http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult en bspeyers@calvin.edu 2009-07-23T12:46:01+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/whats-it-like-to-be-asystems-architect-sr-consulting-engineer/ My company job title is: Systems Architect/Sr Consulting Engineer Current project or contract role: Lead Systems Engineer (architect & design), Information Assurance (security) Engineer, Control Account Manager (cost and schedule) What does a normal day look like? My current contract means that the majority of my work is paid for through a Government or Commercial contract for services or for development of a system.  System development goes through software development lifecycle phases.  So I play different roles depending what phase the system is currently in.  For example, the requirements definition phase requires that I work on system requirements, performance requirements, security requirements, etc.  In the design phase, I have to establish design goals, evaluate development methods and procedures, create architecture diagrams, define software packages, etc.  In the build phase, I review development components and update architectural views.  During integration and testing, I review documentation products for technical content, update systems documents, evaluate test results. Is it consistent throughout the year? There are variations which include management work to review technical personnel for promotions and salary raises.  I sometimes have to work on new proposals to acquire additional system development contracts or evaluate the proposals that other organizations have prepared.  We often meet with our customers to go over the planning for new tasks within existing contracts or to review problems and technical solutions. Bonnie Speyers 2009-07-23T12:46:01+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/whats-it-like-to-be-asmall-business-owner/ My job title is: President of a small business with 25 employees. My actual position is—Small Business Owner, Troubleshooter, Salesperson, Personnel Manager, Financial Planner. What does a normal day look like? Is it consistent throughout the year? If you’ve had this position for a while, how have things changed? Arrive at 7:00 or 8:00, do what is necessary to solve any problems, plan for a future with fewer problems. Some weeks are 30-40 hours, some weeks are 40-50 hours. What other positions have you held prior to your current job? School teacher, college professor. How did you get to where you are now? Networking led to an offer to buy into a niche educational business. What kind of training/education did you have? Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate.  I also audited about six college business courses (including management and basic accounting) before taking over the business. What qualifications/skills/attributes make someone successful in this position? Common sense, intelligence, honesty, commitment, organizational skills, follow-through, a bit of tech savvy. Bonnie Speyers 2009-06-25T17:45:00+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/whats-it-like-to-be-aspecial-education-pre-school-teacher/ What does a normal day look like? Is it consistent throughout the year? If you’ve had this position for a while, how have things changed? I teach 8 preschoolers, aged 2-5, all with disabilities.  They have a variety of disabilities, including autism, physical disabilities, speech impairment, genetic disorders, Down syndrome and others.  The children come for half the day and participate in typical preschool activities, with some adaptations as needed.  Each child has an IEP (Individualized Education Program), which the parents and I develop, to address problems in areas of development (social skills, communication skills, cognitive skills, gross and fine motor skills and adaptive skills).  We work on their delays at school and then I do home visits in the afternoon, coaching parents and working with the children.  Our classroom also has speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and other specialists also working with the children.  I have two assistants that help to carry out the program. Bonnie Speyers 2009-06-25T13:04:00+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/whats-it-like-to-be-atv-news-reporter/ My job title is: Senior Reporter My actual position is (if this differs from job title): Sometimes I shoot and edit video What does a normal day look like? Is it consistent throughout the year? If you’ve had this position for a while, how have things changed? A typical day starts at nine AM with an editorial meeting.  We decide who is covering what, and we go out and get those stories.  It hasn’t changed a lot in the last 30 years, except that now we email back photos and notes to update our website. What other, if any, positions have you held prior to your current job? How did you get to where you are now? My first job out of college was in radio news. What kind of training/education did you have? What would you suggest? What qualifications/skills/attributes make someone successful in this position? A college education is essential, along with curiosity and willingness to learn new technologies. What are the rewards in your position? Challenges? What makes a good day for you? It’s rewarding to tell human stories that people respond to.  