The Thing Everyone Has Been Waiting For!
In order to save yourself some time in reading, I will simply post my written findings as to what I found in the document, which is a combination of notes and findings.
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To say that I was surprised would be an understatement...As I wave for the last time for a while and make final handshakes, I realize to myself just what these four weeks were for me. I'm not going to have some long winded explanation, but just to be pretty brief, it's incredible what going into a professional job site is. I would like to thank everyone who was incredibly considerate and kind to me and let me do the work that I can do as time went on. Even though I was the intern, I felt as though I was apart of the crew and not some person who was just on the side doing nothing but the requirements for the school project. It felt incredible, the interactions with everyone especially as there was no doubt that the people who were working there were specialists in what they were doing. That to me is huge, as being in a school for a lot of my life everyone sorta knows a tiny but, but definitely can't bounce around ideas as much as the crew that I was working with. I knew though that going into this entire experience and what I chose would make me not go into the IT side of things, and that has stayed the same. It was something I wanted to do as a personal growth and learning challenge, to understand a lot more about the things that I knew just a little bit about so I can help others around me. Even with this said though, I got a lot more out of it than I thought I would. There was plenty of talk about how this experience would be great for me in the future if I decide to get a job in, well anywhere (especially IT) and how it would benefit me in the long run for just showing me a lot of things. This is absolutely true. I want to become a video editor in the future, but what I have gained from interacting from these guys and working in a real job environment has shown me that if you are willing to work your hardest and to try new things, you're going to be recognized as someone who seriously takes initiative, even if I didn't think that was the case. So what does this mean with my career idea? Well, as I said before I still want to be a video editor, but much more now. I can't wait to start to get to work with the jobs that I really want to do and start making a good profit as more time passes. There is so much I can do out in the world, even if I am an incredibly small part of it all. I think also having this baseline information will help in any technical problem I'll run into, personal or otherwise. As my mentor said, just knowing this basic stuff is the platform to learning and doing just about anything in the entire field of technology. It's learning this kind of stuff that sets you up for the future, and if I ever decide that I am done with the video editing life and I want to move to something more relaxing and less intensive, perhaps I'll consider the field. But for now, careers stay careers and jobs stay as jobs. Combining the two makes for a miserable life.
Just What Do I Do Everyday?The entrance to Fortress Computer Pro's is right off of the 15 South in Rancho Bernardo. Extremely close to the freeway and a fairly unassuming place, you might miss it if you weren't looking for it. Well, if your windows were closed and you didn't smell the fantastic restaurants nearby. The main waiting lobby is fairly well decorated, with various awards about the company's successes and recognition from both the state and from companies such as Microsoft and Intel. Obvious care and attention was made to ensure that the entrance was to be something which people could feel comfortable and patient in, as it is the name of the game when you are dealing with technology issues anyway. Marc definitely knows how to make a place feel not only welcome, but custom with engraving and vinyl printed on the glass. In the back of the shop is where things get the most interesting. You would figure that a company such as this would have maybe a team of 10 or 15 even, all working on various clients tickets for repair or building of custom systems. Well, that would be a wrong assumption as the team back here consists of a total of only 2 people, and a crew totaling of 6 makes up the entire company. We can get anywhere from 4-10 PC's a day, and with a crew working full time on many different systems, as well as plenty of antsy and worried clients, the stress mounts. To say that some of our clients are just the run of the mill old folk and youngsters with computer problems would be a massive understatement. And when I said we had big clientele, I wasn't lying. These guys at USCD have been requesting our shop for multiple desktops which are acting as servers, as well as a NAS to hold all of their data. This entire build rounded up to being around $9000, or the price of at least 5 Toyota Corollas. Even with the high stress mounting, we always find ways to relieve stress, take a breather while the PC's are busy updating or doing things we can't speed up. Both Ron and Jared here are pretty close with one another, so these types of interactions are somewhat common. Every day is a surprise to me, and according to one of the office workers Tom, IT folks have about the best personalities to them. I haven't been proven wrong so far. Just a Logisys case. If you knew what these things are, how much of a pain they are to work with, and how surprisingly unreliable (to a point of safety concern) these cases with their bundled power supplies, you would know why it's in the scrap bin. The scrap bin is out in back where PC's that have parts that are either far too old or far too broken and are too much to fix are taken. There are some gemstones here, if you want to look for things. We have a lot conversations with one another. This is not an antisocial job, it requires that you are talking to people to ensure that everything and anything that someone is working on is working well with everything. Many silly problems arise and thanks to people being more specialized in certain fields, we always find a conclusion, somehow. People think we're magicians and that we can do everything in a snap, and while things tend to take a fair bit of time to fix, I might start believing the fact that we do some miracle work. Speaking of miracle work, sometimes we end up with more PC's than we know what to do with. Previous businesses which upgrade their computers might send us PC's, or we might just have a client who wants to upgrade and says that we can keep their old machine. Plenty of these machines have life in them still, they just need a little love still. So these machines are refurbished and sent out to veteran / military families in a program that is called Homefront. And finally, we get to what I've been focusing on. Simplexity. Simplexity is a company which has been sending us PC's for a while to turn into machines for their company, which is an engineering firm which ironically works for companies such as Hewlett Packard and Dell. Regardless they require computers set up with their VPN and security, so everything they do is confidential. We are in charge of setting up their PC's to wipe, format, and set up for their program of choice, Solidworks. As well as doing Office installs and a slew of encryption and VPN services, we receive the laptops, set them up, and send them back.
