Mr. Mukherjee, Project Management Office Director, MD Department of Human Services
Published 30 Mar 2020
Tags: IT, health, managementWhy did you choose to pursue this career? What made you certain this was the right path?
Natural transition from Doctoral studies in Microbiology and Public Health, to a Public Health Policy role at the MD Health Benefit Exchange and then to a Project Management and leadership role in a new State health and human services initiative called MD Total Human Services Integrated Network (MD THINK). MD THINK was an exciting and ambitious technology transformation project in the State and I was invited to establish the first PMO for the program, which was a huge honor and a significant challenge. The ensuing success in developing a PMO and implementing process and protocols that meet industry best practices reinforced the decision that this was the right career path for me.
What events, prior employment, or educational experiences led you to your current job?
A PhD in Microbiology and Public Health, several years of prior project management and leadership experience, experience in Outreach and communication, chance meeting with the Chief Information Officer of the MD Health Benefit Exchange, and initiation of the new technology modernization initiative called MD THINK.
What schooling, education, and/or certifications did you complete to prepare you for this career?
Obtained a PhD in Microbiology from Syracuse University. Learned computer programming languages such as FORTRAN-77, gained proficiency in Microsoft Suite and graphing solutions. Acquired diversity of skills from on-campus assignments and internships.
How did you make the best use of your time in both your education and career?
I realized that it was important to have a diverse portfolio of skills and qualifications. My Undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral training and research are in related but diverse fields, I took courses in multiple disciplines, conducted on-campus research across Biology, Chemistry, and Bioprocess Engineering, worked in the administrative and continuing education offices, participated in student initiatives and served as the President of the Graduate Student Association, and generally remained involved in campus activities.
What advice would you give to a high school or college student interested in pursuing this field of work?
Enroll in an undergraduate program in Information Management, take courses in organizational leadership, accounting, and law. Learn to write effectively and speak cogently. Always be on the lookout for summer internships, even if they are unpaid, and try to network with real world professionals. Above all, be upbeat, cheerful, positive, and willing to accept new challenges. Energy and enthusiasm is always appreciated in any workplace.
What opportunities would you suggest high school students participate in?
Summer internships, community based volunteering opportunities, leadership opportunities in school, student government initiatives, student clubs and organizations, service opportunities at local libraries, hackathons, encourage teachers in middle and high school to use “Google for Education” modules to learn coding, take artificial intelligence and machine learning certification courses.
What opportunities did you take as a student that helped advance your career (research, internships, etc.)
As previously mentioned, I heavily used campus resources available to me to learn new techniques, languages, skills, and subjects. The focus was to acquire as many cross-functional and inter-disciplinary skills as I could in the time I had. In High School, summer coding camps, research internships over the summer, shadowing opportunities at IT companies, are productive in building a resume for college. At College, computer science, artificial intelligence, big data management, machine learning, cybersecurity, and project management and finance courses are extremely useful in enhancing employability. Also, certifications such as Six Sigma, Agile scrum, PMP, etc. are great ways to enhance a portfolio. On campus jobs count for real world experience, and college campuses are the center for innovation, so an internship in discovery projects are especially valuable.
What do you wish you had done differently with regards to your career/education?
Learnt more programming, especially C++ and Java, when I had the opportunity. Also, take more management courses and get a Business degree concurrently with the PhD.
What does a typical day at your job look like?
In my function, I oversee project planning, scheduling, budget, scope, risk, performance, quality, and portfolio management. Current projects at MD THINK are modernization of legacy mainframe applications related to Child Welfare, Adult Services, Juvenile Services, Child Support Enforcement, eligibility determination for Medicaid related human services, food stamps, and a variety of other human services programs, as well as migration of applications owned by other agencies to the cloud services platform managed by MD THINK. I am also responsible for Agile program management and governance to MD THINK, so I have to conduct meetings with my colleagues to discuss process controls and metrics. Additionally, I have to prepare reports for external and internal stakeholders, so a lot of my time is also spent working on PowerPoint presentations.
What was a surprising aspect of your job?
The surprising aspect of my job was the fact that I was able to participate in a lot of key decision making for the program and have a significant amount of face time with State technology leaders. Another surprise was also discovering that I had much to learn about State policies and procedures, and how layered and complicated it was!
What qualities are necessary to be successful in your field of work, and why?
Patience, situational awareness, a keen sense of perception, a positive attitude, good communication, computer skills, ability to learn new terminology quickly, and ability to lead and inspire teams, in addition to a strong foundation in the principles of project management and human services policy are the key attributes of my role.
Do you have any additional advice?
Never stop learning, always analyze what you see, read, and hear, don’t be afraid to dive deep into long and complicated documents. Reach out, ask questions, make friends, bear a pleasant demeanor, be responsive to emails and questions, be on time and detailed in your work. Overall, project yourself as a person who is dependable, honest, friendly, approachable, and trustworthy. Always remember, that people will work with you because they like you, not because they are af