Current Job?
Current Job Associate Solutions Engineer
Describe a typical day
Most days consist of developing cloud services for public/private/hybrid cloud infrastructures to fulfil customer specifications, learning new technologies, project management and developing documentation, presentations and consulting.
What particular skills do you bring to your workplace?
Meeting, working and learning from highly skilled people with diverse cultures and backgrounds.
What’s cool?
I enjoy learning new things like technologies, programming languages, patterns etc. I like that EMC are global and you get to experience and work with wide range of cultures with various skills. Being a part of a solid yet thriving company. According to fortune magazine, EMC is in the top 10 best workplaces in the world, the resources and environment are great.
What’s not so cool?
Customers – It is helpful to have some experience dealing with customers, all people are different. Communication, cultural and time differences exist. There are language barriers at times, requirements gathering can be difficult. Learning to work with a wide range of people is a skill in its own.
How did you go ahead about getting your current job?
I wanted to do web development, so in school I picked subjects such as Art, Technical Graphics and English which helped design websites/apps and write content.
Career Development
What were the main ‘career decision’ milestones in your life so far? CIT were always encouraging. They had good lecturers that provided realistic training to prepare us for going out into the IT/Computing industry.
Who are the people who most influenced your career direction?
My family were supportive of the idea to pursue a career in computing. I always had an interest in technology and how things worked in general. I enjoy creating things from scratch. Designing and developing a solution and making it fit for purpose is great. Also, it helps the IT industry is in a strong place particularly in Ireland with vast amount of IT companies, the opportunities are endless.
Does your job allow you to have a lifestyle you are happy with?
There is a healthy balance. At times I may have to work weekends or overtime when I’m working to tight deadlines. During my free time I enjoy jogging and playing football. I’m also a freelance web developer, so I create web applications and websites for clients during weekends as a personal hobby. I am also an active member of EMC’s Sports & Social Club.
Education and Training
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path? I wanted to do web development, so in school I picked subjects such as art, technical graphics and English which helped design websites/apps and write content. My favourite subjects in school were Art, Technical Drawing, History and English.
What is your education to date?
Web Development Bsc Honours – Cork Institute of Technology, 2011-2015 - First Class Honours (H1) Degree
What aspects of your education have proven most important for your job? There’s a huge amount of online resources available and try examples. When I attended CIT, Web Development was a great course that provided me with a knowledge to expand into other areas of IT.
Personal qualities
What personal qualities do you have that helps you in your career? I had previously worked on individual projects and group projects, developing websites and apps and I built up a portfolio of work which was great after college because it is desired to show examples of your work to employers post third level
Advice for others
What are the three most important characteristics required for the job? The ability to constantly learn is vital, technology is changing daily and it’s important to keep up to date!
What advice would you give to someone considering this job? I would recommend consulting with career guidance as early as possible to pick subjects in secondary school that will benefit you on the type of IT career you want.
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What kinds of work experience would provide a good background for this position? Volunteering was educational, would encourage anybody looking to get into the field to volunteer and work with computers as much as possible. I still help my local community centre with IT work like maintaining their website, assist with computer and tool issues. |
I strongly encourage customer facing part time jobs. I worked part time as a shop assistant and bartender, and there is a lot to learn from dealing with people and understanding their requirements. Also improves interpersonal skills and gives you confidence that can be carried over into the IT industry when working with customers, presenting solutions and meetings.
Smart Futures