POL Response Questions for the Looming StormLet's just get right to it.
1. How was your work meaningful to your education? Well there were a few reasons why I decided specifically to intern here. Other than the fact that the previous person who interned here had a very good experience with both the work and the folk working there, I wanted to get a snapshot of what this line of work was (and also just learn more about it). To say I was surprised even with all of my knowledge would be an understatement, it wasn't anything like I was expecting (in a good way!). To get straight to the point, I came in wanting to learn more about a passion I had and to get a broader perspective on how the workforce in a very specialized field would be. It is MUCH more different than school and honestly probably a better place too. Despite being the intern, I was given tasks and things to do and everyone who was doing something had something to chime in which was supported by years of knowledge. It was a fairly surreal experience, getting information off of something which wasn't school related and working through real life problems with people who really know their stuff. I know, it sounds silly but the more I experienced it the more crazy it was. 2. How did your project turn from concept, to idea, to plan, to final product? Well it was hard to think of a product off of the line first. There was just so much going on that it was really hard to keep up, and all of the new experiences and responsibilities you are given makes it so that the project sorta just sits on the backburner. To top it all off, you really don't know what you're really going to be doing every day so having some sort of project which would be beneficial to the company makes things all the more difficult. Regardless I wanted to create something which I feel that I am fairly decent at, calculations and analyzing of data. While my raw skill in math isn't the greatest, I think I have a good eye for management in the numbers so I wanted to create something, or at least bring to light something which might be somewhat beneficial. This is what led to the creation of the idea of calculating the general efficiency of the company, as variables would be both computer types, problems that might be encountered, and if the computer was under expedite (rush) service. Unfortunately this was WAY too much to think about and to reasonably make it into something workable and accurate in 4 weeks was an unreasonable demand. So, I decided to go the next step forward, which is the business computers which need to be reset and formatted. This, so far is working out fairly well. 3. What new appreciations did you gain after becoming an intern? There's a lot to think about when it comes to an intern, and not to sound like a broken record I won't say again that it wasn't what I expected. I think though the amount of work and passion that is put into service based companies is incredible. People are INCREDIBLY picky about what happens and how long something takes which is something I learned fairly quickly as complaints and otherwise people who thought they were smarter than the folks who went to school for many years to learn this stuff would say that what they are doing is wrong. Obviously this would mean that I care a lot more about the amount of work and dedication that comes into not only getting out arguably unknown problems and fixing them in a timely manner so people don't complain that the service was slow is incredible. For the people who are seriously trying to fight the specificity and criticisms of customers, props to you. 4. How might this internship dictate your future life? To be completely honest, I don't really know. It's given me plenty of insight of the future and what I might expect in the long run for what I might do, but it definitely isn't something that I wanted to do as a long term job, as I expected. So that didn't change, but what did change is that I feel I've had a humbling experience as I've worked and toiled to fix computers alongside my coworkers. I know a whole lot more about computers and repair than I ever did before and I feel like this information is going to help me significantly in the future as I end up doing more work with more computers. While it might just be me and my friends that I am building or repairing for, it is a career which not only I will respect more, but I will love having the previous knowledge from folks who seriously know their stuff. 