Designing the Cornerstone of Dreams
When asked, “What do you do for a living?” some jobs can be summed up in one sentence, like “I’m a developer” or “I work in marketing.” However, today we’re introducing a role that doesn’t quite fit into a single phrase. The job title “Employment Boot Camp Program Planner” at Snowball might not elicit an immediate “Ah, I see,” but rather prompts another question: “What exactly do you do?” While it’s a unique role in the job market and not easily defined in a few words, it is certainly attractive for those who dream of a career in the education industry. To learn more about this fascinating role, we interviewed K, a Program Manager (PM) and education planner at Snowball.
One Goal, Infinite Ways
In a nutshell, a Snowball PM’s job is to design the most effective educational curriculum to help students secure employment. Snowball’s Zero Base Bootcamp operates under the motto, “Education with full responsibility until employment is achieved.” Thus, from planning to operations, the ultimate goal of every process is student employment, and the methods to reach that destination are limitless.
To strengthen job seekers’ competitiveness, PMs must stay attuned to everything, from the hottest industry trends to the skills companies demand from candidates and the challenges faced by professionals in the field. This requires monitoring the latest job postings, conducting research, and interviewing industry experts to enhance the curriculum. It’s not a one-time task, though. Trends change like the flow of water, and the market’s needs evolve daily. Even if the same boot camp opens every month, the content is never identical. The curriculum is continuously updated and refined.
But the role of a Snowball PM goes beyond just being a curriculum designer.
“Designing a program involves more than just developing the curriculum. You need to communicate well with the operations, marketing, and customer service teams, and maintaining strong communication with instructors is crucial. You meet many new people, solve problems, and implement improvements regularly, so the scope of work is broad. It’s a role where you can grow a lot.”
K, Snowball PM and Program Planner
K has been with the company for 1 year and 4 months and is in charge of planning the Data Employment School. K joined Snowball when the school was launching its 3rd cohort, and now they are heading toward the 20th cohort. When asked if the work feels repetitive, K had this to say:
“The foundation of the Data School remains the same. However, every month, I have to come up with new ideas. Some months, we host special lectures with speakers from large companies to promote the course. Other months, we have several meetings with senior professionals in the field to refine the curriculum. In other months, I collaborate with professors to write research papers aimed at improving student outcomes. We’re constantly trying new things with the content, and since we create something new every week, there’s no time to feel bored.”
K, Snowball PM and Program Planner
The courses open every month and operate on a tight schedule, making the work equally demanding. K mentioned that, although they haven’t worked at many companies, compared to their previous job, the workload here is heavier, but the growth rate is much faster as well.
What Kind of Person Fits the Role of a Snowball PM?
At the last company-wide workshop, Snowball’s CEO, Kim Jihoon, made a noteworthy comment:
“A career defines much of our lives and forms a large part of our identity. That’s why a job is important, and we focus on employment education because it brings the biggest changes in life. We do not engage in government-funded projects, so we can focus solely on helping our students get employed. Snowball is a place where people obsessed with employment education come together.”
Kim Jihoon, CEO of Snowball CIC
Planning a product like employment education is not about measuring the success of a business by the immediate revenue from impulsive consumer purchases. Success is determined by whether the students who use the education service benefit from it in their job search and ultimately secure employment.
The ideal candidate for this role is someone who wants to bring positive change to others’ lives through their work and finds fulfillment in creating turning points in people’s careers. If you want to see firsthand how effective the programs you design are, it helps to be ambitious. Completion rates and employment rates are very clear metrics, so you can constantly check and improve your performance.
K added that the role of a Snowball PM is perfect for anyone who has dreamed of becoming an educator at least once in their life. Even if you didn’t become a school teacher, you can still experience the satisfaction of helping others through your work at the company.
