Snap Decision Pays Off 

If you’ve ever made or watched a Snapchat video that looked more polished than the typical fare for that social media platform, Brittany Zhang (MSIT ‘23) wants to thank you.  

Whether you know it or not, you make her proud.  

Zhang recently graduated from Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program, but prior to MSIT, she was a software engineer at Snap. In that role, she helped create Snapchat's Director Mode, a video editing suite that allows the company to cater to influencers and average users alike who want to create better-looking content.  

“Knowing that my code serves 300 million users everyday makes me proud and grateful on a daily basis,” Zhang said.  

After three years at Snapchat, she was ready for a new challenge. She left California and drove across the country to advance her technical knowledge in MSIT. She liked the idea of being able to collaborate with like-minded young professionals, and the program's condensed curriculum was particularly appealing. 

"Outside of the program itself, I was grateful to be able to live in Chicago for a year," she said. "This move got me out of my comfort zone and opened up a bigger world in front of my eyes."  

That new world now includes Apple, where Zhang will begin working as an augmented reality and virtual reality software engineer.  

Zhang said her time in MSIT prepared her to develop her skill set and got her ready to jump into such a high-profile company and venture.  

During her time in MSIT, Zhang took classes on computer networks, databases, and software architecture, each of which prepared her for the work she'll be doing at Apple. 

"These classes helped me strengthen the knowledge in computer science fundamentals and helped me perform well in job interviews," she said. "In the meantime, MSIT had great flexibility that allowed me to plan my own schedule so I could best balance my time in studying and job hunting." 

The MSIT program's cohort size was part of what initially attracted Zhang to come to Northwestern.   

“It allowed me to bond much more closely with my amazing classmates and professors,” she said. “I got the opportunity to meet like-minded young professionals who have years of experience under their belt and are very goal-oriented.” 

Beyond learning from her classmates, Zhang relished the opportunity to customize her experience to fit her interests. For example, she took an independent study course where she focused on designing data-intensive applications, an important topic in modern software engineering.  

But the lessons went beyond the technical, and that’s what makes MSIT so valuable to people looking to boost their careers.  

“These classes helped me perform well in job interviews,” she said. “The MSIT program is the best self-investment I could have made at this point of my life.”