Meet Dominique Huang

Heidi Salgado: Hello and welcome to Mind the Gap, a podcast that showcases a diverse group of Wellesley alums involved in tech. Your host today is Annick Gilles, and today's guest is Dominique Huang. Please note that the audio quality of this recording is not the best, and it may be difficult to hear or understand. We apologize for any inconvenience and suggest using headphones or adjusting the volume if possible.

 

Annick Gilles: Hello, Dominique. How are you doing? 

 

Dominique Huang: I'm doing great. How are you doing? 

 

Annick Gilles: I'm doing well. Thanks for asking. That's awesome. So let's get started. Could you introduce yourself? 

 

Dominique Huang: Yeah, absolutely. So I'm Dominique. I'm from the Bay Area, California, and then I went to Wellesley in 2015. I graduated December, 2019 as a computer science major.

Dominique Hwang: I actually started out as an economics major, but I switched, I believe sophomore year to computer science. Um, and I graduated as a CS major. 

 

Annick Gilles: So what made you switch from economics to computer? 

 

Dominique Huang: I grew up in the Bay Area where a lot of people. Pursue computer science. Even starting in high school, a lot of people were learning computer science, but at the time, and I think still now probably, it was like a very male dominated thing.

 

Dominique Huang:Like I didn't know any other girls in school who were studying computer science, and it was very, very intimidating and I, that's why I never thought that I could ever be a CS major and it wasn't, I think, taught in a way. Was very easy for people who are complete beginners, right? Like if you grew up tinkering with computers or learning how to code by yourself, then I think that would be an easy transition. But I was definitely not one of those people. I went to Wellesley super firm on being an economics major. And I remember other students talking about, you know, taking that first year to explore, take a bunch of classes so they see um, what's out there and then they pick their major. But I went to college pretty set and I was telling everyone, I was like, no, I know what my major is. It's gonna be economics. And then I think in my sophomore year, I decided to take a computer science class just to know what it was like, because you know, tech is so big. There's so many big tech companies just to. Know what it's like to code, but no intention of actually becoming a CS major. Um, I took CS one 11 sophomore fall, I believe.

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Dominique Huang: And then I fell in love with it. And I remember just being so consumed by it to the point that I wasn't even thinking about my Econ p sets. I was really consumed by my CSP sets. And, um, I really loved the problem solving nature of it. And it was the first moment that I was like, oh, wow, maybe I can do CS too. I never had that feeling growing up. And then afterwards I decided to switch. 

 

Annick Gilles: What was your time like at Wellesley? 

 

Dominique Huang: Um, Wellesley, I love Wellesley so much. And I also know that it is an incredibly intense place. Um, I came to Wellesley, I think that was just so inspired and so amazed by all of the people there, and everyone was doing something so different. You know, I think that's also an amazing part of Wellesley is that you're talking to people of all different majors and all different life experiences and back. So it was an incredible experience like that. At the same time, it also really challenged me to rethink a lot of what I wanted in my life, who I was, you know, what my values were. So it was incredibly demanding in that sense, though I also did take a year off from sine, and part of it was to explore what life was like beyond wealthy. Um, You know, do some, get some more work experience outside of school. Um, travel a little bit and then come back to Wal. Um, by the time I came back, I think I, I had a lot more clarity then, and it was a very fun experience.

 

Dominique Huang: Cause then I was taking courses that I really enjoyed, um, doing things that really. You know, brought me a lot of joy and brought me a lot of inspiration. Um, and yeah, other than that, I always loved waling in many ways. I think, um, having like the lake, having things like step singing or hoop rolling, just having an incredible community, having faculty that. You know, really, truly care about you and your growth. Um, it's, it's just an incredible place to be. I don't know if at the time, if you asked me that question if I would have the same answer, but I do see a lot of alums after they graduate, whether it be, you know, one year, five year, 10 years down the road, a lot of them look back fondly on the experience.

 

Annick Gilles: Do you feel like Wellesley prepared you for the workforce? 

 

Dominique Huang: Wow I love this question so much. 100% wholeheartedly. Yes. Wellesley, I think, is just such a good place to prepare people, um, for, you know, the rest of their lives. When I think about Wellesley and what I got from Wellesley, I think it's really beyond just, oh, it, you know, supports me in my day job and I'm able to do well as a PM in my current.

 

Dominique Huang: I really think Wellesley gives you such a great foundation for, um, so many different aspects of your life. One was like, I 100% credit me being a CS major and two to wells's amazing education and making it so approachable because some schools you have to have some prior CS knowledge, but if you grow up. No one that looks like you or has your background is studying cs?

