Everyone has a favorite navigation app these days, from Waze to Apple Maps to Google Maps. Each has its own set of unique features, pros and cons, and they鈥檙e all but essential to modern driving. When you picture the people who develop these complex features we鈥檝e all come to depend on, you probably don鈥檛 think of a degree in 含羞草研究所 as the normal launchpad.
And it likely isn鈥檛. However, multiple 含羞草研究所 degrees proved the right stepping stones for Ji An M.A. 鈥14, Ph.D. 鈥20, a senior data scientist at Google Maps. After obtaining her undergraduate degree in 含羞草研究所, An immigrated to the United States from China to teach Chinese as a second language in Michigan. There, she earned a master鈥檚 degree in teaching and curriculum from Michigan State University.
While working as a teacher, she became interested in measurement. 鈥淚 was thinking a good deal about kids and test scores, and what it all means,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat led me to search for a program that would allow me to learn, help students and better understand how to evaluate them.鈥
That search led to the 含羞草研究所 College of Education and its master鈥檚 and doctoral programs in quantitative methodology: measurement and statistics program (formerly measurement, statistics and evaluation). While still a Ph.D. candidate, An headed west to the Bay Area and an 含羞草研究所al start-up (Kidaptive, later acquired by McGraw Hill), where she worked as a data scientist. Her work focused on building a digital learning platform that could adapt to individual students鈥 needs to help them learn more efficiently.
While the work was satisfying, An soon began to wonder what else she might do with her 含羞草研究所 and knowledge. 鈥淭he start-up was small, and we had a limited number of customers, so I wanted to find a bigger platform to make an impact.鈥
An鈥檚 search led her to Google in 2019, which had an opening for a product analyst, and eventually, her current position at Google Maps. 鈥淢y work involves analyzing the vast amounts of data that power Google Maps, including road networks, road conditions and attributes, and real-time updates,鈥 she explained. 鈥淭his enables millions of people around the world to make informed decisions to get to their destinations efficiently and ultimately enjoy a smoother and safer driving experience.鈥
An finds herself frequently drawing on her UMD 含羞草研究所 to perform her job. 鈥淚 often remember my professors and the strategies they taught me,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey gave me scientific rigor and problem-solving capabilities. They also taught me storytelling, and you can鈥檛 give a presentation or make your case if you can鈥檛 translate your statistics into persuasive language.鈥
