Tina Nguyen is a dedicated professional known for her collaborative leadership, strategic thinking, and passion for helping organizations and communities grow. Throughout her career, she has built a reputation for fostering strong relationships, driving results, and creating meaningful impact through her work and community involvement. She is passionate about mentorship, representation, and empowering others to pursue opportunities for personal and professional success.
Their story
Education and innovation collaborator with educators
28 min
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Key quotes
“I always talk about when I'm hiring for managers, sometimes folks that have the hard skills and the soft skills and do it very well are unicorns. It's very hard to find people that have both skill sets and do it very well.”
Tina Nguyen, VP of Production, Age of Learning
“It's interacting with a lot of bad management that made me feel that I wish that I could be in that position so that I can tell them that actually your job is essential also.”
Tina Nguyen, VP of Production, Age of Learning
“I didn't go to school for this specifically. I got a bachelor of arts in anthropology and then a minor in Japanese. But I think that because I had such curiosity of people, it really helped me in my career.”
Tina Nguyen, VP of Production, Age of Learning
“Would I be making the same as my male counterpart in the same role? I would have to say no. But should I? Absolutely.”
Tina Nguyen, VP of Production, Age of Learning
“Inaction is actually more hurtful to an individual that is not up to par of their performance.”
Tina Nguyen, VP of Production, Age of Learning
Career highlights
Your college major doesn't have to match your career — curiosity and transferable skills matter more than you think.
Tina has a degree in anthropology and a minor in Japanese, yet she became a VP of Production in tech and gaming. She credits her love of people and curiosity as the real foundation of her success.
Taking a step back — even a pay cut — to get into a field you care about can pay off big in the long run.
Tina left an associate producer role to take a QA analyst job at Blizzard at lower pay just to get inside a company she believed in. That decision launched nearly a decade of growth at one of the biggest names in gaming.
Soft skills aren't soft — being able to communicate, empathize, and lead people is genuinely rare and incredibly valuable.
Tina pushes back on the word 'soft' throughout the transcript, calling great communicators and people managers 'unicorns' because so few people actually do it well.
Career pivots are real and valid — you don't have to stay in a lane just because you started there.
Tina went from English teacher in Japan → ringtone company producer → QA analyst → voiceover producer → ed-tech VP. Each move was intentional and built on the last.
When you're in a leadership role, invest in your team's growth — the mentorship you give can change someone's entire career trajectory.
Tina was told early in her QA career that she wasn't worth anything unless she left QA. That experience drove her to become the manager who tells people their work matters and helps them see a path forward.
Know the difference between types of roles in your field — 'producer' means something very different in gaming, Hollywood, ed-tech, and fintech.
Tina stresses that students should ask themselves what kind of producer, engineer, or artist they actually want to be — because the day-to-day reality varies hugely depending on the industry.