Respond
to this post after you have spent at least one full week at your
internship. If you like, start your post with a few sentences
summarizing your tasks so far. Devote the remainder of your response to this "thinking assignment":
Choose
an adult who works with you at your internship. This might be your
mentor, but it may be someone else at your work site. Discover the
official title of the job he or she holds. Write a short
paragraph about the day-to-day tasks you observe this person doing.
Include your opinion about the level of satisfaction he or she seems to
derive from the job. You may base your opinion on your own observations
and/or on conversations with the person you are observing. Is this
satisfaction intrinsic to the job itself or related more to job
environment, co-workers, etc.? Is it, perhaps, most related to the
person's outlook on life?
In your last paragraph, consider briefly whether this job is something you could imagine yourself doing as a career. As you justify your answer, are you at all surprised by what you "hear yourself
saying"? Do you think your answer to the question would be the same if
this job were located somewhere else (i.e., in a different type of
business or in a different city)?
Sarai is the editorial assistant for the paper I'm working for. She assists and does a section for six papers in total. She is always willing to help and is diligent in her work. She seems satisfied, but undoubtedly gets annoyed training intern after intern. She will edit my work and others too, occasionally writing stories and working on layout. She loves it when I do the busy work for her, but I try not to ask to many questions when we are crunched on deadline.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know if I will do this as a career. Being a double editor for two years for my high school newspaper is stressful enough. The extra time dedicated and impact on the community may be too overwhelming. I need a structured schedule, and here things are loose and up to me, which means I need to go out and write my own stories on my own time. I did this internship to figure out the real world and learn about what I like and don't like. I need to make myself involved, so the second half of my work I will attempt to do that and see how things turn out.
I agree that the second half of your internship will help you determine if you want journalism to be your future career.
DeleteI understand what you mean about editing being a stressful and demanding job- as News Editor of my school paper it can sometimes be really tough trying to edit all the articles along with designing a layout. It's good that you're getting a perspective on a real newspaper.
DeleteSergeant Jones is the chemist assigned to the Rader Clinic laboratory. She is in charge of performing the requested chemical analysis tests on bodily fluid samples which can be done with the lab equipment provided to her, and shipping some samples elsewhere for more complicated testing. I observed the sergeant's behavior as I shadowed her today and I believe she is genuinely happy in her position because of multiple variables. All of her co-workers are friendly and close to one another personally because it is a small lab. The work itself seems to be rewarding to her. Lab work is a job where successful completion of a given task is visibly measurable and relatively immediate. Also, I think knowing that her contribution could lead to improving and even saving someone's health gives the sergeant great job satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteNot surprisingly I completely see myself doing this one day. Because we were feeding biological samples into machines for analysis of their chemical makeup, I felt like the procedures were similar to what I would do as a toxicologist. To be honest today was probably the happiest day I've had since AP exams ended. I couldn't help smiling all day. It was what I loved doing, and when I came home I still felt happy despite being completely exhausted from 8.5 hours of running between the donor collection office and lab, collecting samples, and loading them into multiple machines. I was glad to be tired from long hours of doing work that I loved instead of being tired from boredom. The only way it could possibly be better for me is if my work would contribute to criminal justice. If I wasn't completely certain before about what future I want, I am now.
You seem to have plan and are on your way to achieving it. Let's hope we don't cross paths for the wrong reasons.
DeleteI had that rewarding moment several times working at the clinic. I couldn't stop smiling when I finished wrapping up a dressing for a patient, and they were extremely satisfied with my work.
DeleteLol Will. Agreed. I sincerely hope we all stay on the right side of the law. I hope things are at least cheerful at the newspaper if not exactly what you want to do with your life. That's what this internship is about: gaining real experience so we make sure we know what we want to do with the rest of our lives. And I agree Alex receiving praise from patients or mentors for a job well done is extremely gratifying.
DeleteThat's really cool that you have found your passion. I'm glad that are enjoying your internship and it also sounds like you are meeting some cool people that enjoy what they do.
DeleteAero Zhou is the summer camp coordinator for the International Child Art Foundation. Before the summer camp started, her daily activities consisted primarily of coming up with the schedule for the camp, and communicating with the parents of the campers. Her job is to act as a counsellor for the campers during the camp. It's hard to tell whether she enjoys her job because it's only temporary as she, and the rest of the office, is an intern. I think a lot of work is asked of her and she is sometimes overwhelmed and stressed out. However, I believe she truly enjoys volunteering and working with people from all over the world, especially interacting with children.
ReplyDeleteI would not consider working with ICAF as a future career, mainly because it's a nonprofit organization, and the staff are all volunteers or interns, neither are paid a salary. I don't think I would work here even if I was paid either because there isn't much work to do in the four year gap between festivals. But this experience leads me to want to volunteer alongside whatever career I choose in the future.
I think it is really cool that this organization inspired you to volunteer in the future. What do you see yourself doing in the future?
