Alumni Stories: Brandon Byers, Gies College of Business

Brandon Byers is an alumnus of the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.

Before beginning his MBA studies at the business school, he was a project manager intern at John Burns Construction Co. with only 1.5 years’ work experience under his belt.

Since graduating from Gies College of Business, Byers landed a supply chain construction manager role at Intel Corporation.

He speaks with TopMBA.com about his reasons for choosing Gies College of Business and how his studies affected his career.

What were you doing before starting your MBA?

I worked at John Burns Construction Company in a project management capacity in their electrical infrastructure division.

Daily I tracked project submittals and coordinated activities with crews to ensure safe production of electrical infrastructure residential projects. I was also in charge of updating safety audits to increase the bill out rate with CDOT.

What factors led you to pursue a graduate degree?

I’d worked in residential construction but wanted to take on bigger challenges and felt I was underutilizing my skill set.

I wanted to work with more complex engineering problems and understand how business plays a role with solving and executing these problems.

I always compare my going to graduate school to leaving the house and heading for the airport. I leave the house and get down the street and remember I forgot something crucial I must collect before traveling. That was my experience graduating with my bachelors – I wanted to go back and get the knowledge I felt was critical to be an asset to my family and future employer.

What factored in to your final choice of where to study?

A friend was at UIUC and following various discussions I was amazed by the different areas of study and real-world problems they were solving.

UIUC also has a unique program that allows students to pursue an MBA & another masters’ degree in parallel. I wanted to obtain my M.S. in Civil Engineering while completing my MBA.

Illinois has immense connections with top global companies, a world-renowned innovation center and consulting groups that give students an opportunity to apply their learnings to real business problems.

How did your time on the program help you find your post-graduation job?

Being a joint-degree student, I became a double threat in the market. Employers knew if I could solve complex engineering and business problems, I could make an immediate impact.

Our global consulting program gave me an opportunity to work with a sourcing and logistics company, where I was tasked to help improve their customer base while identifying cost-saving strategies. This experience was key for obtaining my role at Intel. 

What was your favorite thing about the city/campus?

The campus is really family orientated. The city is filled with so many people from different parts of the world and you experience someone’s culture wherever you go.

What was your single best experience on the program?

I really enjoyed the first tailgate we had as a program. Everyone was filled with excitement because we knew this was a two-year ride filled with endless possibilities. It was also the first time I got to know everyone socially. I was lucky to have friendly classmates that were open and fun as well as smart and ambitious.

Would you do anything differently if you could research and apply again?

Though things worked out for me, I think it’s best to do your due diligence and apply to various programs you’re interested in. Visit those universities and talk with students to get their honest feedback.

The opportunity to obtain both degrees in parallel is what appealed to me. There’s also the notion I could have waited and obtained more work experience before applying to business school. I think I made the right decision because my impact was felt in the program and the outcome justified the decision. Sometimes it’s about believing in yourself and not the circumstance.

What do you think is the biggest myth about business school?

That it’s all business. To make it through business school you must socialize and interact with classmates. That’s the most exciting part about being in business school; the greatest lessons you learn are from others and their experiences.

Sometimes the answer to your most complex problems can be solved through discussion; the key to getting a job offer could be advice given during a social outing.

If you plan on attending a business school, be yourself, interact and understand if you’re diligent and steadfast the business will take care of itself.

What is the one piece of advice you would have for incoming students?

Have a clear vision on what you want to accomplish. Be sure to interact with classmates, join clubs to gain leadership experience, connect with alumni, and take on complex consulting problems.

My last piece of advice is to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.