Meet Aamir Rehman, MTM Class of 2024

Aamir is originally from Santa Monica and was a Mechanical Engineering major at UCSB prior to joining MTM.

Q: Why did you want to join the MTM graduate program?

A: I graduated from UCSB last year with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and as a part of that degree I did a year-long engineering design project. I took on a leadership role within that project, and I really liked the aspect of leading a technical team. Because of that, I wanted to do a master’s degree, and I wanted to come back to UCSB for another year to continue learning. I learned about the MTM program, and it seemed like a really good opportunity to get management skills on top of the engineering degree I already had, and I thought it would provide a broader range of experience to round out my education. 

Q: What has been one of your favorite aspects of the program?

A: The cohort experience. I really like how everyone gets to know each other, because we are in the same classroom everyday with the same people. I really enjoy coming to class every day and getting to see everyone, and talk about the material for the class. 

Q: What is something you have learned that you look forward to using in your next job?

A: In our Communication course we did a unit on Public Speaking, and I thought it was really cool to see everyone get better at public speaking, and have the opportunity to watch videos of myself speak and get feedback from everyone. I will definitely be using what I learned in my career and into the future. I didn’t really think this would be a part of the degree, but to get these skills was super great. 

Q: What is your favorite course and why?

A: My favorite course is negotiation, because you get a lot of practice negotiating with your classmates and also learn the theory and research behind how to negotiate well. It was a super interesting class, and similarly to public speaking, I think this is a skill I can use for the rest of my life. 

Q: What is your field project and what skills are you using to solve this business challenge?

A: I am doing a project with TeledyneFLIR, an infrared camera manufacturing company in Santa Barbara. We are basically working as consultants, so it is awesome to go into a business I don’t know much about and, with our team, do research and figure out what some of their challenges are. We are acting as professional consultants, and it is a super great experience. I have learned a lot about how to do research, how to reach out and interview companies to get data, and how to work with different functional teams across an organization. I got a lot of insight into how companies manufacture technical products, and what their problems and successes are. I really enjoyed getting this experience, because coming from an engineering degree, you work on a lot of technical projects but you don't get to do a lot of the management side of engineering and learn about how to make teams work together. Our project looks at how to make engineering on the design side work with engineering on the manufacturing side, and how to improve communication. This has been a super great experience as a part of the MTM program.

Q: What is your favorite part about going to grad school in Santa Barbara?

A: Santa Barbara is a great place to be. I was here for four years before this degree. The weather is great, the people are great, and everyone is super friendly. Everyone is also very hardworking, so it's a good mix of a great environment, great people, and great things to work on. 

Q: What are your career goals?

A: I am looking to go into aerospace or a similar field as a mechanical engineer, and use this MTM degree to become a leader or manager in those types of organizations. My goal is to lead technical teams. 

Q: What stands out to you about the MTM program?

A: This is a great one-year program for anyone looking to develop skills in management and business. You learn what you would learn in an MBA, but it is focused on how organizations are developing now within the lens of technology. You get a really cool perspective on learning core concepts that you would learn in a typical business degree, but you also are taught the technological perspective that is super relevant today.

Q: What is your favorite new technology?

A: I think it’s awesome that a new wave of companies is tackling consumer robotics. Can’t wait until there’s a robot that can clean my dishes.

Connect with Aamir on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aamirhrehman

Learn more about MTM: https://tmp.ucsb.edu/academics/master-technology-management