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Request Letter: To: Pveera Mani PacketMotion, Inc. 110 Baytech Drive, 2nd Floor San Jose, CA 95134 From: Vu Ngo PO BOX 12319 UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA 93107 Dear Mr. Mani, I have just received an assignment from my writing class where I have to interview an engineer who is in the field that I am studying or a similar field. I was hoping that you could spare half an hour of your time sometime next week to give an interview where I will ask you sever questions about your job to get an idea of what work after college is like. The interview could be face to face or by phone; which ever is more convenient for you. Please contact me as soon as possible by email at I’m_super_cool@yahoo.com or by phone at (408) 555-6452. Thank your for your time. Sincerely, Vu Ngo
Memo: To: James K. Ford From: Vu Ngo Date: 02/14/2006 Subject: Interview of Pveera Mani, DBA Introduction: On February 14th, I interviewed a software engineer name Pveera Mani who works for a company call Packet Motion. I first asked him to allow me to interview me through my uncle who works for the same company as Mr Mani. I then conducted the interview by phone. The interview lasted about half an hour. When I began the interview, I had very little knowledge of what a software engineer really does. I initially was hoping to interview a computer engineer because that is my field of study but after days of failure trying to find a computer engineer that will allow me to interview him; I had to settle with any engineer. I finally called my uncle who works for Packet Motion and asked him to find an engineer who would let me conduct an interview with him. My uncle was able to get one of his coworkers to allow me an interview. During the interview, I found out what a software engineer would do on a daily basis and a few things that he has to do arbitrarily. I learned what his official title is and what he is required to do under that title. The Interview: The interview started with me asking what title Mr. Mani held and he said he is a DBA or a Data Base Administrator. He then explained to me that this basically means that he organizes all of the information of the software and then documents them. This was good because this means that he was also a technical communicator. Mr. Mani then summarizing his daily routine to me. His daily routine actually varies as each specific goal changes, but this does not change the fact that he checks his email every morning before he does anything else. He says this is his way to communicated with people and more specifically his coworkers. His day varies because of his priorities. Some days he would have to finish some scripts corresponding to the software he is currently working on, while some days he would have to spend in continuous meetings. After checking and answering his emails, Mr. Mani goes to work on addressing potential problems with the products. He does this by documenting them and makes them as easy to read and comprehend as possible. Mr. Mani does this with a single partner. This is a small collaboration job compared to other teams that have to fifteen people. His job also requires interaction with actual customers. When a customer calls Packet Motion, and customer service is unable to help, Mr. Mani is there to service the customers. This means that Mr. Mani not only knows everything about the product, he also knows how to solve most problems involving the product. When Mr. Mani is not writing scripts for his software or answering questions for customers, he is finding ways to perform functions more efficiently. He tests the product with different process of performing a function until he finds the most efficient way possible. When I ask Mr. Mani how often he works with other engineers (excluding his partner) on a project, he told me that it varies depending on the project. He told me that even when it comes to a collaborate project, he does not really need to be there physically to work with others. He would be able to communicate to his teammates through messages but he actually prefers to interact with his coworkers. I then ask what his company’s views are when it comes to interaction between their engineers. He answered that Packet Motion really encourages interaction, believing that it would be beneficial to the company as a whole and the products. After getting used to talking to Mr. Mani, I began to ask more personal questions such as: what does he think about the stereotype of engineers. He cleverly tells me that most of the stereotypes are untrue. The norm is that engineers are really antisocial and just sit alone, working hard on their assignment. Mr. Mani tells me that he socializes with his partner, teammates and the rest of his coworkers on a regular basis. He then goes on to tell me that some of his days are primarily meetings where he has to converse with a lot of his coworkers not only about the project but also about the way it is beginning worked on. Reaction: After the interview, I sat down and reflected on the information I have just obtained about the engineering field. I was pleasantly surprised with what I just uncovered. I was reluctant to continue in the field of computer engineering because I was made to believe that there is a lack of interaction with other human beings in this field. Once the interview with Mr. Mani was over, it was obvious that this is very untrue. I first realize this when I called my uncle and he said that he was in a meeting and Mr. Mani was also in the same meeting. This means that his daily composes more that just sitting at a desk doing calculations for eight hours a day. I was also glad to find out that companies encourage such interaction with their engineers.
Thank You Letter: To: Pveera Mani PacketMotion, Inc. 110 Baytech Drive, 2nd Floor San Jose, CA 95134 From: Vu Ngo PO BOX 12319 UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA 93107 Dear Mr. Mani, Thank you very much for the interview that you allowed me to conduct. It was very helpful and knowledgeable. I learned a great deal about the engineering field in general and it also nullified many presumptions that I had about the engineering in the real world. I enjoyed talking to you and I enjoyed the information that you gave me about your job. It was pleasant and so it gives me something to look forward to while studying in college. I am very glad to have met you. Thank you once again for your time. I have previously given you my email address but here it is again:I’m_Super_Cool@yahoo.com. Please contact me anytime. Sincerely, Vu Ngo |