DeleteAlthough you don't see yourself in this field in the future, do you think you would need some of the skills Aero has to complete her duties in your future career?
DeleteSamuel Stebbins is my mentor for Prime, but he also works with Public Health and School Health. His daily tasks basically consist of finding health related issues in Arlington, and what he can do to prevent them. Right now the health issue we're both working on is obesity in children (specifically elementary school kids) in Arlington. He seems to get a lot of satisfaction with his job from his personal outlook on life, because from conversations I've had with him his dream job were to be a midwife, he did this while he was in med school during clinical rotations and he told me he loved it ever since. The only reason why he never pursued with being a midwife was because he prefers a day job, and as a midwife you usually work nights.
ReplyDeleteI definitely do not see myself in my mentors job position, and I'm not surprised by what I'm saying because Dr. Stebbins on a daily basis works with data, graphs,a bunch of numbers, and surveys which is something I'm not interested in doing.He also does the same thing everyday, which is pretty boring to me. I prefer the other side of his job which is working with patients, mostly because I enjoy interacting with different people everyday. My answer would stay the same even if I was in a different location, because I would still be working with graphs, data and surveys every single day.
I agree, I prefer working with patients. Is his job different than what you expected?
DeleteI agree that doing the same thing over and over again gets boring. I also think it is interesting that he gave up his dream job because of the hours. It is important to know the details of your dream job before you try to achieve it.
DeleteYes his job was definitely different form what I expected Wisam!
DeleteI work at a small business style clinic, one doctor, his assistant, and a receptionist. Our receptionist, Zoraida, plays a very important role. She checks patients in and controls the appointment schedule; she contacts insurance companies, vendors, pharmacies and labs; and she seems to keep everything together. As an intern, I sometimes do some of her tasks, and I sometimes help the doctor. I've gotten closer to her however, and there's a bond between the receptionist, assistant, and interns that the doctor is excluded from. She's good at her job but I don't believe that she is exactly happy with it. I think the way her and the doctor (which is her boss) interact plays a role in that.
ReplyDeleteI don't see myself doing this job at all. Although I have a lot of respect for her, I feel like she sometimes feels subordinate in the office. Perhaps some people feel comfortable in this position but I certainly could never. I'm not really surprised by what I am saying because I never liked feeling bossed around per say. Perhaps if the doctor respected her like we do, my answer would be different, but I know most bosses can be like that. I didn't mean for this blog post to sound so negative, I do like my internship and am learning a lot everyday.
What you have said here, Wisam, will be important for you - and all the others - to remember if you are ever in a position where you have an assistant of any sort. The way you relate to that person can make all the difference in their quality of life, how well they do their job, and in their consequent loyalty to you. That, in turn, will affect your quality of life, believe me!
DeleteI agree with you partly, having a subordinate job can be boring and not very fulfilling. But it may be that you have to do those kinds of jobs for years before you can get promoted, and that'll give you a deeper appreciation for your subordinates in the future.
DeleteWhat kind of relationship does she have with your boss that makes her unsatisfied with her job?
It must be very interesting to see real life interactions at work as compared to how jobs are made out to be by most adults. However I guess we all have to go through those positions sometime in our lives.
DeleteI work at Arlington Foot & Ankle with Wisam and I completely agree. I really want to get Zoraida and the rest of the staff a cake or some sort of gift. They have taught us so much, and they have been so patient with us.
DeleteI like how this post is very honest, you didn't sugarcoat anything about your internship, and your insight on your boss and Zoraida is very interesting!
DeleteMorticia is a court clerk. Every day, she enters information about those who have court cases into the court database. She is in charge of filing documents, transfering cases, and providing the judge with the case information. In court, she sits at her computer and inputs all the information going around during the court case. She also provides the bailiffs with documents to give to those in the court. She's always happy doing her job, and she does it well. She an optimistic person, so I think her optimism is a part of what makes her happy with her job.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this career is for me. It comes with a lot of computer time and filing. It also takes a lot of training. There's not much room for creativity so I don't think I would be satisfied here.
Even though your work may be a bit dry, I think it will help give you direction for your future career.
DeleteI agree with this, I don't think job with a lot of monotony or instruction taking without creativity would make me very happy!
DeleteAt the lab, I shadow lab techs who perform a variety of tasks. One technician I work closely is Aaron. Aaron conducts a wide variety of tasks, from conducting strep tests to cataloging information about patients. Even though in the future he goes into hospital management, Aaron still feels a lot of satisfaction with his job. He tells me that he really enjoys being a part in the overall medical process. Aaron told me that he has always wanted to go into healthcare, and that his passion for medicine gives him the motivation to work hard in medical school. The positive outlook on life Aaron has motivates him immensely.