 

Dominique Huang:It does, or it can be very, um, intimidating to even get that background to start with. So one is like becoming a CS major at wealthy. I think another is that. Well, offers so many opportunities to like grow your skills, whatever you want them to be. For me, I was so grateful cause Wellesley has so many, I think opportunities seen communication skills in class. Um, because, you know, Wellesley professors encourage you to speak up, you know, share your thoughts. There's so many presentations. There's such a big focus on written communication as well. Um, there were so many opportunities to take up, um, org leadership positions and practice. You know, holding meetings or, um, working with other people, um, coming up with new initiatives, launching them, you know, getting feedback from students, like there's so many opportunities to do cool things like that and learn new things like that, that I was able to kind of.

 

Dominique Huang: Flex that muscle a little bit more and realized that's something that I really love to do. Um, and then when I started working, a lot of those skills transferred over, right? So it's like, how do you hold a meeting? How do you work with other people? How do you launch new initiatives? Um, how do you kind of come up with new ideas, like all of these things from transferred over to working.

 

Dominique Huang: I think Wellesley is just such an incredible place because you're able to do things like that, um, and try out so many different things and see what it is that you really like to do so that when you start working you can also apply a lot of those experiences to your work. I 

 

Annick Gilles: I saw that you did interning. How did that go for you? 

 

Dominique Huang: Yeah. Interning was incredible. I actually, as much as people can, I do encourage it cuz I think a lot. Me being where I am today in my career and kind of having, um, some clarity on, you know, what I wanna do. A lot of that came from interning. And then at the same time, it's like you start to learn the basics of what it is to do the role full-time.

 

Dominique Huang: So when you're in interning, you maybe get like, Say a third of the work that a full-timer would get, and then you kind of learn the ropes. So the only path that I knew for CS majors at the time was to become a software engineer, um, either at a startup or at a large company. So that's kind of what I did. I just kind of followed, uh, what I knew was possible, which is to become a software engineer. And then it was through that experience. For me, I realized too that I didn't love being a software engineer, um, at a large corporation. So it was a little bit scary, a little bit confusing at the time to navigate it.

Dominique Huang: Realizing like, oh, I think this is, you know, the only path for me, but I don't like this path that I'm going down, um, long-term. And I was thinking, you know, if I'm continuing down this path, 10, 20, 30 years down the road, I think I'm gonna hate my career. And realizing that. Afterwards, I explored a lot, so I ended up doing another internship.

 

Dominique Huang:This one was so much fun. I loved it a ton. And um, the place that I worked at, they really liked me too and they really wanted me to stay. This is a venture capital firm in China. And they were at the time really interested in blockchain technology, and so I was learning a lot about blockchain and then giving presentations on this is what blockchain is, this is what, you know, this is how a consensus mechanism works.

 

Dominique Huang:These are, you know, the biggest, um, cryptocurrencies out there. So that was incredibly rewarding. I think that made me realize, oh, I really do love business. I really do love learning. I love consuming information. I love roles where, um, I can synthesize all of this information and give presentations. So that one was a ton of fun.

 

Dominique Huang:And then afterwards, the two internships. After that were, um, product manager internships at Microsoft. And that was, I think, also incredibly rewarding because I remember the first day that I started my first PM internship at Microsoft. I remember sitting there. And I was sitting in this room, like this big open conference room with all of these product managers and they've been working in this field for a while, and they were helping me set up my laptop and talking about their work.

 

Dominique Huang: And there was a feeling deep down of like. Like, I think I found my people and it was a very, you know, heartwarming experience to realize, like after searching so much and being so lost and so confused, you know, finding people who were speaking the language that I wanted to speak and doing the work that I wanted to do. So, um, afterwards I did a couple project manager internships there, and then became a PM full. Now being on the other side, being full-time, I see how excited people get when interns come. Like everyone loves working with interns. Cause interns just have so much energy, they have so much curiosity. And I think they bring a really great, um, open mindset to work of like, Hey, I'm here to learn as much as possible. Do as much as possible. I can learn anything. I can deliver anything. Right? So it's such an incredible. Um, perspective that they bring. If you start out doing a TM internship and you realize like, Hey, you know what, like this is really not for me. The great thing is then, you know, okay, I'm not locked in full-time, right? I can start exploring other things. Um, or you might try an internship and you realize like, oh, I love this. I really wanna do this full-time. Or you might realize like, oh, I love this work. Maybe not this company, or maybe not this, you know, specific technology. Maybe I can explore another team or another company.

 

Dominique Huang:So, Internships overall, highly recommend. I think it really did help me prepare a lot for my work experience afterwards. Um, and it was just so much fun too. 

 

Annick Gilles: How did it feel to accept your role as a product manager?

