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Alumna Wen Hui-Tu: If you are interested in working in the gaming industry, don't be hesitant if you don't have any programming background

‘I had never imagined myself working for a mobile game company until I started exploring this industry while writing my Master’s thesis,’ tells our alumna Wen-Hui Tu, who combined Management studies with more quantitative courses through Information and Service Management minor, and now works as an App Store Optimization Specialist at Next Games.
Wen-Hui Tu
Wen-Hui Tu

Who are you? What and when did you study at Aalto University School of Business and elsewhere?

My name is Wen-Hui Tu, but everyone calls me Lucy, as it’s quite a challenge for people to pronounce my name here correctly. I am a Taiwanese and started my Master’s studies in Management and International business program in Aalto University School of Business in 2015. In addition, in order to equip myself with more quantitative and analytical skills, I also minored in Information and Service Management during my studies.

Before coming to Finland, I’ve already had my mind set on staying here after my studies. Therefore, during my studies, I was actively looking for work opportunities. It was quite difficult not only because of the language barrier but also because the Finnish law has restrictions on the limited working hours for foreign non-EU degree students. Luckily, Aalto University provided plenty of channels for us for job searching.

I started my first part-time job as a project coordinator in Arena Center for researching the sports industry and understanding the potential market in China, to which I was able to apply the theoretical models I had learnt in School to practical cases. I’m really thankful for the work opportunity I had and the willingness of a Finnish company to provide me, as a foreign student, this chance to grow, and trust in my expertise.

Later, I started working part-time as an assistant for the School of Business Department of Management Studies, supervising the exams and assisting with administrative tasks. At the end of my studies, through my contacts, I got to know a Finnish company called Alshain Oy, which offers engineering support services for high-tech industry. I utilised the ‘Foreign Degree Student’s Internship Support Program for Internships in Finland’ to grab the chance to apply and work for this company as a summer trainee.

What has been especially important or useful during your studies?

The Master’s thesis. I think it’s important to have a topic that really interests you. It will not only help you to enjoy the journey of writing a thesis, but it is also beneficial for finding the job you like in the future. I have always been fascinated by innovative, fast-growing technologies and business. I had plenty of different ideas of what my thesis topic could be, but I have to say that the mobile gaming industry was not one of them.

Nevertheless, in one of my capstone courses, there was an open opportunity to write a Master’s thesis about mobile gaming companies alongside with a project to understand this fast-growing industry. My supervisor provided her full support and helped me to connect with one of the well-known Finnish companies for me to work on a qualitative case study for my Master’s thesis. Thanks to this, I was able to be successfully employed by my current company, Next Games.

I have always been fascinated by innovative, fast-growing technologies and business.

Wen-Hui Tu, School of Business alumna

You work as an App Store Optimization Specialist at Next Games. How did you end up in your current position and what kind of work assignments do you do in your job?

As I mentioned above, at the end of my Master’s thesis writing, I got employed by Next Games as player support specialist. In Next Games, we have the opportunity to learn and develop ourselves professionally. After one and half hear, an ASO specialist position was open in our company, and I decided to apply for it since curiosity and courage are encouraged within our company’s values. ASO is not a completely new concept for the mobile gaming industry, yet it is not widely known as well. The job is a process of increasing an app or game’s visibility and discoverability in app store with the goal of increasing organic downloads. The fascinating but also challenging part of the job is that it’s ever-changing. Apple and Google are constantly changing and updating their stores, therefore, as an ASO specialist, you have to keep learning in order to adapt with the changes.

How did you become interested in the gaming industry?

I love playing all kinds of mobile games, from Candy Crush to Call of Duty, for instance. However, I had never imagined myself working for a mobile game company until I started exploring this industry while writing my Master’s thesis.

How is it like to work in an international mobile game company?

It has been an incredible. Firstly, our company has over 100 people of 24 different nationalities which has made English as our main language; thus, the language barrier won’t be a problem here. Secondly, people working in Next Games all have the same goal, that is to create the best and highly engaging games that people love. Working with a bunch of passionate, highly creative and ambitious people altogether for achieving the same mission and vision is a true pleasure. Last and most importantly, our company’s values, 3Cs, which are caring, curiosity and courage, have supported my growth professionally as an ASO specialist I am today.

What advice would you give to yourself if you would be a student now? Would you study e.g. something completely different?

I would have told me to allow myself to be more curious. Since the beginning of my studies, I focused on the courses within my Management and International business discipline. After half a year, I started to take courses for my minor studies and getting to explore more of that was different from what I had been learning. And because of that, as I started to realise how data analysis could strengthen the management and business knowledge I had learnt, during the last year of my study, I took a course in Otaniemi campus to learn about R programming. If I had been more curious from the very start of my studies, with the resources and flexibility that Aalto University provides, I believe I could have built a stronger skill set before entering the working life.

What kind of tips would you give to students who are interested in working in the gaming industry?

For business students I would tell that to develop and maintain a mobile game requires expertise from different disciplines. So, it is not only a job for programmers. It also concerns fields like marketing, project management, community management, data science and art. Therefore, if you are interested in working in the gaming industry, don’t be hesitant if you don’t have any programming backgrounds. Try to keep looking for open jobs in the field, and you might find some role that suits and surprises you.

Have a closer look on Wen-Hui’s career path on LinkedIn!

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Information and Service Management, Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration)

Master's Programme in Information and Service Management is the most tech-savvy programme at the Aalto University School of Business. The ISM programme shapes students into future leaders of the digital era with a unique combination of leadership, business and technology. ISM provides students with in-depth expertise in developing, managing and leading data-heavy businesses, making graduates highly sought after in the job market.

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