The idea of a digital degree might sound intriguing. But is it practical? Here are some alumni who’ve gone on to take interesting positions in various industries that benefit from having someone who understands the cutting edge of digital media on staff.

Russell Baltera ’04, MBA ’07: Works in digital marketing at Columbia Records.

Chris Smith MBA ’08: Sales director at Bazaarvoice.com, where he generates new business for the retail and travel vertical. Bazaarvoice drives sales, operational and marketing decisions using the voice of the customer for clients including Macy’s, Best Buy, Dell, Microsoft and more.

Zack Steele MBA ’08: Finance and operations director at Springbox, a full-service interactive marketing firm with offices in Austin and Los Angeles. Clients include Dell, Honda, Disney, Paypal, and more.

Alan Goss MBA ’09: Principal at Public Strategies, where he contributes to the strategic communications needs of the consulting practice group’s clients. Public Strategies was started more than 20 years ago and pioneered the application of the political campaign model to corporate issues.

Azadeh Poursenpanj MBA ’09: Global project manager at HomeAway.com, an Austin-based company that represents more than half a million paid vacation rental home listings in nearly 150 countries

Russell Looney MBA ’10: eCommerce content and community manager at Aspyr Media, a leading entertainment and games publisher that originated in Austin.

Christopher Seman MBA ’10: Director of digital content distribution at Blastro, an independent online music video network specializing in original content production and ad-serving technology solutions.

Excerpt by Dan Solomon originally published in the Fall 2011 issue of Directions as part of the feature on starting on page 12 "Game Changing Degrees."