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Dominique Huang:Such a good question. How did it feel? I think on one hand it was like incredible joy and gratitude that I was able to get, you know, the full-time offer and that I had, that I was so fortunate to be able to get that opportunity. Um, at the same time, I think it's also a little bit scary cause when we're students, oftentimes it's like we commit to something for a semester, um, which is, you know, a few months and then we can change and then do something else for a few months. And this was the first thing that I was like, oh, this is.

 

Dominique Huang:You know, big commitment. And this might be a few years, you know, and you know, who knows how long it, it would be. Um, and realizing that if you make this one choice, you're also saying no to a lot of other choices. But I think overall, um, it was just a lot of gratitude. Cause I worked with this team before. I love this team. I love the leadership, I love the things that we work on. Um, so probably mixed, but I think it was, um, a joyful experience. 

 

Annick Gilles: Okay. So I'm gonna have you talk about Microsoft a bit more? So how long have you been working at Microsoft and what is it like working there?

 

Dominique Huang: Absolutely. I love Microsoft, so I love talking about Microsoft as well. I first interned here in 2018 and now it's 2022, so it feels like I've been here for four years. I've seen kind of the evolution of a lot of the work that our team has done, which is really, really fun. I started full-time in. 2020. So full-time. I've been here about two. And what it's like working at Microsoft. Microsoft is an incredibly large company, so it's one where, um, if you are a PM in one team, you could talk to a PM in a different team and hear like a completely different experience, right? They could be working on a completely. Different technology, um, different code base, different product, you know, different metrics.

 

Dominique Huang: Everything would be different. Um, because Microsoft, it has so many different, um, big products that it works on. One is Azure, which is cloud computing. There's, you know, Xbox, which is gaming. Um, there's Microsoft Office, you know, which is really popular. There's windows. Um, we have our line of hardware products, whether that be like surface laptops, um, hollow lens. You know, the augmented reality lenses, so there's so many parts of Microsoft is a huge company and I think people are able to find their fit in, um, whichever product or whichever technology that people like. As a whole, I love Microsoft because it has a lot of incredible values. So our CEO sat Nadella when he became the ceo.

 

Dominique Huang: One of the biggest things, in my opinion that he did that really. Put Microsoft on a great trajectory was. At the time, and there are articles published about this, Microsoft had a lot of corporate infighting, so teams within Microsoft would compete with each other. People would not be very collaborative. If one person asked another person for help, sometimes you wouldn't even be able to get that help. And when Satina Nadela joined as the c e O. One thing that he did was really think about how can we refresh the company's culture and instill a new culture where people are collaborative and they're helping each other and they're pursuing this excellence for our customers together. So he really promoted this idea of having an open mindset from I know it all to I can learn it all. And that was a huge shift for us, realizing that anything. That is new. That comes our way, we're able to learn it. And I think changing that perspective really helped us as a company think about how do we continue to innovate, you know, a company as large as Microsoft that's been around for so many years, um, it really challenged us to find new ways to learn new technologies, you know, place big bets on, um, newer Boulder in. And also work a lot more harmoniously with our internal partners, um, realizing like, Hey, I wanna learn from you, I wanna collaborate with you. Um, I wanna improve our working relationship. So every time that we do performance reviews, we also work with our. Business partners, our engineering partners, um, everyone that we work with to get their perspective on, Hey, how can I learn more? How can I work better with you? Where do you wanna see me improve? And it's instilling this growth mindset and open mindset, um, that we bring every day to work. So, kind of a long-winded answer, I think Microsoft has, you know, so many opportunities. It's such a big company, um, and it really has great values to, um, both drive technology forward as well as build a really great culture within the company.

 

Annick Gilles: I'm not sure what your schedule was like in school and what it is now, but would you say that you have a good work-life balance now that the Wellesley culture is out of the picture? 

 

Dominique Huang:Great question. I do definitely agree. I think at Wellesley it feels like there's no.

Dominique Huang:Balance between, um, coursework and classes and like social life. Cause oftentimes it's like if we're out having fun and someone else is like, you know, doing their psets, then we kind of think like, oh, maybe I should be doing my PSET two. Like, I shouldn't be having fun right now. I think there was always this like lingering like looming amount of work that you can do at Wellesley, whether it's, uh, classwork or whether it's stuff outside of work, um, or outside of classwork now that I'm working. Yes, definitely. I think better work-life balance. For example, weekends, for the most part, I don't do any Microsoft work. Um, and I actually think one thing that helps a lot is learning to define your own boundaries and also communicate your needs. And this was a big learning process for me going into the working role.

