Meet Dev Jones

Dev Jones

Dev Jones

I was born and raised in Long Island, New York. I graduated from Ball State in 2019 *Chirp Chirp* where I majored in Sociology & Public Health with a minor is Spanish. Then I went on to complete my master’s in Business Management at Notre Dame. While at Ball State, I was a member of Hall Council, BSA, Global Brigades, and Lambda Chi Alpha. I also was the recipient of the 2018 Whitney Gordon Scholarship.

Tell us about your current job.

Currently I work as a Sales Operations Analyst at Philips. I oversee the commissions department and payouts for over 150 sales representatives. The majority of my day to day projects revolve around math, computer coding, and paying an enormous amount of attention to detail.

Will you describe your career path?

After college, I initially took an entry level role with a medical device company named Stryker. In that role I was responsible for maintaining, repairing, and diagnosing issues (via onsite troubleshooting) in our machines throughout 45 hospitals in the greater Philadelphia area. I let my higher ups know early on that this role was just for me to get my foot into the company. After a few months I was then promoted to Field Contract Analyst. From there, I eventually left the company for the company I currently am at due to me officially being broken into the industry.

How have you grown in your successive jobs that have led to your current position?

I learned and grew a ton in the roles I have had prior to this current one. Mainly being, how to properly navigate the corporate and business realms of life. A bit of advice I would like to share is:

If you aren’t thinking about what is next, then you aren’t thinking at all.

What is the most fulfilling part of your current job?

The most fulfilling part of my current job is the work life balance. I work from home and have a separate office within my apartment. This has been a complete gamechanger in so many aspects. As there is no commuting to work if the weather is bad, if an emergency pops up it is easy to address, and if I choose to go to work in a robe and slippers – I can.

What are the most valuable skills you have learned as a Ball State student in the College of Sciences and Humanities?

Without a doubt, the most valuable skills I learned were teamwork and how to properly articulate my thoughts and feelings. Being a sociology major I had to collaborate with different people for a majority of my assignments. In short, this taught me how to find comfort in reaching out for help, as well as admitting when I have made a mistake. Also, being a Sociology major made me have to deep dive in my opinions and justify them with facts. This is a way of thinking that is imperative for a career in business and has often given me an advantage over some of my peers.

Is there a particular class, professor, or professional opportunity that had a significant impact on you? 

My capstone course was the most influential opportunity from Ball State. Having to actually get in the field and apply my studies to the real world made me not only feel like I can have an impact, but it gave me the confidence I needed to plunge headfirst into my career.

What advice do you have for current or future students in your major or who might hope to follow in your career path?

My advice would be:

You can literally do anything, you just have to plan it right.

No matter how far fetched or difficult your goals may be, you can still accomplish them. You just have to have a plan. A good plan is one that has several options for each step of the way because you always have to prepare for the unexpected.

The Cardinal Directions Series highlights recent alumni taking flight and making a difference. Read the full series here.