Douglas Gledhill '14

International Politics & Economics major with a Chinese minor

Consultant at EY-Parthenon

“Try something you think you’ll enjoy and put some serious thought into what you want to get out of it! My first year in the workforce was pretty rough, but I learned a lot, figured out what I liked, realized what I didn’t like, and was able to adjust from there. Your first job could be a great fit, or not, but my advice is to be very intentional with what you want to get from it.”

Tell us what you do.

Consult on strategy projects for public and private clients.

What have you done since Middlebury?

Worked as a financial analyst for Amazon.com for 2+ years, backpacked through Latin America and Asia for 1.5 years, grad school (MBA and MA in global affairs) for 3 years. Got married in 2019!

How has your major influenced your life after graduation?

Broad awareness of the world, language skills, ability to jump into new industries and social situations.

When did you know which major you were going to choose?

J-Term freshman year.

How did you decide what career path you wanted to pursue after graduating?

I decided very slowly. I took a job in operations finance at Amazon because while I thought I had a good high-level understanding of the global economy, I realized I had no idea how things worked on the ground at a company level. I figured out that I liked being in a business, but didn’t want to work in warehouses forever, so I took a new job focused on videogames in Seattle. That job had great content, but was a terrible work environment and didn’t address my IPE interests, so I quit and traveled with my partner. I did a lot of reflecting on the road, realized I wanted to use my language and global affairs knowledge in a business context, and then applied to dual degree grad school programs to explore that overlap area further. I did a few internships and landed at EY-P because I like the business environment and think there are a lot of policy-related and IPE-relevant cases.

Finally, what advice or suggestions do you have for current students as they consider their post-Middlebury futures?

Try something you think you’ll enjoy and put some serious thought into what you want to get out of it! My first year in the workforce was pretty rough, but I learned a lot, figured out what I liked, realized what I didn’t like, and was able to adjust from there. Your first job could be a great fit, or not, but my advice is to be very intentional with what you want to get from it. You can and absolutely should adjust over time, so don’t feel weird about viewing the first job as a stepping stone. Talk to people a few years ahead that are doing something you find cool. Ask them about their path, how they got there, what boxes they had to check, etc.

Connect with Douglas on Midd2Midd.

Learn more about the IP&E department at Middlebury

>>Go back to the Alumni Profiles page.