 

Dominique Huang:Cause like you said, I think when you're at Wellesley, you kind of do whatever it is that you need to do to make. Make the deadlines right, whether it's like, oh, I need to get this piece in. Like, I will just stay up late. I'm gonna get as much coffee as I can and, you know, really get this piece sent out. Um, or ask the professor for an extension. Like, we kind of find a way to make it happen, um, once you're out and in the working world. I think I kind of approached it with the same mindset at first. It's like, it doesn't matter how much work is coming on my plate, I'm gonna get it done. And now realizing, like, I think actually what's a lot healthier is, um, figuring out where my own boundaries are in terms of work-life balance, and then communicating them, and then also communicating my needs.

 

Dominique Huang: If I do ever feel like, Hey, this is absolutely too much work, I'm thinking, I'm not able to perform, you know, at my best. Um, communicating with your manager and with your leadership and saying like, Hey, you know, this is the work that's on my plate. Um, this is, you know what I need. I need more support in terms of X, Y, or Z. So it is kind of a skill, at least it was for me to learn to, um, communicate that. But you are able to, I think, Your own boundaries of, Hey, I don't wanna work weekends, or, you know, whatnot. Um, and I also see a lot of people define their own schedule, right? Especially if they have kids or they have other priorities. Just saying like, okay, these days are my no meeting days, you know, these mornings I send my kids to school, so I'm gonna start work at this time. Um, I'm gonna log back on online at this time, you know, after my kids go to bed. So everyone kind of figures. The schedule that works for them. It's just kind of a matter of you figuring out your own priorities so that other people don't prioritize your schedule for you.

 

Annick Gilles: Okay, so this is my last question for you. What advice would you give to current students who want to follow the same path as you? 

 

Dominique Huang: I would say, If you are a current student right now, um, take time to explore and see what it is that really lights you up. And the reason I say that is because the product manager role is one that it varies so greatly between companies and between teams and between technologies. I really don't see one formula of you need to do X, Y, and Z to succeed as a product manager. Right? Say you really find that love for storytelling. Can you find a role in product management where you're really telling the story to your stakeholders? You know, selling your leadership on the vision of what it is that your team is building. Or if you find, you know, a deep love for, um, human computer interaction, maybe you can do something there and developing. Deep user empathy for, you know, what it is, that would really bring an incredible experience for the user. Um, so finding out what it is that you like to do, and I think the only way that you can do that is by engaging and putting yourself out there and trying out different things. Um, and then in terms of, I think navigating your future career or path in technology, talking to different people. Who either are CS majors, CS minors, taking courses, and also talking to alums. It helps so much. I found product management because one of my friends at Wellesley at the time, she was studying computer science as well. I think she was like a couple years older. And it was because of her. She was on a similar exploration journey and one day I remember getting lunch with her in Lulu and she was saying, Don, have you heard of this thing called product management? And I was like, no, I've never heard of it. And she was saying like, oh, it's, it seems like a really cool role. It seems to combine business, technology and design. You know, it's kind of a cross-functional role. I'm really curious about it. A couple companies offer positions. You might wanna look into it too. That was the first time ever that I heard about product management, and it was really thanks to her that I was able to find, you know, the roles that I did afterwards.

 

Dominique Huang:: Let's see, taking courses beyond computer science. So taking advantage of that full liberal arts experience also really helps feels in the long term. You never know how. Maybe an art history course or a sociology course or a course in virtual reality, how that will kind of play into your work in the future. But because while the offers just such a big breath of courses, You can start to pull, you know, things that you learned in one course into your work or something that you pulled that you never knew that it was gonna come into your life in the future. Um, it's very, it's always very exciting to be able to pull from so many different sources. So taking advantage, exploring as much as possible, having fun when you can. I think that's something I didn't do enough as a student. And sometimes I think it is difficult at Wellesley because it's so intensive. There is so much homework, there's, you know, midterms and whatnot. But, you know, taking time for yourself as much as you can to take care of yourself, um, take a breather when you can. Um, and just kind of tune into, you know, where I am today. Do I like the path that I'm going down? Is there something else that I wanna try? Is there, you know, are there ways. I can do more or rest more or be kinder to myself. So yeah, I would say all of those things. 

 

Annick Gilles:Thank you so much, Dominique, for joining me today and for sharing your experience for this podcast.

Annick Gilles: Thanks so much. 

 

Dominique Huang: Of course. Annick, this was amazing. I'm so honored that you reached out and I'm so excited for everything that you're doing with this podcast beyond this podcast. Um, this was truly a big joy for today. Thank you so much.

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Heidi Salgado: Thank you for listening to Mind the Gap, and we will see you next time. A special thanks to today's guest, Dominque and your host Annick. Today's episode was edited by Annick Gilles, Heidi Salgado, and was brought to you by our executive producer Smaranda Sandu.