A good day is finding compelling characters that make the news stories come alive. What trends or changes do you foresee in the next 5-10 years? Reporters will shoot and edit more of their own stories and file them on the web as well as on TV. How could a person find out more about your field? http://www.rtnda.org;www.poynter.org When you were growing up, did you have any interests that you have built into your work? I was interested in the world about me. What obstacles have you overcome to get to where you are today? Fighting fatigue with covering the same stories over and over. What was your first job like after college? It was a radio news reporting and anchoring job and a lot of fun. How do your beliefs and values or worldview perspectives impact what you do at work? The most impactful video news stories aim for the heart to inform the mind. Career Series: What's it like to be a ___? Bonnie Speyers 2009-06-23T13:18:00+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/whats-it-like-to-be-achristian-high-school-principal/ If you have had this position for a while, how have things changed?What does my normal day look like?  Is it consistent throughout the year? When school is in session, late August to early June, I am in the office well before 6:00 a.m., at school or school-related meetings during the day, at home for supper between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., and then back at school for the evening until 9:30 -ish p.m. When school is in session, early morning time until about 7:15 a.m. is a wonderful and necessary planning time.  It is during this time I do short-term and long-term planning and take care of lots of correspondence.  Teachers and students begin filling the hallways around 7:15 a.m., and from that time until 4:00 p.m. I am “on” for running the high school. Being “on” means being available to students and teachers throughout the school day using a “managing by walking around” style.  This walking around involves answering and responding to a myriad of situations, questions, phone calls, and e-mails, and being available to students, parents, alumni and teachers who stop in throughout school day.  It also means being a presence and observing the daily flow and interaction of a dynamic Christian community.  Education is touching and influencing lives and this can only be done by “being there.” I am home to have supper with my wife from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m., and then I’m back again for the evening, which includes parent meetings, board meetings, and supervision of student and athletic activities.  Over time supervision of activities becomes more like “I really want to be there to support and encourage students and coaches and parents- it’s our ministry, I don’t want to miss out.” During the summertime, I maintain school office hours from 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., except for those times when I’m on vacation.  I am allocated five weeks of vacation out of 52 weeks each year.  Summer is filled with planning and preparation for the new year. Career Series: What's it like to be a ___? Bonnie Speyers 2009-05-19T18:19:00+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/whats-it-like-to-be-anarchitect-business-professor/ My job title is: architect/business professor My actual position is: founder/principal architect/former partner of AMDG architects, currently associate professor of business at Calvin College What does a normal day look like? Is it consistent throughout the year? If you’ve had this position for a while, how have things changed? Architect:  Meetings with staff, consulting engineers, clients, code officials, doing architectural design, project management (tasks, budgets, schedules), reviewing construction drawings, managing the business side, personnel reviews and training, marketing and going after new projects; pretty well consistent through the year now that there are concrete admixtures which allow pouring concrete in the winter in Michigan. We’ve grown from one person (myself doing everything) to 15+ staff.  It has become more management and less doing the project drawings myself which are now done mostly by other staff. The move toward more computer design for the conceptual design process and construction drawings has meant technological changes, and design/build approach continues to grow vs. the more traditional approach with having an architect provide drawings and then bidding it out to several contractors. Professor:  Teaching methods are changing somewhat to better adapt to the students’ expectations and learning styles, much more experiential and discussion vs. straight lecture. Career Series: What's it like to be a ___? Bonnie Speyers 2009-05-14T16:54:00+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/whats-it-like-to-be-asocial-work-professor/ What does a normal day look like? Is it consistent throughout the year? If you’ve had this position for a while, how have things changed?  My day is varied and includes preparation and teaching of classes to social work majors, participation in departmental and college wide committee work, and academic advising. What other, if any, positions have you held prior to your current job? How did you get to where you are now?  