Aadil Maan (2010, BCom ITEC Specialized Honours, Business System Analysis stream)
In his own words…
BCom IT grad Aadil Maan
My experience at York was true to its moto,Tentanda Via: The Way Must Be Tried. I strived for an experience both academic and social, outside the bounds of my academic curriculum which allowed me the opportunity to leave the halls of this institution ready to find my own way in the world.
My most memorable moment was the first week of my undergraduate degree. To see the vast and abundant student groups and organizations displayed throughout YorkU campus welcoming new students made me feel as if I had arrived at a true bastion of diversity not just of academics but of thought and ideals. That scene of the sprawling student group booths like many single communities coming together to paint a mosaic of diversity were a perfect reflection of the diaspora that inhabits the city of Toronto.
The interdisciplinary curriculum exposed a fresh mind, such as mine, not just to the vigour of computers but to logic, humanities, and reasoning: that is, perhaps, what was the best part about my program. The humanities courses were a welcomed respite from the 1’s and 0’s of the technological world. Another thing that stands out for me and something I owe my entire career trajectory to was the Technology Internship Program with LA&PS. It showed me that even though I may not have a Comp Sci or Eng degree, I can work in Software Engineering and do amazing things.
My life after graduation….
After graduating in August 2010, I spent one and a half years at BlackBerry as an Operating Systems Project Specialist working on Silicon Prototypes. In Feb 2012, I had the privilege of joining Apple Inc in Cupertino, California as an iOS Engineering Project Manager within the Software Engineering Program Office. Over the next 5 and half years, I was Lead Project Manager for some of Apple’s most crucial features like iCloud Keychain support for 3rd party apps, Two Factor Authentication, Apple Pay on the Web, and Apple Pencil integration with iPad Pro in iOS 11. Just recently, in Dec 2017, I left Apple, arguable my best career years, to join Google as a Program Manager in the Android Things team where we are working on revolutionizing the IoT world.
My degree taught me the ins and outs of Systems Engineering and Design. It gave me the capabilities to approach technical challenges with a very holistic approach and find opportunities and weaknesses to fix or improve so the engineering teams are functioning at full throttle.
My advice for students….
Fret not for what the future might or might not hold. Be bold, take risks, and enjoy these years but keep an eye on the future for traveling a path with a goal is not always ideal. I did a 16-month internship as a Project Coordinator with BlackBerry. It was the biggest risk and something my parents couldn’t comprehend that I am leaving university to go do this. That internship landed me my first full-time job with BlackBerry and I knew I wanted to dedicate my career to Project Management in Software Engineering. Expose yourself to the humanities. Learn the art of critical reasoning and logic. As a Project Manager, most of the work you do is troubleshooting at various scales of complexity. These non-technical skills will set you apart from your peers for you can breakdown things into smaller bits and put the puzzle back together correctly.