ReplyDeleteEven though I don't see myself being a lab technician, I can really envision myself working in the medical field. Going on rounds with the doctors has given me a lot of insight into what exactly doctors do. However, I could really see myself in my mentor's position. Being the head of the microbiology department seems like a really interesting and intriguing job. Before my internship, I would have never imagined that being the supervisor of a microbiology department would be an interesting job for me. I think that it wouldn't matter where the job was located. I feel that I would have the same satisfaction in the job regardless of the location.
Pays well I hope. Science fair projects spark new interests!
DeleteMy science projects have helped to spark my interests.
DeleteI am at APS facilities and operations, which watches over everything that happens concerning the mechanical and architectural side of the school system. One of the workers their, the director of design and construction, seems like the supervisor for the entire architectural division. He coordinates most meetings, he makes sure everyone is doing their job. On the side he also does his own projects, like Blake, another intern, and I are choosing new lighting options for the career center's common area; he had started it, then decided to include us in the project. The supervisor seems happy when a large project is successfully accomplished, like one of the elementary schools. In the time between completion, he seems very tense and on edge, this understandable because, during this construction phase everything is usually rushed and stressful, but he handles it well. I think the whole team helps each other from being over-stressed, I think the environment really helps make the job manageable.
ReplyDeleteI could see myself in this career, it is not my ideal job, but it is not the worst thing ever. I enjoy managing a project from time to time, and the job also allows a person to work on their personal projects for the school system. I don't know if I would do this management position in another county, or even if it was a private business, I really like the friendly environment, it helps make the stress that would come with the job, bearable.
It is cool that you can see yourself working in this field based off of your work! It must be interesting seeing the operation of APS facilities as somebody other than a student.
DeleteMy main task at Alexandria Hospital, aside from helping out at and learning more about different departments, was to help the catering assistants deliver food to patients. There was one specific lady that I helped out everyday. What she did all day was to deliver meals, wait, pick up trays, and take menu for the next meal times. She would repeat this process for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would suppose that the only satisfaction she derives from the job is interacting with patients and coworkers. As a person, she is very positive and friendly and cares a lot about others. Perhaps her positive look on life is what keeps her doing the job.
ReplyDeleteI don't see myself doing this job. Just from the short experience I had, I could imagine myself reluctantly coming to work everyday if I were an official catering assistant. It is possible that one could really enjoy doing this job and it's nice that the workers get to be part of a patient's experience but the job itself is routine. I personally prefer a job that offers new lessons, endless surprises, and joy. Even though this job is not something that I could see myself doing, helping out the catering assistants have taught me firsthand that it is really important to love and enjoy what you do.
Even though it's not specifically what you are interested in, it's really cool you get to see the other side of hospital care!
DeleteI like how even though you are not personally interested in the job, you can see why some might enjoy it rather than just saying it is a bad job.
DeleteI think it's wise that from this experience, Gabby, you are able to take away the realization that it is extremely important that you be able to love what you do with the rest of your life.
DeleteGood for you for taking the positive things away from your experience. I hope you had a good first day at Dr. Schum Brady's!! I had my orientation at the hospital today, I can see why you were bored sometimes, but hopefully I too will be able to take joy and pleasure in talking to patients when I help deliver food tomorrow!! :)
DeleteIt's cool that you get to see a side of a hospital that not many people think about and even if you don't want to do that job it shows how important all jobs are in a large facility like a hospital.
DeleteNimata is the girl who I mainly interacted with at the Doctors office I worked at, and she couldn't have been sweeter and more understanding. She was very pleasant to work with. I'm not sure she really has a title, but she makes the office function. Without her, nothing would get done. I admire her for her dedication to the job, but I also found her constantly complaining about the long work hours and taxing jobs. She plans to go to medical school. Still quite young, I believe this job is just a place holder until she has kids and goes back to school.
ReplyDeleteWhile I admire what Nimata does for the office, I would not like to have her job. She does not seem to love what she does, even though she's dedicated to it. My ultimate goal for my career is to love what I do. Also, I would get cramped in the small office we operate out of. I am very excited to switch with Gabby and go to the hospital tomorrow! Hopefully good news to come...
The person at my office who has close to this sort of job is also super friendly and nice. I really enjoy working with her, which has showed me the value of a sunny disposition on job morale.
DeleteI agree that Nimata was very pleasant to work with and is dedicated to her job. She understands how important her role is in making sure everything is going smoothly and functioning right.
DeleteAjibola Robinson is my mentor and is the project manager of the design team. The design team includes a principal-in-charge, a project manager, an architect, interior designers, a K-12 education director, and a consultant team made up of engineers. Mr. Robinson is the project manager of the Mckinley renovation. The construction started in the spring (2015) and the scheduled completion date is next year during the summer. From my observations, Mr. Robinson is a very busy man who rarely has the time to eat lunch in the afternoon. As the project manager, he must interact with his clients by attending regular meetings every week. In addition, he prepares a checklist for each phase of the project and conducts reviews of the progress of each member. Communication is very crucial during the construction phases. I also noticed how calm and collected he is during meetings. Mr. Robinson makes appropriate eye contact and speaks with a high pitched voice. I assume that he is satisfied with his job. His co-workers definitely respect him and I am sure that he gives 100% in everything that he does to assist his team.
