The Interview

The Interview

Summary

The following interview is conducted by [Name] on with [Name of Respondent] who works in [Company] as a [Designation] in the [Department] for [Duration]. In the interview, [Respondent] openly and kindly explains how he does his job, how he looks at it in both present/future time. He also reflects on the immense changes that are projected to take-place in the years to come in the field of IT. Here are the questions I asked him and a summary of his answers:

Tell us about yourself

I've been working with computers for the last thirty years. I've went from starting out as a programmer to a program analyst and then a systems analyst. I have worked as a service technician for personal computers when they first came out. Then I was a network manager for a while, I set up networks for many universities here. Then I was a web developer for a while and finally it has brought me to where I am now. I am the blackboard administrator and also the technical analogy trainer.

What is your highest degree you earned?

My highest degree actually is a bachelor's degree. Additionally, I have hundreds of hours of coursework in other things like different types of software and electronics which are not a part of the degree but I needed them to keep going with the job. I took these courses from different colleges and universities. I needed technology courses that I needed, like web development.

What interests you about your job?

I am a problem solver and that is the best thing that IT people are. We are the type of people who like a challenge.

How did you get your start in IT and what lead you to it?

Well, I'd have to go way back into the 70s. What happened was, the first computer course I took was in high school. In my first senior year, we saw a mainframe device. It was really interesting but it did not really do too much. Before then, it was just slides off a board. I took a computer course when I started college because I needed an elective. I swore I would never take another computer course after that. But then the thing is, circumstances in your life change. Basically, I got my bachelors degree in education but then during another recession from another president that we had, I was out of college, I had money that I owed and I was thinking that I was totally unemployed. I had a job as a security supervisor for an installation company but then I got laid off from that as well. So I had to look around, consider my options and I had to make a choice. Should I look for another job or take another student loan and do something else? So I looked around and at that point, they were looking for people to program and stuff so I decided to go back and take up computing and see what ...