Career Development Insights

Throughout my career conversations, one question echoes consistently: "Should I pursue an individual contributor (IC) or management track in AI?" Contrary to traditional career narratives, AI demands a more sophisticated approach. Due to the technical depth of AI, the IC path isn't a dead end but an enriching journey of innovation and expertise. What's fascinating is how AI is reshaping career dynamics: even people managers must stay hands-on and technically sharp. Big tech (or even almost all tech companies) now recognize technical leadership as equally prestigious as management roles, with principal engineers and research scientists commanding the same respect and compensation as their people-managing counterparts, sometimes even more. The real magic happens when you're strategic about your growth. For IC professionals, this means continuously expanding your technical breadth and depth. Focus on becoming a technical thought leader, publish research/articles, contribute to open-source projects, speak at conferences, and develop cutting-edge solutions that push the boundaries of AI. For those drawn to management, the key is to develop not just people skills but a deep understanding of AI's strategic implementation. A successful AI manager is one who bridges technical complexity with business vision, creating an environment where innovation thrives and complex AI solutions are created. Your publications will shift from technical deep dives to thought leadership that demonstrates strategic prioritization and transformative potential. Ultimately, the most fulfilling path is the one that aligns with your intrinsic motivations. If you're energized by solving complex technical challenges, diving deep into machine learning models, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible, the IC track might be your calling. If you're passionate about amplifying human potential, mentoring talent, and driving large-scale AI initiatives, people management could be your sweet spot. There are no right or wrong decisions. The beauty of AI is its flexibility. Many professionals successfully navigate between these paths throughout their careers, bringing unique perspectives and a holistic understanding to each role they touch. #ExperienceFromTheField #WrittenByHuman #EditedByAI

Forty percent of Black women are Onlys. The only woman in the room. The only Black person at the table. The only one who looks like them in the entire department. Double the rate of women overall. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐱™ Being the Only doesn't just feel isolating. It costs you money. Here's how: 51% of Black women who are Onlys report needing to provide more evidence of their competence than their colleagues. For men who are not Onlys? 13%. That's a 38-point gap in proof burden. Every time you re-explain your qualifications. Every time you over-document your decisions. Every time you CC three extra people to establish a paper trail because you know your word won't be enough. That's labor. Unpaid labor. 77% of Black women report "prove it again" bias — having to demonstrate competence over and over, while their white male counterparts get presumed capable from day one. And when you do succeed? They don't credit competence. They credit luck. Affirmative action. Help from someone else. Timing. Your wins don't compound in your file. They evaporate. So you prove it again. And again. And again. Meanwhile, Brad's first success is still paying dividends three promotions later. This is not a confidence gap. This is an extraction gap. The time you spend re-proving yourself is time you're not spending on visible, credited, compensated work. It's time stolen from the record that determines your raise. Your promotion. Your equity. They're not asking you to prove it again because they forgot. They're asking because the system is designed to make you work twice for half the credit. And half the credit means half the compensation. Document the proof burden. Track the hours. Name the pattern. Because the Only Tax isn't invisible. It's just unbilled. How many times have you had to prove something twice that Brad only had to prove once? Thank You; It's True™ #BlackWomensWealthLab #DocumentEverything #TheOnlyTax

The cybersecurity certification game has changed dramatically in 2025. After reviewing hundreds of job postings and talking with hiring managers, here's what actually matters now and what's become obsolete. The Big Shifts: Cloud certifications are now commanding 15-20% salary premiums. AWS Security Specialty and Azure Security Engineer aren't optional anymore, they're expected. If you're picking one, follow the money. AWS dominates most markets, but Azure leads in government and enterprise. CISSP remains essential for leadership roles, but timing matters. Early-career professionals with CISSP often get labeled as "title hunters." Save it for when you have 5+ years experience and are eyeing management positions. The surprising winner? Specialized beats generalist every time. Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist (CKS) holders are writing their own tickets. OSCP continues to destroy CEH in market value and employers want proof you can hack, not just talk about it. What's Working by Career Stage: Entry Level: Security+ remains your ticket in. Pair it with cloud fundamentals (AWS/Azure) for maximum impact. Cost: ~$400-600 total. ROI: Excellent. Early Career (1-3 years): Go deep, not broad. SOC analysts need CySA+ or GMON. Future pentesters need OSCP. Skip generalist certifications entirely. Mid-Career (3-7 years): Choose your path. Technical track? Advanced cloud security or DevSecOps certs. Leadership track? Start that CISSP journey. Senior (7+ years): CISSP + business acumen wins. Add CISM for GRC roles or maintain technical edge with architect-level cloud certifications. The Reality Check: CEH is dying. Despite appearing in job posts, hiring managers increasingly view it as outdated. Don't waste your money. SANS certifications are incredible but at $7,000+, calculate carefully. Three specialized certifications might open more doors than one premium cert. AI security certifications are mostly hype. Stick with established providers adding AI modules to existing programs. The certification landscape evolves fast, but the principle remains constant: certifications open doors, skills keep them open. Choose credentials that align with where you're going, not where you've been. What's your certification strategy for 2025? Are you going deep in a specialty or building breadth? #Cybersecurity #Certifications #CareerDevelopment #InfoSec #CloudSecurity #TechCareers

