Project Manager
(Female, Age 24) from Sunnyvale, CA
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 24 who works as a Project Manager in Sunnyvale, CA. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Project Manager |
|---|---|
| Salary | $78,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 48 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Years Experience | 1 year |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
I work for a very large, global technology company that offers both products and services.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I manage projects internal to the company. I manage the projects end-to-end, from concept phase through to rollout and warranty. The projects include new development as well as maintenance on existing systems.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
3 wks vacation, stock options, good health care plan
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
well
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes, although it is almost all over the phone (remote) rather than face to face as my team is dispersed throughout the US and in other countries such as India and China. I love it, although doing everything remotely is often difficult.
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.
Most of the time I am in the office in a cubicle, which I like because the few team members who are there I am able to talk to and interact with face-to-face. Sometimes I work from home, which is comfortable and convenient.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 3
Benefits: 4
Hours: 7
Co-Workers: 1
Supervisors: 2
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 6
The Actual Work: 5
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | I get into the office and begin going through my emails. Typically I have a lot of emails from my India team, because their work day is our night. |
| 8am to 9am | I have a meeting for my group’s finances, which I handle. I need to present and discuss our team’s actual spending for the last month, and forecasted spending for next month and the remainder of the quarter. |
| 9am to 10am | I work to correct or resolve any issues in the finance forecast discussed in the 8am meeting. When it is all correct I compile it with the finaces for the rest of our organization in a spreadsheet and send it to the finance team lead. |
| 10am to 11am | I have a meeting with my lead developer in the US, who updates me on the status of the 3 projects that we are currently working on. She is the communication bridge with the team in India, so she fills me in on the work they are doing and any issues that they have. |
| 11am to 12pm | Lunch. |
| 12pm to 1pm | I work on documentation and process work based on the status and input from my developers. This includes updating project plans, analyzing testing results, and recording and changing the status of recorded defects. |
| 1pm to 2pm |
I have a quality assurance review for one of my projects with a quality assurance manager external to my team. We go through the process work for the project, and he makes sure that I have all the required documentation, that I have gone through all necessary steps required at this point in the project schedule, and that we are prepared to go into the development phase of the project. |
| 2pm to 3pm | I work to complete any missing documentation or fix any issues that were raised during the quality assurance review. Then I email the corrected documents to the quality assurance manager for approval. Once he approves, he sends me the passing report and I distribute it to the team and management. |
| 3pm to 4pm | I have a meeting with the customer to update them on the status of the project and tell him about the results of the quality assurance review. He has a new requirement for the project, so he asks to initiate a change request. |
| 4pm to 5pm | I complete the change request and send it to the customer for approval. Then I update the project plan and schedule, plus the finances if required, and send out the updated plan and information to the team. |
| 5pm to 6pm | I answer any remaining emails and check my schedule for tomorrow making sure that I have everything done that is needed. |
| 6pm to 7pm | |
| 7pm to 8pm | |
| 8pm to 9pm | |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
School career center
What was the application process?
submitted resume and paper application, then went through interviews.
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes, I had 3 interviews. First a representative came to my college campus. Then I was invited for an interview on-site, and finally I had a phone interview. All three were individual interviews. At the on-site interview, I actually interviewed with 3 different people.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
Questions about my previous jobs and experiences, some questions like “Have you ever been in a situation where… and tell me about it” or “What would you do in this situation”
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, they provided the 2 week course and as much training as possible for my position. But I think my position is one where most training is learned on-the-job once you start, with hands on experience.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes. The first two weeks of work I was in a class with other new-hires just learning about the company generally and policies/processes. Then, for the first few months I was considered “in training” with my group, learning it’s specific systems and procedures. I still consider myself training, or at least learning on a daily basis.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, I have a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in my field and they gave me the technical skills and the knowledge I need. The rest is stuff you cannot learn in school, but rather through experience.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
I didn’t intern.
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
I would recommend going to the company’s website. They have a list of the jobs available and allow you to apply through the web site and select the jobs that you are interested in.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Social skills, because I manage and deal with people on a daily basis. Technical skills because I work on technical projects and need to have a knowledge of what my developers and architects are doing. Organization/Political skills because it is a huge organization, and there can be some politics and bureacracy that you have to navigate.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes, a college education
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Just keep learning as much as possible. There is so much to learn in the beginning it seems overwhelming, but just keep at it and it will come. And it will just click and you will realize how it all comes together and it will be really fulfilling.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes. It’s a great company and job with plenty of room to move upward. Also, I could move to another job within the same company because it is so large, so there is lots of opportunity.
What are your current career goals?
I would like to continue project management for a few years and get my certification. Eventually I would like to move into people management.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | summer technology intern | summer (3 months) | $25/hr | I did technical writing and managed system reporting of sales and company information. |
| Prior Job 2 | information technology intern | summer (3 months) | $18/hr | I worked on the information systems used in our countries naval nuclear program. This included programming, testing, and implementing. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:4.4
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
4 | Carnegie Mellon University | Bachelors of Science in Information Systems and Business Administration |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
4 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Master’s of Science in Information Technology |
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