 |
Su Chang |
Acquisitions as a Career Choice
Su Chang
October 2009
A blend of top-notch organizational skills, financial acumen, and fortuitous timing led Su Chang to a career in acquisitions. As an economic and business analyst in MITRE's Economic and Decision Analysis Center (EDAC), Chang primarily provides her Department of Defense customers with support in contracting and acquisition. EDAC as a whole provides support to many DoD, civilian, and intelligence agency customers in a variety of areas including contracts, acquisition, cost/price analysis, finance and budgeting, and program management.
"Since coming to MITRE in June 2007, I have had the opportunity to work on several major projects," she says. "My first project was supporting the Army Information Technology Agency [ITA]. ITA had some very complex acquisition challenges. Fortunately, my colleagues and I were able to apply our knowledge of acquisition and contracts to find the right solutions."
The ITA was a classic case of a decentralized acquisition system. The agency had over 100 contracts spread across eight disparate service centers that were executed through 12 different contracting organizations. "Within our first year on the task, the MITRE team achieved a 20 percent reduction in the total number of contracts, diverted all contracts to a single contracting organization, and created a centralized acquisition support center to vet ITA requirements and streamline the acquisition process," Chang says.
Now Chang is working on another DoD project, this time for the Army Enterprise Systems Integration Program. "I provide acquisition and contracting support for a multi-million dollar enterprise resource planning acquisition," she says. "In addition, I am also supporting a project outside the acquisitions area: I'm writing a strategic communications plan for the U.S. Army 1st Signal Brigade in Korea."
A Specialist with a Broad Skill Set
Chang, who has an undergraduate degree in economics and a master's degree in international affairs, has found acquisitions to be a good fit in many ways. "I enjoy acquisition work because you have to know a little about everything and use such a variety of skill sets," she says. "You must have an understanding of business, policies, laws, finance, economics, cost estimating, and negotiation."
She continues, "You work with a team of experts and become the government's representative to industry. It's like you're the government's business broker, accountant, lawyer, negotiator, and financial analyst all-in-one. You also have to demonstrate technical knowledge in whatever it is you're procuring. Whether it's IT, weapons systems, supplies, services, or construction, you need to understand what it is you're buying in order to do your job effectively.
"I'll go out on a limb and say that acquisition is the most critical element in the overall government process. Contracting is the business frontline for the government—it's what bridges the gap between government and industry. When done effectively, it creates the foundation for program success, but when ineffective can compound the problems within a program."
However, Chang admits that what makes a career in acquisition so interesting is also what makes it a hard field to get started in. "There is a very steep learning curve involved with the acquisition career field," she says. "It takes a couple of years to truly understand the areas involved in acquisition. Plus, you're constantly pulled in several different directions at once, and it's up to you to balance the needs, wants, and interests of the program office, industry, small business, finance, policy, contract lawyers, and upper management."
Fortunately, Chang thrives on these sorts of challenges. "Su is an energetic and 'out of the box' thinker who quickly sees the big picture and makes valuable contributions that further her sponsor's strategic goals," says Mike Kilgore, Chang's department head. "She effectively applies lessons learned from her prior government experience—including the Missile Defense Agency, Departments of Homeland Security, Interior, Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency—to her current project work. Su is highly respected by her sponsors and MITRE peers for her extensive knowledge of contracting and acquisition practices."
Open to New Challenges
Originally from Utah, Chang came to the Washington, D.C., area after receiving her undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Utah. "I started out in the U.S. Department of the Interior's Government-wide Acquisition Management Intern Program. I had the opportunity to rotate through four different government agencies over a two-year period working as a contract specialist."
She finished the program and then spent three years working for the Missile Defense Agency. It was at that time that she completed her master's degree in international affairs—a degree she believes is useful because of the continually increasing globalization of government contracts.
Always eager to learn, Chang has also found time to pursue new interests outside of work. "In the two years I've been at MITRE, I've become a certified Rescue Scuba Diver, climbed Machu Picchu, traveled to Hawaii and the Cayman Islands, and picked up hiking, rock climbing, and snowboarding," she says. "I live by the motto 'work hard, play hard.'"
—by Kay M. Upham
Related Information
Articles and News
Technical Papers and Presentations
Websites
|