Your competence at work is judged in seconds. Even when you over-deliver, you can be underestimated. Every day, false assumptions about you are made: — Polite = Weak — Older = Not agile — A foreign accent = Less capable — Introverted =  Not a strong leader — Woman =  Softer voice, less authority It's not just unfair. It's exhausting. So the question is: How do you beat biases without changing who you are? Here’s what I recommend: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 → Speak about impact, not effort. → Articulate your value proposition. →“Here’s the problems I solve. Here's how. Here’s the result."  If no one knows what you bring to the table, they won’t invite you to it. 𝟮. 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 Silent excellence is wasted potential. → Speak up when it feels risky. → Build real not just strategic relationships. → Share insights where people are paying attention. You don’t need to be loud. You need to be seen. 𝟯. 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 The traits that trigger assumptions? Those are your edge. → Introverted? That’s deep listening. → Accent? That’s global perspective. Don’t flatten yourself to fit. Distinguish yourself to lead. 𝟰. 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 → Say “I recommend” not "I think.” → Hold eye contact. Take up space. → Act like your presence belongs (even when others haven’t caught up.) Confidence isn’t volume. It’s grounding. Bias is everywhere. But perception can be changed. Don't let other people's false assumptions define you. Do you agree? ➕ Follow Deena Priest for strategic career insights. 📌Join my newsletter to build a career grounded in progress, peace and pay.

A significant hurdle to women in asset management becoming Portfolio Managers is that the promotion decision is typically taken around the time many women have children, i.e. early 30s or after approximately 10 years as an Analyst. While most women take extended parental leave, men rarely do; in addition, women typically bear the majority of childcare responsibilities after birth. Moreover, there is an age range where, if a woman has not made PM, she likely never will and is viewed as a career analyst. Relative earnings dynamics within a family amplifies workplace dynamics. If a woman is overlooked for promotion in her early 30s while having children, her earnings may have fallen significantly behind her partner’s by her late 30s. The family dynamic may either dissuade her from returning to work or require her to bear more childcare responsibilities after returning, further increasing inequality. The career interruption from pregnancy applies outside of promotion concerns. A woman in the early stages of pregnancy or intending to become pregnant may be reluctant to take risk (e.g. by speaking up, making a contrarian investment, or switching firm) because, if she is made redundant, it will be difficult for her to find a new job as she will be at a late stage of pregnancy. One interviewee knows of women who have had abortions because they were too new in the job and being pregnant would expose them to too much career risk. This issue is highlighted in my report on Cognitive Diversity in Asset Management for Diversity Project - Investment Industry. https://lnkd.in/eASk7x3P Potential solutions are in my response to the FCA's consultation on Diversity and Inclusion in the Financial Sector at https://lnkd.in/eWgkd8qz (see p7). I would be grateful to learn of additional solutions: please leave a comment.

👁️ If only women had wives. The kind who clear the runway, catch the flu calls, and make ambition look effortless... Last Friday, a young mother I work with told me her mentor in the company advised her to hide the fact that she has two young children, when she was about to enter the promotion as head of department in a new country. She asks me what I think... Frankly, I didn't know what to say to her, because her mentor is right, she has a higher chance of nailing that role if her peers didn't know that she has caregiving responsibilities at home. Too many women have learned to perform invisibility: to tuck their motherhood into silence, to show up spotless, sleepless, and unshakeable, as if our humanity were a PR risk. 💼 I get it. There is a cost to ambition. Every day, I choose between being an entrepreneur, a mother, a woman who sometimes drops the ball and sometimes carries the world. But to hide my children, that’s a price too high. 🌱 Motherhood didn’t make me less focused. It taught me triage, boundaries, and emotional intelligence you can’t learn in an MBA. When I’m worried about my child, I say so. When I block my calendar for family, I don’t apologize. I’m not working despite being a mother, I’m working because of everything motherhood has expanded in me. 🏗️ The truth is that the system is still built on the assumption that care is a private inconvenience, not a collective asset. Until companies start designing around reality, not pretending people don’t have lives, gender diversity will remain a spreadsheet goal, not a lived value. 💬 Because if advancement depends on having a wife at home, you don’t have a talent strategy ,you have a dependency. Now, What employers can actually do: ✅ Make part-time powerful: leadership, budgets, and promotions included. Stop treating flexibility as a downgrade. ✅ Tie manager bonuses to parent retention and advancement. What gets measured gets protected. ✅ Ban coded language like “less committed” or “not visible enough.” If you can’t quantify it, don’t weaponize it. ✅ Equal parental leave Mandatory for men, normalized for women. Culture follows example, not policy. ✅ Re-entry is not penance. Build structured return paths with sponsors, not "tolerance" ✅ Track promotions, pay, and attrition by caregiving status. If you won’t measure it, you’re not fixing it. 🧨 Because the future of leadership isn’t childless; it’s designed. Either build for real lives, or be honest that you’re selecting for people who don’t have one. ----------------------------- 📢 Hi, I am Jingjin Liu, sharing my Motherhood Diaries every Sunday as a reflection on what it means to self-actualize while mothering. It’s not balance. It’s contradiction. Fulfillment and fatigue. Expansion and erasure. I’m still in the thick of it, wrestling with who I am beyond being needed, and figuring it out as I go.