5. How have you advanced your ability to self advocate in your internship? Are you also following the advice of being the intern that everyone remembers? Why or why not? I would definitely say so after the weeks that I've been here now. While there is much to learn in this entire field, and I am continuing to learn more and more just how little I know in this space of tech, I am finding myself both more inspired and more willing to work harder and longer in order to just learn more and do more. Marc has started to trust me more and more with the various tasks that my coworkers assign to me, so as my freedom grows I feel that my ability to advocate myself and really try and do more increases exponentially. I am always willing to work and do whatever is asked of me, so I believe that I am indeed doing a good job at this in particular. I would also hope that I'm becoming the intern that everyone who stays there remembers, in the good way. While I can't say that this advice has been present in my mind with my interactions and how I work at my job, I feel that my coworkers are starting to learn who I am and are starting to both trust me and see what I am capable of. I'm usually very difficult on myself so I feel like an opinion of how I am doing is very biased, but I like to believe that I am indeed doing well. I guess I'll have to wait until I see the reflection paper that is written up, although I have a feeling I have done something wrong. The Big Kahuna of Projects, The Internship ProjectAlright. So you're probably curious as to what my plans are for this project that we are assigned to do. Well, the idea behind it is that it has to be something that is worth merit to the company and has shown that you have indeed grown and learned something. The nice thing about working with technology, especially in the networking field is that these things are constantly evolving and growing which in turn means that there are SO MANY DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES AND FIELDS TO GO DOWN. I've decided to go down the path of more networking and software as it is a field which I personally do not know as well as I probably should. Regardless, let's get to the meat and potatoes.
We have clients which like to come back to us with their various problems. This means that we have connections with certain companies which run certain businesses or fields. One in particular which does a lot of CAD work has us set up laptops and desktops for their work in consumer, biotech, and industrial fields. In short, they are an engineering firm which relies that their tech to be running all of the time. Anyway, they send us their laptops or desktops (and sometimes servers) for us to format and reset, and then set up to their software so that their workers can do the work that they are responsible for. These laptops and desktops come in fairly often, around 4-7 of them per week and must be sent out the next week. So, I have started to work on these laptops myself and get them ready for shipping out again. So, why not calculate and try to understand the efficiency of the whole operation? And while I'm at it, try to find a way to increase the effeciency of the entire operation? Well it's not an easy task by any means, these guys have been working with these systems for almost a year now and have gotten the pattern down to a very quick pace. Not to also mention that many of the people in the shop are working double duty as they need to work to keep the entire company afloat. We have many requests that come in day by day, so what does this all mean by the end of the day? Well, if I can find a way to increase the efficiency of changing these laptops, or better yet automate the process that would be incredibly beneficial, no? Really all I need for this project is just the experience that I have been gaining from the internship in general, and of course my co-workers to help me out with the various processes. But other than that, what is the worst that can happen? The Interview And Reflection - Just How Are Things Going?Okay. There is something I want to get out of the way before I end up giving a massive amount of confusion. I have multiple mentors, all of which I have asked various questions and have gotten various responses. I will combine multiple answers to give a general statement about the responses I have gotten. Without further ado, let's go!
