Name: Matt OkaResume: Financial Planning and Analyst at Boeing
Sport at USC: Swimming
Caroline Deisley (CD): What inspired you to join Boeing?
Matt Oka (MO): I actually met a Boeing recruiter at the Marshall spring job reception, and then I don't know. I had never considered working in aerospace, but it sounded really, really interesting... all the different kind of satellites and planes that they build. It just so happened that the recruiter is from Corona Del Mar, and I went to high school in Newport Beach so we hit it off and then before I knew it I had a job there.
CD: So, on a day-to-day basis what does your general day look like?
MO: I'm in the office down in El Segundo, which is the world's largest satellite factory, and I am responsible for managing the overhead budgets and something called the labor rate for all of our satellite programs. To describe, the way that government contracts work most of our customers are government officials. They submit a proposal and then they want a bunch of contractors to submit them a bid. We bill them based on the dollar per hour per employee, so there's all sorts of compliance issues with the government. Basically, you have to manage this labor rate so that it doesn't go up and down more than like five percent, otherwise we have to resubmit everything to the government because it's full disclosure. It can be challenging because if an unexpected mess comes up that can really increase your rate. So, you have to manage it down in other areas so you don't have to resubmit a full on new cost proposal to the government, which as I'm sure you can imagine can take a long time to get approval for those.
CD: You began in the rotational program right?
MO: Yes, I began in the rotational program where I did three different finance functions. I did contracts administration, scheduling and business operations for one year each. My second rotation, business operations, is what I really enjoyed doing and I really liked that manager. I learned a lot from him. So, after my rotation was up he hired me full-time in his department and I've been there for the last two years.
CD: What would you say is the most important thing you learned from getting all of those different experiences in that program?
MO: I learned how in a really, really big company all of the pieces fit together and what each department or function affects all the other different functions. You can't really work in just your silo you have to collaborate among all the different functions whether it's finance or engineering. I think rotating through three different jobs in three years at the same company gives you a broader perspective of how everything works.
CD: That really helps. What would you say if you were to look back at your time at USC and give yourself one piece of advice?
MO: Keep going to the 90 (laughs). I don't know. I definitely wished I tried a littler harder in some of my classes.
CD: What did you learn through growing up and being a competitive swimmer that you still use today?
MO: Just that fight every day. Never settling. Don't get complacent. You can get complacent in your job, it happens to a lot of people. Just always be competitive and find your way whether you are increasing your performance in swimming or performance at work just never stop competing.
CD: Who would you say were some of your mentors here at USC?
MO: I really liked a professor by the name of Sandy Green. He taught rhetorical finance and that class changed my perspective on the economy markets and finance in general. Also, having the support of the Swim with Mike family has been absolutely instrumental in my success, both at USC and at Boeing.
CD: Finally, what's next? Where do you yourself going?
MO: So, I would really really like to train for Tokyo 2020 and compete in the Paralympic Games. It's a bit difficult working the 9-5 so I wasn't able to do it for Rio, but the couple of times I have gotten back into the water I felt like I could possible be competitive enough to earn a spot on the team. As far as my career, I definitely want to return to USC and get my MBA sometime in the near future.