ReplyDeleteI cannot see myself doing this kind of job, but being a project manager is not the worst career in the world. I have leadership and social skills from my experiences as a varsity soccer player and a project leader in group activities. Similarly, a project manager is someone who possesses leadership skills as well as social skills in order to clearly communicate with his co-workers. Perhaps, I may be interested in being a project manager in the future after my internship experience. I do believe that my interests will change if this job was located in a different type of city. I have always wanted to visit Europe.
Martha Andom is my mentor. She works in the Planning and Education unit for Public Health. Her main task is to find ways to prevent health issues within Arlington. Every couple of days, there is a new topic to work on. Most of the work involves a lot of research and analysis. Using the data from the research, we are able to create health messages. Martha recently completed her work for World Aids Day and now we are both working on summer health issues (heat safety, water safety, food safety). Martha seems to really enjoy her job, however we both take a lot of breaks. It can get very tiring looking over the same facts over and over. During our breaks, she tells me about her previous jobs and about how she would love to open a coffee food truck one day. Although she is satisfied with her job, I think there is a small part of her that wishes that she had taken a different route in terms of her career.
ReplyDeleteI can't see myself doing this job. My main interests are science and medicine. While this job involves both of these, I would like to do something more hands-on. I also think that a job that is a bit more eventful would be more of interest to me. This job is not too bad, but I would rather do something that interests me. I'm still not exactly sure what I would like to do in the future, but I think that this internship has helped me discover that I really need to do something that I enjoy.
The work you are doing seems fascinating! It's also really great that you figured out you would like a more hands on job.
DeleteI'm sure this experience will act as a foundation for you in the career you choose.
DeleteIt seems that several of you have discovered that there is a lot of number crunching and data analysis involved with the jobs your mentors do! That seems to be the way many jobs are trending, including those in education; and many of us - myself included - do not find it too exciting. Perhaps you could turn some of that data into maps, using the technology you learned about at esri!
ReplyDeleteJeremy Koller is my mentor at Arlington Educational Television, and we work together every day. Most of what his say usually consists of is editing footage, logging footage, going to events to shoot video and interviews for videos. I've gone along with him and another guy with AETV, John Stuhldreher, to quite a few of these events. I've helped to shoot video with my own camera set up, and interviewed people. I really enjoy going on shoots. It seems to me that so does Jeremy. He appears to me to get a huge amount of satisfaction from this job, which makes sense. This is a very fun and cool job to have. I could absolutely see myself doing this.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great, doing something you enjoy for a living is awesome. I can draw parallels to people where I work at also. The architects I work with all seem to like their job. I remember what one of the ESRI employees said about doing a job that you love over money. I will definitely consider this when finding a career.
DeleteThat seems really awesome, your interests and your mentors job seem every similar which is great. It is also cool how you can really interact with your mentors and their jobs.
DeleteI work at the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, an organization of that local businesses can join that provides networking opportunities and government advocacy for them.
ReplyDeleteHannah Dannenfelser is the Membership Services Administrator. As she sits at the desk at the front, a casual observer would probably label her as the office secretary, but she does a lot more than the average secretary. While she does do the main phone answering, makes copies and stuffs envelopes, she also manages all the accounts of the members. She deals with the collecting of dues and contacting those who are behind on payments, and so forth. She is also in charge of the Chamber's trip to China that members can join, and I have helped her work on researching possible future trips, such as to India and South America. Hannah seems to enjoy her job a lot. She is pretty young and this is one of her first office jobs, but she is very good at it, as she has a cordial and friendly personality which is perfect for dealing with members and being the first point of contact for the Chamber. Another person may find this work tedious or boring, but Hannah is a very cheerful individual that clearly makes the most of it.
I don't know if this is something I'd do for a living. It is the entry level job here at the Chamber (Cassie, another employee who now the Events and Development Director, previously had that job), so it would be something I would see more as a stepping stone to a career. I would not mind it as much if it was in a different organization or business, perhaps one whose work I was more passionate about.
Planning the trips sounds really cool! Does she get to go on them?
DeleteUnfortunately not! Spots are reserved for people who pay... I think she deserves to at some point.
DeleteIt's nice that she makes the most out of what she does, even though it is an entry level job. I think it's important to have a positive outlook on whatever role you start out with, knowing that one day your hard work will be rewarded.
DeleteSuited for Change provides women in D.C. with professional clothing and career guidance.
ReplyDeleteCynthia Moses is our program manager. Her main task is to organize our giant volunteer force from all around the area. Due to the fact we are a non-profit organization it's critical that we have people willing to put in time and effort at no monetary cost. Cynthia also creates engaging and helpful workshops for our clients on office etiquette, how to have a successful interview, and how to think critically at your job. She's on the phone or email for most of the day getting in contact with hundreds of referral partners and volunteers. Suited for Change's administrative office only has three full time employees so Cynthia's work is very important in the organization.