What is your job title? What are your main responsibilities? "I am a junior system administrator. I am usually doing work in the back of the shop, repairing and cleaning up clients PC's with whatever issues that come in." How long have you worked here? How long have you been doing this job? "No longer than a few years here specifically, but in the general field for way too long. There are so many things you can get into and learn, and if you think I'm smart I'm only a junior IT. I have plenty more to go on my path." How did you acquire these skills? "I have gone to a lot of schools and classes. I'm a very by the book guy, but I've also been working in this field for a very long time too. I like working with my hands and I'm very efficient, so really a lot of it is just job experience. You can't learn until you break something, and you can read all you want but you won't really be proficient until you start doing your own actual work." "Is there anything you wish you knew at my age about this job / field?" "I touched on this before but there are so many fields and things you can go down on. For example you can start off as something simple like hardware repairs and replacements, and that same field can lead you down to setting up entire network infrastructures and servers. It's very extensive." What is a typical work day like? "A lot of it is always up in the air. We get clients requesting for certain things or coming in. You never know what is going to happen or what is going to come in, so you never have a really good idea except for things that you have already planned for days before. We have processes that we go through for tickets that come in, but otherwise you don't really know what your day is gonna look like." What are qualifications and what does it take to be successful here? "There are a lot of certifications that you can build up, and at least when trying to get hired you want to have as many as possible. It also matters what job you are applying for specifically too. To simplify things though once you get the job, you really need to be on top of your feet. There is a lot of multitasking going on, a lot of different computers and a lot of things which people need to do. If you work hard and work with everyone and are willing to learn, you'll do fine. I think this also wraps up my idea of how this experience has so far been. Everyone who works there knows what they are doing, and while it isn't that people aren't learning but people know a lot more about the very specific thing they signed up to do. I guess it's a bit of a culture shock to me that, compared to school everyone knows a lot about what they signed up to do. There is no guessing about x or y, and everyone asks each other questions about what they are wondering or trying to figure out. While there are plenty of jokes being thrown around as well, there's a very good showing of friendship and general knowledge across the community, which I can appreciate. I am learning at an alarming rate, and I guess that's what happens when you work at something which you are surrounded by people who are paid at what they are good at. I thought I was reasonably competent in repairing and building computers, but I've been completely blown away by what I have seen. There are things which are simple to people who are working there which I wouldn't have really thought of or otherwise have done. The people I am working with are trusting me more with more difficult tasks and complex tasks, so I would like to think I am at least getting somewhere. Oh, and trust me. Commuting every day from the i-15 is miserable. Just don't, save yourself. The First Impressions and the First Few DaysTo start off and say that this experience so far has been awesome would be a pretty big understatement. I know it's a bit cheesy but I am quite serious when I say that this place, the people, the workplace, and the work that I have been entrusted to do has been quite fantastic. There's been a lot that has been happening for the last two days already, and considering that the process to get this internship took plenty of time on my end I would think that this was definitely worth it. I think the culture of how a workplace is would be easily defined by the people who are employed. It is fairly obvious that everyone around me is very close knit and is willing to bring me into the conversation. There are clear interests among the group, even with varying ages and backgrounds people are still incredibly close to each other. Many jokes can be heard from everyone who is just wanting to make everyone else around them smile. It seriously is something that amazed me, and something that I really appreciate. This sorta ties in with what I am doing, but they are not only also a very funny group but they are willing to work with me. Sorta. Well they want me to learn, and so they say for me to do achieve a certain goal. While I am slow off the bat, I feel like I am learning so much every day about things I thought I was confident in knowledge. It's a seriously humbling experience, and the people around me say that they only know a small amount of the massive world of tech. It's incredible to me, really. For the last two days I have been responsible for doing a CPU swap on a prebuilt gaming computer, and have started to pick through the donation PC's which are given out to veteran or in-service families. These PC's I assume I will be continuing to work through for the foreseeable future, refurbishing and testing to see which ones will run and work and making them run by means necessary. I can't wait to see what else they have in store, apparently there are some pretty awesome things in the works that will take a few more days to be sent. To the left is me stress testing a PC, the right is an upcoming build for a client.
The Beginning of the Internship ProcessAh the beginning of the Internship project. This post will cover the general basics of what I'll be doing, the project itself, my expectations and experiences in the field of jobs as a high schooler. So, with this being said...
My mentor is Marc Jobin, the owner and otherwise head honcho of the entire company. He runs everything from the actual business to managing relations with both individuals and companies alike. While everyone takes part in more or less sharing the same roles, Mr. Jobin is also responsible for managing his employees and all of the work tickets and requests they get from everyone. He makes sure everyone is on top of what they are doing, even if he isn't always inside the shop. My responsibility is of pretty simple, but defined purpose. I am to be there and take part in the repair and management of clients computers, and to listen to my co-workers as they guide me through the steps of becoming a self sufficient intern who can operate on their own ground. While I am not aware of how things will go when I do get there, the people I have so far met have been very kind and have made me feel welcome. I have no doubts I can get along with the people around here. |
Author: Daven K.On this page you will find my experiences, reflection, and thoughts about my project work as an intern at Fortress Computer Pros. ArchivesCategories |