Visiting technology superpowers in Google and Microsoft on this trip has been invaluable. Being able to get a first-hand look at how they operate and what is prioritized in each company has been extremely enlightening, and makes me realize just how early on into my professional career I am. Though there were some slight differences in philosophy and areas of emphasis, both companies reportedly emphasize allowing room for failure. They do not search for perfection, merely the characteristics which can open new doors for a company and projects for future success. It was truly enlightening for me, as someone who is constantly putting pressure on themselves and needing to see immediate success. In recounting their college studies, our Google tour guides told us they studied graphic design and Russian. This took me aback, and I really gained a better perspective on what the future could hold. My major, grades, and extracurriculars are important, sure, but by no means defining who I am or what I will be doing ten years from now.. There is also no correct path to success, but any avenues to try and display one’s talent should be taken. Google gives employees learning weeks, entire weeks where they are tasking with learning something, whether it be related to their job or not. This individual-focused mindset and stress of growing as people while working for the company is something I really enjoyed hearing, and it matches up with what Microsoft said as well. Though providing great work for the company is much appreciated, stagnating as soon as you step into the office is something the top companies realized simply does not work. To grow the lower level employees and nurture them into incredible businesspeople takes time and resources which they can afford to allocate, and this gave me an overwhelming appreciation for each company’s vision. To contrast both site visits, Google seemed to dedicate plenty of resources to the employees to allow them to grow, while Microsoft was slightly more focused around making sure the customer was ultimately happy no matter what action had to be taken by them. I was very impressed by each, and at the moment can only hope my future employer has  comparable business and culture philosophies.