I could definitely see myself in Cynthia's shoes. Not only does she have the opportunity to talk with people all day long and brainstorm how to improve our organization, but she gets to work with clients. Her job is sort of the best of both worlds. One of the most interesting things about working in a nonprofit (where the women often comment that salaries aren't the most competitive) is that everyone loves their job. These extremely smart and capable women could doing so many different things for much more money but they choose to give back to their community by working at Suited for Change.
I had never heard of this organization before but it is such an amazing idea! I would also be interested in this career because not only is it a great cause for empowering women, but it sounds like it also has a good balance of interacting with clients and researching/brainstorming.
DeleteIt's so awesome that you're doing something that you can see yourself pursuing as a career!! Perhaps one day you too will run a successful non-profit! :)
DeleteI think that it's great that these women are willing to work for little to no pay. I think that gaining knowledge, making connections, giving back to society, and doing something you genuinely enjoy has its own form of payment!
DeleteI am working at Cowen Design Group. This week I have modeled an RPZ (reduced pressure zone) device on Auto CAD, finished up a site plan, and researched the different types of plants in Zimbabwe because my mentor needs to know what types of trees to use in her project.
ReplyDeleteThe person I have been watching does mainly work on Auto CAD all day. He graduated from college a few years ago so he is given a variety of tasks to make sure he is ready for his engineering certification test. He sometimes works on the same site all day and other days he works on up to three. He never does the same stuff for each site because each site is at a different stage of production. Some days he works on the very beginnings of a site, and other days he works on finishing touches. His job is always different even though it is all on Auto CAD.
I could see myself doing a similar job in the future. I am really enjoying my time here and i think Auto Cad is a very useful and usable program. I also like the openness of my office. There are no cubicles so there is always some sort of conversation going on. I feel like that makes work more fun and not like a chore.
That job sounds fun. It's cool that you have different things to do, so you get a lot of experience.
DeleteWhat is the difference between an engineering degree and passing the test?
DeleteFor most of last week I have been working at the Stratford Program.A school for kids with physical and mental disabilities. While I was there I was working with the clinic aid. She did many things, she administered medication to some of the students. She also worked on paperwork, formating the medication book, talking to parents, and getting necessary medical information about students who were starting summer school or who would be attending the program the next school year.
ReplyDeleteWhile I really enjoyed my time there I can't see myself doing a similar job. While there was some interaction with students it was mostly desk work, which does not appeal to me. Also I don't think I want to work in a school environment.
It's so cool that you got to work with the Stratford Program! I go to H-B so I see a lot of the kids everyday! I totally understand what you mean. Desk work is not fun!
DeleteMany of you identify desk work/ paperwork as something you would like to avoid as part of your career. It was certainly the least favorite part of my workday when I was a full time teacher (think report cards, daily attendance, SoL scores = yuk!). But . . . can you think of a job that does NOT involve record keeping of some sort?
DeleteI totally agree with you and umber , I would enjoy a job that's more hands-on and have more interaction with patients and not revolve around sitting at a desk all day.
DeleteI work at Rader Clinic in Fort Myer in the Physical Therapy department. My mentor, Maj. Matthew Scherer, is the head Physical Therapist at Rader Clinic.
ReplyDeleteThe person that I observed was my mentor because I spend the most of my time with him. Most of his work day is spent on patient appointments and clinic staff meetings. He has been working at the clinic for a very long time so he is usually very relaxed and is able to do his job very efficiently. Even though his schedule seems very repetitive, he never loses his focus and concern for each of his patients. I have never seen a situation where he did not have a solution, which adds to his patient's trust in him. Overall he seems to enjoy his job and he is also very good at it also.
Although his job is very interesting and not particularly stressing, I do not exactly see myself doing this exact job. I would, however, see myself doing a job that involves many of the same aspects of his. The atmosphere is very light, and the patients seem at ease in the office. These factors would add to one's satisfaction of their job.
After shadowing him with you for a day I agree with you completely. He seems to love his job, but it is a little slow. Doing something that has the same atmosphere as his but maybe a different type of job would be really fun
DeleteI work at the Arlington General District Court. Aside from my mentor, the Clerk of the Court, I have had the opportunity to observe the Post Court Manager. She is responsible for getting all files and cases prepared for the clerks to take to court and update. She manages all the clerks in the General District Court, which is an extremely important and demanding job because she must make sure that cases are filed correctly, on time, and are never misplaced and always ready for court. She seems to enjoy her job not only because of the interesting cases she gets to handle, but also because of the positive work environment and cooperative coworkers.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I would prefer to have a more direct role in the courtroom (such as an attorney or a judge) I might be able to see myself in this career. As Post Court Manager, I would still get to be involved in the Arlington legal system and learn to handle and analyze a variety of legal issues in my community. There is a large amount of desk work and paperwork required for this job, which would be a drawback because I prefer more hands on tasks. Despite this, I would still welcome the opportunity to make sure the court runs smoothly through this career.
