MBA, MSOM give Thompson competitive edge

Thompson, who lives in Billings, Montana, is a Field Business Planning Manager for the Mountain States with Charter Communications. She was recently promoted to the position, thanks in part to skills she honed while earning master’s degrees from CSC in 2017 and 2018.

Her responsibilities include managing a team of individuals, analysts and capital coordinators, to ensure that all expense, capital forecasting and budgeting, as well as project management and labor functions related to business planning, are handled in time and on budget.

“Both my MBA and my MSOM allowed me to progress to a managerial role by giving me the knowledge and resources necessary to fulfill that particular leadership role. My MBA allowed me the opportunity to specialize in business and finance, while the MSOM allowed me the opportunity to specialize and refine both my managerial and leadership skills,” Thompson said.

She was prompted to research CSC’s online graduate programs after hearing her colleagues at a previous employer discussing their experiences with CSC.

“I found that it was great fit for me and my lifestyle,” she said. “The beauty of online discussion forums is that you really are exposed to a diverse student body and are able to benefit from the differences in backgrounds and cultures presented during discussions. I built great relationships with fellow students and amazing professors who contributed greatly to my success.”

Thompson said she has applied many concepts, including how to properly forecast and conduct a trend analysis, directly to her job.

“I learned about the impact of economic factors on business operations. I utilized key takeaways in decisions regarding budget and forecast to properly time and adjust expense accounts. Also, the Human Resource Management and general management knowledge I learned throughout my time with CSC has helped provide me with the tools and resources needed to take on my new position,” Thompson said.

Some of her favorite classes in the MBA were High Performance Leadership and Information Systems for Managers. In the MSOM program, she found Organizational Leadership and Human Capital Management particularly useful.

“I felt as though I could immediately apply concepts from those particular courses to my job,” Thompson said.

Even though Thompson said CSC courses met or exceeded her expectations, she was not immune to the challenges adult students commonly face while balancing school, work and family life.

“It did require working on assignments after my kids went to bed and also on the weekends, but every moment spent attaining those degrees was worth it. Thanks to the flexible design of the online master’s programs at CSC, I was able to move forward in my career and be present in my home life and all of my kids’ activities,” Thompson said.