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Career Profile Instructions

Please CLICK on each title to reveal a new section. There are three sections to every profile; an extensive questionnaire "We asked" , an average day broken down in detail "A Day in the Life Of", and a place where you can ask the profiler a question directly in "Ask me." (You must register to use the "Ask Me" feature)

Computer Science Specialist Career Profile— Female, age 25 (ID #2484)

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1. Employment Profile: What exactly does a Computer Science Specialist do?

  What field is your job in?

Federal Government - Department of Navy

  What is your job title?

Computer Science Specialist

  Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for
(size and general description of what type of organization it is)

I work for a branch of the US Navy called NAVAIR. I am not enlisted in the military, I am just a civilian who works for the navy. The government does all kinds of work, but my group specifically deals with communications systems, networks, and information systems.

  How long have you been employed in this position?

3 years 5 months

  How many hours do you work a week on average?

40

  Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)

My team is a software development team. We develop interactive computer training applications, and interactive, electronic versions of technical manuals for equipment or systems that the Navy uses. I specifically do some programming/development, analyzing requirements of an individual project, and lots of testing of applications before they are delivered to our customers.

  What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.

65000

  What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.

70000

  Please list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation, sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)

4 weeks vacation, 2.5 weeks sick leave, contribution to retirement plan

  Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?

I feel well compensated for my current position.

2. Work environment!

  Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Explain

I enjoy working with others on a project. It is always good to have more than one brain working on a project so you have different perspectives and ideas.

  Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?

Yes

  Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?

Yes

  Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it

Our team manages between 20 and 30 smaller projects. Several of us work on the same project and have to work together to determine our customers' requirements, how we are going to complete the project, and who would be best to work on the various pieces of the project.

  Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.

  • 3 Income
  • 2 Work Environment - co-workers
  • 7 Work Environment - supervisors
  • 5 Benefits
  • 6 Hours
  • 4 Level of responsibility
  • 1 The actual "work" you do at your job
  • 8 Job Title

3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours?

  If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?

There is a website USAjobs.com which lists all sorts of jobs at government locations all over the country. The best bet, however, would be to find a representative at a job fair and talk to someone personally.

  What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social skills, organization skills, technical skills)

Computer skills are necessary, since all the work we do is using the computers. We work on a team constantly, so good team communication skills are great to have.

  Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?

Yes, but a lot of the training I need for actually doing individual tasks at my job are taught as I need them.

  What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?

Be prepared for a lot of up-front training that may not seem to be relevant. There may not be a lot of hands-on tasks up-front, but don't give up on it. The longer you stay, the more varied your tasking will likely be, or at least you will have the option for it to be more varied.



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