Your internship sounds like it provides some valuable insight into court life, Emily. I would also like to be in criminal justice. I curious, if you did decide to become a lawyer would you want to be on the prosecution or defense?
DeleteThat's a good question because both sides are interesting, but I think I would rather be on the defense because it requires more creativity to defend a client you might know is guilty!
DeleteI work at Arlington Foot & Ankle, and I've been fortunate enough to be able to work alongside the doctor's assistant, Branco. Branco has a wide variety of tasks from performing bunionectomies, operating x-rays/ultrasounds, cleaning surgical instruments, to even using the laser for any infections. During lunch, he'd often give me advice about what medical school/residency is like and how to effectively prepare for the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test); he even taught me how to put together a scalpel for the first time. He's told me that out of all the previous clinics and establishments that he's volunteered at, he has enjoyed it here the most since he has a keen interest in podiatry, but he's still searching for that "right" podiatrist to mentor him more effectively. I believe he does respect the doctor and enjoys working for him, but he just sees some aspects of the workplace that could be improved. I'm not necessarily surprised by what I'm saying either, Branco has clearly explained what could be changed, and there's some truth to it. Don't get me wrong though, I've learned so much that I hope I get to use in the future, and I don't regret anything.
ReplyDeleteIt's awesome that your mentor offers you advice about how to get into the medical field, and that you are learning some important skills. Also, it's good that he looks for things that can be improved because that is the first step to bringing about meaningful change. I hope he finds the "right" podiatrist someday! Good luck to you too!
DeleteSophia Liu is a Research Geographer at USGS. She has her PHD in Technology, Media, and Society. She does work with GIS and other spatial imaging softwares to create maps. Recently she has been working on crowd-sourcing social networking data to create accurate earthquake maps based on peoples posts. She regularly goes to code for NOVA events and has presented at major national events multiple times with her work. She seems to enjoy her job and the people who she works with.
ReplyDeleteI don't see myself doing this as a career because it seems incredibly boring to do for a career. I think it is interesting and incredibly useful but I wouldn't do it. If we were located somewhere else where earthquakes were more prevalent I could see myself trying to track them with something like this but where we are now there is not much hands on work to be done and mostly just programming things to crawl twitter looking for keywords.
Thats very interesting what you found out about Sophia Ryan!
DeleteRyan, what do you see yourself doing in the future with technology (or not)?
DeleteI work at Central Library on Firefox OS development. I have no direct mentor on site, but I am working alongside people whose mentor is Sophia Liu, a Research Geographer at USGS. She has a PHD and works on using social networks to get people excited and crowd source data for the USGS. She has one project in which she is using responses from people to analyze the damage done by hurricane Sandy along the coast.
ReplyDeleteAnother mentor is Jeffrey Elkner, currently a teacher at the Career Center, and taught computer science at Yorktown High School. He has a book about beginning computer science and is in New Jersey for the summer.
I do not see myself following the paths of either of these mentors. I see myself, at least out of college, working in the private sector on a startup or a more established company on as advanced software that I can find. I see that their careers have been great for them but government work and teaching are not exactly what I am most interested in.
Did any of the computer applications you saw at esri appeal to you?
DeleteThat's great that your mentors are so established. What kind of advanced software are you talking about?
DeleteI work at the Central Library with Eric. We have no direct mentor on the site where we are (Mr. Elkner is in New Jersey and our mentor is in Germany) so we have mainly had contact through the internet. Sophia Liu, the mentor of people we work beside, is a research geographer at USGS, though we learned that the title is not exactly the best for her job. Her current project is crowd sourcing social network data to create a map of the location of earthquakes, and where they hit.
ReplyDeleteWhile I find her line of work interesting I don't see myself doing it. I prefer coding than the visual aspect of data, even though it is interesting and useful. I see myself working in a company, rather than the government.
I work at the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families (APCYF) with Kim Durand the APCYF Coordinator. Her day to day tasks are meeting with and keeping in contact with our partners and making connections with people in the community and in other departments. She attends many meeting and is currently trying to help organize a conference in the spring. She takes many notes at the meetings she attends then send them out to everyone involved to make sure they are all on the same page. She seems to get much satisfaction from her job, she enjoys her coworkers, and also likes working to better the community.
ReplyDeleteI never before considered a government job but after meeting so many different people and being involved in planning some projects it has really opened my mind to the possibility of a job similar to this in the future. I do not plan to actively pursue this in college but some departments do interest me such as the DES, the department of environmental services.
Sounds like she is busy. What type of work does APCYF do? Is it a non-profit?
DeleteThe good thing about government jobs is that they can provide pension plans for retirement!
DeleteDo you think Ms. Durand considers herself to have a "government job"?