Are you clear on your Professional Development URL? Unlearning, Relearning, and Learning (URL) is an essential part of professional development. When it comes to professional development, most people and most organizations have a one-track mind. There is an over-reliance on LEARNING and an under-prioritization of the other two important elements- RELEARNING and UNLEARNING. I think it was Alvin Toffler who first popularized the learning, relearning unlearning framework. It is an important one for organizations to understand because it explains why a blended approach to professional development is so important. Training should be accompanied by coaching and mentoring because individual coaching and mentoring supports the processes of unlearning and relearning in ways that group -based training can't. Organizations are very quick to look for training courses to expand or improve people's capabilities. But this isn't an effective solution when the the presence of restraining factors is stronger than the lack of driving factors. Restraining factors for professional development include knowledge, behaviours or mindsets that are outdated, ineffective or no longer relevant. Removing the restraining factors requires UNLEARNING...letting go of old perspectives and making space for new and improved perspectives. Those who receive individual coaching often say how effective it is in supporting unlearning. This might include bad habits that have crept in...like micromanaging or perfectionism!! RELEARNING is about revisiting and updating knowledge, behaviors, or mindsets that we may have set aside or forgotten over time. Coaching and mentoring others is a really great way to relearn. Mentors often find that the mentoring process holds great value in helping them relearn. It might be as simple as a chance to revisit processes they haven't considered in a while...or work on their active listening skills. What are your thoughts on learning, relearning and unlearning? How can organizations get better at all of the above? Leave your comments below 🙏 #traininganddevelopment #learninganddevelopment #unlearning #relearn #coaching #mentoring #employeedevelopment

The transition from college to the workforce is a critical period. Yet many recent graduates find themselves #underemployed or working jobs that don’t fully harness their potential. This disconnect reveals significant gaps in #skills and #careerreadiness — gaps that are increasingly challenging for both graduates and employers. In today’s fast-evolving job market, employability involves more than holding a degree. It’s about continuous learning and adapting to new challenges. To meet this need, companies must invest in building a skilled workforce and must prioritize ongoing education and professional development. Continuous learning is how teams stay resilient and viable in the face of change and innovation. At Vista Equity Partners, we recognize the transformative power of education. Our passion for learning and belief in its potential to unlock opportunity is why we emphasize the importance of continuous education within our portfolio companies. It’s not enough to graduate and enter the workforce. We must commit to a lifetime of learning to truly thrive in our careers. What continued education opportunities have helped shape your career? https://bit.ly/3yLJ3UE

Dr. Yvonne Greenstreet climbed 10+ major leadership roles across pharma over 30+ years → now CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a $40B biotech company. Today she is the only Black woman leading a major U.S. biotech company and 1 in 6 woman leading major pharma in the world. Born in Ghana, she later moved to London, became a physician, and realized she wanted to impact more than 100 patients at a time. So she climbed from medicine into enterprise leadership. Here is how she got there: → International medical affairs foundation Built early experience across global medical affairs, health management, and clinical development inside GSK → Director level leadership 1996 to 2000 Led clinical development teams and moved closer to enterprise drug strategy and commercialization → Vice President expansion 2000 to 2004 Oversaw UK medical operations before becoming Chief Medical Officer for Europe with cross regional accountability → Senior Vice President growth 2004 to 2010 Led medicine development strategy globally and expanded into enterprise pharmaceutical leadership → Enterprise pharma leadership 2010 to 2013 Joined Pfizer as SVP and Head of Medicines Development with responsibility tied directly to pipeline execution → Founder transition 2014 to 2016 Launched her own advisory firm before returning into enterprise operating leadership → C suite acceleration 2016 to 2022 Climbed from COO to President and COO at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Cambridge, MA) while helping scale one of biotech’s most important RNA companies → CEO appointment 2022 Named Chief Executive Officer after decades leading medicine development, operations, and enterprise strategy at scale That is more than 10 major leadership expansions across 30+ years. That averages a major promotion or expanded scope roughly every 2 to 3 years. Each move increased proximity to enterprise risk, drug commercialization, or company wide strategy. Each role expanded the scale of decisions she was trusted to make. Each step made her visible to the people deciding who could lead globally. If you want to follow this path, focus on 3 things. → Build expertise in parts of the business tied directly to enterprise outcomes → Move toward roles with broader operational and strategic accountability → Stay long enough for leadership to repeatedly see your judgment under pressure This is how someone becomes an obvious CEO choice. Salute, Dr. Yvonne.