My background in social work is also varied.  I worked full time while working toward my Master’s Degree in Social Work: I worked as a career counselor at a technical college, working with young people completing certificate programs to write resumes and cover letters, prepare for interviews, and search for jobs.  In addition to this I worked briefly at a pre-natal clinic for low-income mothers in Irvington, NJ. I worked directly with the pregnant mothers and the medical professionals to connect the women and their families to needed resources including housing, food stamps, Medicaid, and where necessary, substance abuse treatment.  After this I worked in Newark, NJ as a supervisor with the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program (CASA). This is an organization that works with the courts to help oversee cases of child abuse and neglect and to advocate for the children and families in order for the children to move toward permanency, either back at home with their parents or toward adoptive families.  My most recent work, prior to teaching, was working with homeless women and children and in the development of low-income housing, including permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, housing for persons with AIDS (HOPWA), senior housing, and housing for people with disabilities.  Most of this work was done with Lutheran Social Ministries of NJ and also in Grand Rapids with Genesis Non Profit Housing Corporation. I got to where I am now by always learning that regardless of what job I found myself doing at any given time, that there were valuable lessons, skills, and abilities to learn which could be transfered to my next position. Career Series: What's it like to be a ___? Bonnie Speyers 2009-05-12T13:45:00+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/whats-it-like-to-be-aphysicians-assistant/ What does a normal day look like? Is it consistent throughout the year? If you’ve had this position for a while, how have things changed? I work in a family practice setting so I see patients ranging from infants to the elderly. I work from about 7:45-5:30/6:00 seeing many different cases every day, ranging from the common cold to lacerations to diabetes, etc. What other, if any, positions have you held prior to your current job? How did you get to where you are now? None. I got my bachelor’s degree majoring in Spanish and went on to PA school immediately after graduating. Career Series: What's it like to be a ___? Bonnie Speyers 2009-05-08T12:49:00+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/whats-it-like-to-be-anassistant-dean-of-residence-life/ What does a normal day look like? Is it consistent throughout the year? If you’ve had this position for a while, how have things changed? Certain aspects of my job I perform almost daily, while other responsibilities are much more seasonal.  Regardless of the time of year, I meet with students and staff each day to work out issues of housing or to discuss a housing policy violation.  In addition, I am a liaison to other campus departments (Food service, Building services, Academic Services, and Admissions).  I have weekly interactions with these departments and represent the Residence Life Department in those meetings.  Finally, I supervise the Knollcrest East Apartments and the Area Coordinator position coordinating various student support and accountability services with the Dean of Students for Judicial Affairs. In the summer, I help with roommate matching, assist with orientation programs, and prepare for opening the residence halls and apartments to students in the fall.  This includes helping with Resident Director and Residence Assistant training.  In the fall and winter, I teach a first year experience class, mentor the hall presidents, and review our policies and procedures.  In the spring I facilitate the room selection process for returning students in both the residence halls and apartments and help plan summer improvement projects.  All in all, it is not a boring job, and no two days are the same. Career Series: What's it like to be a ___? Bonnie Speyers 2009-05-04T18:24:00+00:00 http://www.calvin.edu/weblogs/careercatapult/job-fair-top-10s/ After today’s visit to a sizeable job fair, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are some things people just must not know—otherwise they would not do them. So to help clear up any ambiguity, here’s today’s list of ….. Top Ten Things People Should Know Before Going To a Job Fair: • That overly died, permed hair is no longer flattering • That a royal blue sweater, tan pants (too short), and RED socks don’t match • That even if the clothes aren’t totally appropriate, everything can benefit from being pressed • That well fitting pants look better than ones that are too tight across the derriere • That lip rings are better off left at home • That posture counts—straight up is better than slumped and shuffling • That bright and energetic works better than dull-eyed and dour • That not all recruiters know how to carry on a conversation, so you’d better be ready with some openers and questions • That going from booth to booth with a friend in tow is not a good idea • That cell phones should be turned off at the door Job Search Tip of the Day Bonnie Speyers 2009-02-24T21:38:00+00:00