If you ask Mike Petroskey what best prepared him for his position at Dell Inc., he’ll tell you it was a passion for business, the drive to succeed, and the guidance of faculty and staff at Michigan Tech.
The low student-to-faculty ratio in the School of Business and Economics is ideal for fostering strong professional bonds between professors, researchers, and students. “My professors did a fantastic job teaching critical thinking, ultimately giving me the ability to work on the fly,” Petroskey says. “In the technology industry, everything moves fast. Critical thinking allows me to adapt to customers, partners and my everyday business.”
Graduating in 2009 with a degree in business administration, Petroskey took advantage of the unique blend of business with science, engineering, and technology at Tech. “I had the opportunity to combine engineering and technology into one career,” he remembers. “It allowed me to work in both fields and provided the experience to communicate effectively in the business.”
In Petroskey’s position as a sales representative, he works side-by-side with an engineering team to best match his company’s expertise and products with customer needs. “Dell engineers know our products inside and out,” he says. “My job is to translate technical specifications into solutions for our clients and keep Dell competitive.”
When asked what words of advice he’d give to future students, Petroskey recommends taking full advantage of the learning experiences and resources in the School of Business and Economics.
“Take classes from the professors you like, and continue building on your relationships with them. Let them mentor you,” he says. “You get to work with some of the smartest people in the field, so use that to your advantage.”
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
