Brian Conry, Executive Director, PSEN, MBA Class of 2010

Sometime during my career search, I decided that I was going to get into solar energy. The industry has been given a new lease on life in recent years; the biggest benefit coming from stimulus programs, like the recovery act and renewable portfolio standards (to name a few). But looking at the list of corporate partners and recruiters that come to Penn State, the top five companies aren’t in the solar business. How was I going to meet solar companies and eventually land myself a job?

I was given the advice in my first year that I should take advantage of any major conference. When I saw the Solar Power International conference pop up on the Internet, I had to jump on it – plus it was in CA….where it was warm!

I first arrived at the conference and was immediately overwhelmed by the size. There were 22,000 people in attendance. There were representatives up and down the value chain. In order to make the most of my time, I needed a game plan – it was way too easy to get lost in the hullaballoo.

I’m neither an engineer nor a scientist; but I know how to finance a project and run a business. Therefore, I decided that I needed to network with companies that were beyond the R&D stage and that were involved with large, utility-scale projects – this was where I could add the most value to a company. And man did I network!

It was less about my networking ability than it was about the overall willingness of everyone at the conference to talk about their business and products. And I was unique – I was an MBA student from the other side of the country here to learn about solar. The people that I talked with were more than forthcoming with advice and contacts to talk job opportunities. All-in-all, it was a wonderful experience and well worth the time and money.