
I started teaching network administration and wrote courseware for networking technologies.
Education
High School
Abraham Lincoln High
Abraham Lincoln High
Career
Program Manager
I help our customers to help us make better products.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Writing
Helping People
Day to Day
On a great day, you would see me checking on our UserVoice site to see what our customers are asking for in our products. Then I'd spend some time seeing what our MVP community is talking about online. Sometimes they need help with questions, or sometimes someone on my team has questions for them about what our customers need. I also work with companies that are using pre-release versions of our software so they can give us feedback, and find bugs we wouldn't find on our own.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for professionals
Get really comfortable with technology. There are a lot of boot camps out there now that can teach you skills like coding and network administration. If you combine those skills with other types of managerial skills, like project management and customer management, you'd have a good track into the kind of work I'm doing.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"Acting isn't a practical way to make a living. You'll starve!"
Challenges I Overcame
Perfectionism
