Ryan Tang’s Story:

As a STEM instructor teaching introductory and intermediate robotics courses in New York City, mechatronics engineering graduate Ryan Tang enrolled in Purdue’s online MS ENE program to further his career. While enrolled, Tang says he learned a lot more than he expected.

When he suddenly changed careers (twice) and industries – to a project manager for a drone company and then for a building management control systems company – his ongoing MS ENE coursework helped him in both roles, making him more effective as a trainer and more efficient in moving his projects to completion. Tang says the things he learned in pursuit of his MS ENE allowed him to mentor people more effectively by understanding how they approached the technical material.

He completed the MS ENE program in less than 2-1/2 years and attributes his success to the way the program was structured, noting that it allowed him to create his required portfolio piece-by-piece as he progressed through the courses. He adds that support and flexibility from faculty advisors kept him on his academic path while the weekly research seminars exposed him to different approaches to teaching and mentoring. Ryan continues to leverage his degree and gain professional experience through his recent appointment as a program coordinator for robotics at the New York Power Authority.