FTG 0071 - Building Your Career Across Industries with Brad Zanette ’18

Overview:
Architectural engineer turned consultant turned technology solutions engineer Brad Zanette joins the show from New York City to share his perspectives and advice for current Scholars and young alumni. Brad came to Penn State and made the most of his opportunities during his five years at University Park, earning his bachelors and masters in architectural engineering while completing several internships, including work on the earlier stages of the East Halls renovation project. One of those internships led to a full-time role at Deloitte and subsequent work at Oracle. While certainly useful for engineering Scholars, this episode is great for any Scholars who have multiple interests and want to hear unique strategies for setting themselves apart in the job search. Brad’s bio is available below along with chapter markers detailing the topics discussed.
Guest Bio:
Brad Zanette ’18 Engineering is a lead principal solution engineer at Oracle in New York, New York (remote/occasional travel) where he helps business within the Architecture, Engineering, & Construction ("AEC") industry undergo large scale digital business transformations. Before joining Oracle in 2021, he previously worked in consulting with Deloitte and construction management with several general contractors and a subcontractor. He earned both a bachelors and masters of architectural engineering with honors from Penn State’s College of Engineering in 2018. He's happy to discuss growing up in northeast PA, working construction, studying in China, and living in New York. Please feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn.
Episode Topic & Chapters:
00:05 Introductions and how Brad came to Penn State
01:11 Choosing and defining architectural engineering
05:17 Deloitte Leadership Development Center
06:38 Other leadership opportunities
08:41 Carefully selecting the best fitting study abroad program
11:55 The Honors Thesis
16:18 Early career and internship success
20:29 East Halls renovation project
23:05 AEC - the construction acronym at work
27:22 Consulting
34:38 Deciding to leave consulting
36:22 Construction tech
39:40 Transitioning from on-site to desk work
42:08 Continuing education and lifelong learning
44:21 Outside community and industry involvement
46:35 Resume and LinkedIn tips
50:53 Questions that should have been asked
54:17 Biggest successes and failures
57:42 Thoughts on mentorship
01:01:48 Shoutouts
01:03:31 Brad's final piece of advice
01:04:50 How to connect with Brad
01:05:05 Which Creamery Ice Cream flavor Brad would be and why + wrap up
-----
Schreyer Honors College Links:
Website: www.shc.psu.edu
Instagram: / psushc
LinkedIn: / mycompany
Following the Gong Homepage [Links for audio versions]: following-the-...
Upcoming Events: www.shc.psu.ed...
Scholars - Need Assistance? Book an Appointment! www.shc.psu.ed...
Alumni - Learn Why and How to Volunteer: www.shc.psu.ed...
Make a Gift to Benefit Schreyer Scholars: www.raise.psu....
Join the Penn State Alumni Association: wwww.alumni.psu...
-----
Credits & Notes:
This show is hosted, produced, and edited by Sean Goheen '11 Lib (Schreyer), '23g Bus.
The artwork was created by Tom Harrington, the College’s Web Developer.
The sound effect is “Chinese Gong,” accessed via SoundBible used under Creative Commons License.