DeleteI am working in the office of Virginia General Assembly member Alfonso Lopez. I have written a press release, filled out endorsement questionnaires, done data entry, legislative research, and attended meetings.
ReplyDeleteMy mentor, Jason, is the main person I work with. The only other person is the Delegate. Jason's official title is chief of staff. He communicates between constituents and the Delegate, does all of the tasks I have been doing, handles most financial aspects and keeps the Delegate informed. I think he enjoys what he does in the long run, however their are many tasks that are boring. He enjoys talking to members of the community and likes the work he is helping the Delegate do to improve the community.
I think I would be bored not working more with people. In addition Jason handles all the communication and writing projects for the Delegate and I don't really enjoy that aspect. I like the general idea of his job, but would want co-workers and probably to work on the national level of government more where each person has a more specialized role.
That sounds like a very interesting internship! I agree that getting to work as a team is much more fun than having to work alone. It's good that you now have a better idea of the type of work environment that you would enjoy.
DeleteMy mentor is SSG Rush at the Rader Clinic Laboratory. He is second in command at the lab, and his title is NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge). He is really the link between the guy in charge and the rest of the staff. It is interesting because he handles administrative duties like the OIC but also sometimes runs tests if help is needed. He, like other people's mentors, also does a lot numbers and stuff like that. He does have a good job because it is very flexible and has lots of free time to do things like get lunch for everyone (which is always good) and help me with certain tasks. He does seem to like his job, because he has a passion for medical work, but also likes being in a management position.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be cool to have a job like SSG Rush, being the bridge between the high ups and the regulars, but not necessarily in the military. I really do think it is interesting how he does admin stuff but also does work in the actual lab. A job like that would be interesting to me.
That's interesting Tom. Can you see yourself working in the military in your future?
DeleteTom, your internship definitely sounds cool. Do you see yourself doing some of the things SSG Rush does, even if it may be in a different career?
DeleteI work at the Jefferson nursing home with a small group of women, all of them with similar job titles. One woman, who is not specifically my mentor, has the title of Assistant Activities Coordinator. Her job is exactly what her title dictates: she helps coordinate activities, mostly in conjunction with the head activities coordinator (my mentor). Each day, she comes in with a few different activities planned, ranging from exercise sessions to using tissue paper to create artworks. Her job requires that she think creatively, and often on the spot, as the schedule is prone to change. She has opportunities to work closely with the residents, and to build meaningful relationships. Interestingly, I discovered that she does not have a background in therapy or social work, as the other women do, but she has a background in political science. She started her job at the Jefferson when she realized that she was really good at entertaining her grandmother and her grandmother's friends. While she may not have imagined working at a nursing home, I think that she is very good at her job and enjoys working with and talking with the residents. I think her satisfaction is actually intrinsic to both the job and the job environment. While her job gives her satisfaction, it could easily be over tiring and boring. Thankfully, for both her and I, the job environment is filled with laughter and humor and contagious kindness. I think in order to work in a place that is filled with sadness and death, one needs to be resilient and to rely on humor.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure that I could imagine working at a nursing home as a career. I think working at a nursing home is a job that can easily burn someone out, just because of the emotional tolls. I still see opportunity to work as an art therapist, or maybe a recreational therapist. I like the idea of working with people to improve their problems, and I like the way therapy targets their problems. I am not surprised by my response, as I have long considered becoming a therapist. I would be interested to know if I still wanted to work with therapists if I was working in an environment more directly involving therapy. In my current situation, I can see how my mentor uses her therapy background to reach a patient, and I am able to learn more about therapy through conversation and question.
I am currently reading a book (fiction) where the main character is a music therapist, and the emotional toll involved in her her job is very high.
DeleteWhat is the name of the book?
DeleteSing You Home by Jodi Picoult
DeleteKasie Cassell is a nurse practitioner at the psychiatric clinic I'm working at. Although her title is nurse practitioner, the scope of what she does is much more than that. She served in the Air Force for 4 years and was a captain at the academy, which I admire her a lot for. She's a very hard worker and one of the nicest people I've met. She recently got her DEA certification, allowing her to now fill prescriptions for patients. Not only that, but she pioneered in the development of TMS at the clinic.
ReplyDeleteBeing psychiatric doctor never really crossed my mind, but having a side degree in child and adolescent psychology, along with studying pediatrics, is something I would like to pursue. Personally, I believe it's quite hard to treat a child patient and not understand what may be going on subliminally.
For my internship I got the chance to work with Sophia Liu, who is a Research Geographer and a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow at the US Geological Survey. She is currently working with the Energy, Minerals, and Environmental Health departments to develop and test crowdsourcing tools. She is exploring social media as a means for gathering data about events such as natural disasters, as well as finding ways to help make USGS data more accessible to the public. Sophia enjoys her work environment because of the great people she gets to interact with on a daily basis, and the incredible resources she has access to at USGS.
