Where can a Deakin commerce degree take you? Anywhere.

In the five years since she graduated with a Deakin commerce degree, Georgia Borghesi has landed jobs with three of the world’s biggest technology companies – Cisco, Google and Amazon.

Majoring in marketing and management, Georgia credits the versatility of Deakin’s commerce program that’s provided her with broad career options.

‘Growing up, I always wanted to study architecture but after reviewing my strengths and life goals I chose commerce – it has allowed me to create a strong foundation of knowledge that didn’t corner me into one specific profession straight out of high school,’ she says.

Now based in Chicago USA, Georgia is a Territory Account Manager at Amazon Web Services

‘It’s a long way from the life I imagined while I was studying. But the knowledge I gained from Deakin exposed me to a world well beyond Melbourne – something I will be forever grateful for as I now experience a whole new culture in the US,’ she says.

Managing a portfolio of thousands of clients, Georgia’s priority is to help Amazon customers transition their businesses while leveraging cloud technology.

‘I have an incredible team around me and am challenged every day to keep up with the pace of change in the technology industry and the requirements of my customers,’ explains.

Georgia’s career path began well before her final Deakin exams when she began applying for ‘a tonne of graduate positions across multiple organisations’ in the last semester of her studies.

She says this is where her commerce education, with its embedded practical experience, gave her the competitive edge in applying for jobs.

‘Identifying technology as an ever-changing, fast-paced industry and leaning on my natural people skills, I first landed a role as part of the Cisco Systems Associate Sales Program in Sydney. This was a great fit for me and since then, I’ve never looked back.’

After four and half years at Cisco where she worked with ‘incredible people and technology’ across multiple teams, Georgia then moved to Google Cloud before her current role with Amazon.

She is certain that without her Deakin degree she wouldn’t be in her current role and says the university’s flexible study delivery, industry placements – combined with a ‘fantastic digital experience’ – enabled her to succeed.

‘I’m a strong believer in professional experience alongside study.  I balanced two to three jobs while studying and completed multiple internships and placements which all allowed me to apply my learning in real-life work environments.  This stood me in very good stead and provided relevance and experience when it came to applying for graduate roles,’ she recalls.

Georgia’s advice for anyone considering a similar career path is to keep focused on personal values and professional goals and look for every opportunity.

‘There is a tonne of opportunity out there but it’s up to you to take control to go and get it,’ she says.

‘When you look at some of the world’s most recognisable companies today – Uber,

AirBnB, Spotify – they all leveraged the power of technology to disrupt their respective industries. The pace of change and innovation in markets today provide unlimited opportunities for technology companies, whether in sales, engineering or business functions we get to have fun while changing the world!’