Masters in Business · Friday, August 14, 2026
Ankur Crawford, a portfolio manager at Alger, shared her unconventional career path from aspiring astronaut and semiconductor engineer to her current role. Her journey, shaped by global experiences and a fascination with how things work, led her to pivot from a technical field to finance, driven by a desire for broader impact and personal fulfillment.
“I think when I made the decision to become a mechanical engineer, I was kind of following my brother's footsteps, who was a mechanical engineer and became an orthopedic surgeon. And I realized, if I didn't know what I wanted to do, I wanted to keep my options open.”
“We lived in Florida close to Cape Canaveral, and we would go watch the Space Shuttle take off and I was so fascinated by space because it was almost ethereal, you know, this thing goes up into the sky. And for me, the astronauts were celebrities. So you know, for a long time I did want to be an astronaut.”
“But you know, just that process required. It was very narrow and I'm very proud of the work that we did, but it was very, very niche.”