ReplyDeleteI’ve had a lot of fun having Sophia as my mentor. She always has a positive attitude and is passionate about what she does, which has contributed to her success. I’ve learned a lot from her, and she’s provided me with some great resources to continue exploring data visualization in the future. I think I would be interested in having a career like this one day. I enjoy both science and technology, and at USGS they combine the best of both worlds.
The person that I have had the most interaction with at my internship is definitely my mentor, Alan. Alan is the founder and owner of the store, Hybrid Pedals. When he’s not helping and selling to customers, he is usually handling business affairs such as partnerships with other stores, pursuing large contracts, ordering inventory and other matters that are all part of running a retail business. Alan is very dedicated to his job and seems to be working 24/7; I have personally received emails from him at 1AM.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would not be able to run a retail business anywhere as well as Alan can. He has a unique ability to see and accommodate for the needs of others that allows him to be such an effective sales person. Additionally, he is willing to dedicate so much time to the business, something I do not believe I could do. Perhaps if I founded the business and built it myself like Alan has but that is an experience I will have to go through before answering that question.
Unlike yours, my mentor isn't the biggest cheese at the studio; that role goes to a man name Jeff. Your description of Alan's role is similar to Jeff's. Also, I don't know how Alan's personality was, but Jeff was serious and stoic, but very professional.
DeleteMy mentor is Takis Karantonis, the director at CPRO. Takis seems to always be busy working on a variety of tasks. It seems like he really enjoys his job, as he works very hard, and just has a good overall outlook on his job.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have been enjoying the internship, I don't think that I would enjoy Mr. Karantonis' job. There are too many different tasks and responsibilities he has that I don't think I would enjoy. Also even though the job is for the good of Columbia Pike, I don't think that I would be able to fully devote myself to manage a place that I don't live very close to.
Takis reminds me of my own mentor, Dusty. He enjoys his own position very much, although I could not easily see myself in his position.
DeleteVery interesting Daniel, hasn't it been great to get to know the mentors over the forty hour weeks that we have had this summer?
DeleteThe adult that I interact with the most is my Mentor, Dusty Rose. He is very charismatic, confident, and professional, and I enjoy working with him. Other adults I interact with are John Krause, an engineer in the office studio, whom I take clients and phone calls for, and Sean Russell, an engineer in the Red Room studio, who I do coffee-runs for frequently. I sat in on a session with the latter. It was a blues group that came in to record an EP.
ReplyDeleteThe occupations that all three adults I interact most frequently with are difficult, but I could imagine myself in a similar position. The most essential skill of an audio engineer is to be tech-savvy. There are a variety of sound engineering programs, with hundreds more MIDI. For example, the program that Ken, another engineer, uses is Pro Tools, but another intern uses Podium, and I use Acoustica.
Your internship seems great, you seem to be getting a lot from it. I feel like we do very similar things in the office. Being asked to be observant at work has let me reflect on others' roles and understand them better.
DeleteTyler Walter is one of the architects at RNL. His daily tasks are sort of the architect "grunt work". He is the one making and designing models. As you can imagine, this is a lot of work. Other people could be doing the same type of work as Tyler or they could be part of the project recruiting. These people will find jobs for the firm and create presentations for their clients. But Tyler doesn't do much of that. He is a very new architect that is straight out of college and has been here about a month more than me.Overall, Tyler very much enjoys his job. Tyler is very laid back but also very productive. He is very positive and proactive. I can definitely see myself being an architect after seeing people like Tyler at my work.
ReplyDeleteAdam Pohl is the corporate sponsorships account manager & radio broadcaster for the Bowie Baysox. Inside of the office, he is constantly on the phone, speaking with business partners. He establishes/continues relationships with our sponsors by constantly being in contact with them. He also helps out with scheduling by booking anthem singers and similar activities. He is also the radio broadcaster of the Bowie Baysox, and doesn't just provide a narrative, but also run an entire broadcast on his own. He has stated to me that broadcasting is something he is truly passionate about. He enjoys working in sports, because like myself, Adam is a huge sports fan, and is surrounded by people with the same interests as him as a result of working in sports. This lures me not quite into his exact office job, but working in the sports industry. Radio broadcasting is definitely a job I can see myself taking pleasure in.
ReplyDeleteKevin Cole is the person I am working for and he, another intern, and I were working on learning more on how a certain coding language works. I am unsure of what he does outside of this project, but I do know he has a lot of knowledge with coding and with the Linux system. Everyday we would meet up at a classroom at the Career Center that had some sort of internet connection and just begin our tasks, whether it'd be figuring out how something works or documenting some coding in general. He and the other intern had fun figuring out how some things would work, while I lagged behind trying to figure it out as well. Since this isn't really a job (and if it was), I still would say that Kevin liked working with this project overall. I personally wouldn't enjoy this "job" since I'm not a fan of discovering rather than working with something I would know about, but even so I thought it was a bit pleasurable to be doing what I do in my internship.
ReplyDelete