1. What exactly do you do?
- What field is your job in?
Computer Software - What is your job title?
Software Engineer Ii - 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)
Fortune 500 company that specializes in medical devices.
- How long have you been employed in this position?
1 year - How many hours do you work a week on average?
50 - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
50 - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
Design, develop and implement software. Work with a team of people to meet goals and deadlines. Travel to customer sites occasionally to assist with installations.
- What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
56000 - What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
58000 - Please list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation, sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
401k, healthcare, dental, vision, FSA for healthcare, reimbursed tuition for continuing education - Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
slightly under compensated
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
Not everyday. We have products to develop and during that time there is a lot of team work and meetings to discuss progress/problems. Other days I can work from home entirely - remotely accessing the office computer. It just depends what's on the table. I don't mind working with people, some days it can be frustrating when interruptions hinder your ability to accomplish your tasks.
- 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
We work in an office with cubicles, pretty standard. I have two huge LCD monitors and 2-3 computers at my desk at any given time. I sit near the people on my "team" - I like the location, its an office. As I mentioned we can on occasion work from home.
- Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
- 3 Income
- 8 Work Environment - co-workers
- 6 Work Environment - supervisors
- 2 Benefits
- 4 Hours
- 7 Level of responsibility
- 1 The actual "work" you do at your job
- 5 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?
Have at least a bachelors of science in computer science. Keep up to date on programming languages. Work on open source projects at home to build your resume and to keep your programming fresh.
- 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)
problem solving, analytical skills, technical skills, the ability to learn and apply knowledge.
- Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
yes it helps greatly to have your degree in this field - What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Coding is like a foreign language. Practice, practice, practice. Everyone makes mistakes when they code - just fix them and move on.
4. How did you get your J-O-B
- How did you find your current job? (e.g. newspaper, internet, referral, etc.)
internet (HotJobs, Monster, Careerbuilder, Dice, etc) - What was the application process for your job? (e.g. submitted resume, paper application, electronic application, all, etc.)
I was contacted by a recruiter from my resume online - Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail? (e.g., number of interviews, who you interviewed with, group interview, individual interview, etc.)
The interview process was very detailed. There were 3 different interviews with the company and then an additional interview with a Gallup agency. - If you can remember, what questions were you asked at your interview?
I was asked some technical programming questions, how to resolve some issues, there was a technical interview to gauge my knowledge as well as several interviews to weigh my personality to see if it would be a fit with the company. - Is this the job / field you planned to work in?
Yes - If your job is in a different field from your original plan how did you get here? Explain (Plan can be from high school/college/post college/personal plan)
n/a
5. Background: Are you qualified?
- Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Not really. Not formal training. As I had questions I would ask. I started with small things that I understood and knew coming in and I slowly started to gather more and take a swing at more. - Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain
Yes and no. I came in during a huge high pressure project so they really couldn't spare the man hours to have people train me. (The people that would need to train me were wrapped into this project) so it was more "learn as you go" - Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain
Yes, but experience using the languages is also vital - If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare you for your job?
6. The Future and Beyond (FINAL SECTION)
- If someone were to observe you at work, what would he or she say is "fun" about your job?
It's challenging, you're constantly learning and doing new things. - What is (are) the most fulfilling aspect(s) and least fulfilling aspect(s) of your current employment? (e.g. fiscal, spiritual, type of work, hours, commute, compensation, etc.)
The most fulfilling aspects are the benefits and the potential income once you get some experience. The least fulfilling is the long hours generally expected by bigger companies. - Is your current employment part of your career plan? Why or why not?
Yes it is because it's helping build my experience as a software engineer, as well as paying for continuing education. - What are your current career goals? (Can be broad or specific)
My goal is to establish some longevity in my career history by staying at this current company a few years. I am taking the GRE in a few weeks to continue my education and complete my masters. Since my company will reimburse for it AND it makes me more valuable in the job market - it's a no brainer. - Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
It's fairly strong in demand, especially if you learn the specifics behind the medical world - since there is so much growth in the medical world. But in general, as long as you have a strong grounding in all of the computer science theory, you can get a job easily in almost any field.
7. A Day in the Life Of...
- 7 am - 8 am
Wake up at 6:30AM, leave for work by 7:15AM. Drive approximately 35 minutes to get to work. Check emails to catch any immediate or urgent changes from yesterday. Check emails to catch anything that I've been notified is "broken." Check for meeting changes, announcements, cancellations. - 8 am - 9 am
Team meeting from 8AM-9AM. Discuss goals, trouble shoot, basically a temperature check to see where people are at and what their plan is for that day. New assignments are also made at the meeting. - 9 am - 10 am
Typically, the bulk of the day starts here. Starting at 9AM, I start working on the projects I have slated for the day. Usually the projects I'm working on are long term and have slow payback in terms of progress on the overall system. I'm also responsible for timely fixes to any bugs in our software products that are assigned to me. What exactly I'm doing each day changes all the time, running between programming, designing, bug fixing, requirements gathering and supporting the technical support team as necessary with existing customers. - 10 am - 11 am
SEE FROM 9AM -10 AM. - 11 am - 12 am
SEE FROM 9AM -10 AM. - 12 am - 1 pm
- 1 pm - 2 pm
SEE FROM 9AM -10 AM. - 2 pm - 3 pm
SEE FROM 9AM -10 AM. - 3 pm - 4 pm
SEE FROM 9AM -10 AM. - 4 pm - 5 pm
SEE FROM 9AM -10 AM. - 5 pm - 6 pm
Close up shop. Make sure that all the issues brought for the day are taken care of, all problems have been resolved, and going over the following day's work to make sure I have a handle on what is going on. - 6 pm - 7 pm
6pm leave work. Arrive home 6:30 - 6:45 depending on traffic. - 7 pm - 8 pm
Home with family. - 8 pm - 9 pm
Home with family. - 9 pm - 10 pm
Home with family. - 10 pm - 11 pm
Home with family. - 11 pm - 12 pm
Home with family, hopefully sleeping.