On May 19th, 2017, I had my first job shadowing for Career day at HTHNC. This was for the purpose of exploring different career paths as well as getting a little taste of what the professional world looks like. We had to use resources to cold call/email different professionals or their workplaces and for me, I used my mom as a resource and we were able to schedule the day with my dad's co-worker, Bruce Rusnak, the Lead Field Service Engineer. He, as well as my parents, work for Nordson in the Asymtek company but Bruce and my dad work for tech support and my mom works in the line. Asymtek works with Automatic Fluid Dispensing Machines, their employees either building, selling, or fixing them.
Bruce, working in tech support, resides in a small office connecting to the other parts of the work and he usually sits there unless something comes up, personal or profession. In the office, Bruce sits beside other engineers, particularly bunking with another engineer named Jon Sweetman. The tech support group, as well as the field service work, is for professionals to help when customer's machines are broken and they need to fix it, usually in the office cubicles or sometimes actually travelling to the machine and fixing it there. They don't really do much outside working in the building or around the world but the work piles on and they have to keep doing the same thing, the only thing changing is the problems with the machines or the change in locations/the working times because of those locations. The workers in Tech Support usually de-stress by being so utterly sarcastic, they believe they're saying the most dumbest thing alive. As a Lead Field Service Engineer, Bruce is in charge of the office, directing who's going where to fix the customer's machines, but he doesn't get to travel as much as the other engineers.
While I first arrived to the company, Bruce wasn't available till 9 am so I stayed in the manufacturing section of the building with my mom and her co-workers then got a tour with a Industrial Engineer about the building, there was another student from HTHNC that came (10th grader Nicholas). There was a lot that went into the process of making the giant fluid dispensing machines, in the manufacturing section, the machine parts, the assembling, and the testing for both standard and customized machines.
I wasn't too sure if the tech support group had the same rules as those in the line, but my mom said that there was a point-system for checking in, tardiness, absences, etc., they had to use cards or fingerprints to check in/open the doors to different rooms and it was also required for the workers, who would be in close proximity to the machines, to wear long smocks and safety glasses to protect themselves from work hazards. They didn't seem to have much of a dress code, sticking to a business-casual, more functional clothing, and with testing, building, or fixing the machines, the workers usually use computers, phones, various tools, etc. Children/teens couldn't be in the line, so I couldn't be too close with the manufacturing section, not even with a smock. In tech support, there seemed to be not many rules, they just had to use their cards to unlock the door.
With Bruce, he actually was working on the programs for a company's machine that was broken, he went a bit into planning, adding codes, basically using the company computer to fix a hard drive to send to the company. He also had a brief talk with some of the other engineers to see who could be available to go to a company the following week to fix their machine. We went out every 30 or so minutes, he smoked, but it seemed like the most peaceful moment for him especially with the small sarcastic conversations he had with some of his co-workers.
If I were to ever get into the electronic business and become a Field Service Engineer, I don't think any of my high school classes would be useful but I would think the skills to multi-task, work efficiently, oral communication, as well as patience/creative thinking would be able to help in this profession because of the fact that those engineers do have to talk with the customers/other engineers as well as the different types of problems and how many there are that tech support has to fix. Bruce never specified what exact type of credentials/degrees needed to become a field service engineer but what he did say was that he got an associates' degree in computer and electronic technology and that there were some workers, with engineering credentials, wishing to be an authentic professional but are stuck with tech support.
Their work place atmosphere was so amazing! Everyone was so professional bu they still held that pessimistic sarcastic tone with each other, keeping it light while having extremely thick skin. There was no awkwardness as they started brutally commenting on each other's characteristics/choices, both good and bad, it was fun. They made it a lot more fun than it seemed, just sitting in an office space with a couple of engineers. Though, Bruce said a lot about the professional world, how it's tough, the work never stops, time is short, and to never work in the electronic business. He, as well as many others, always joked that they were teaching me what career path not to choose, and said to not smoke, drink, do drugs, or skip school. As Bruce emphasized in the few hours I've shadowed him, I would not want to pursue working at Nordson in general as their work seems horrible for a person, physically or mentally, and they have to keep working as opposed to being able to do more than do the same things over and over again. I agree with their statements and I do wish to be able to have the same co-worker relationships they do, it would make the most boring work seem tolerable. From this opportunity of job shadowing, I have learned a lot about what my parents as well as what Bruce does. I asked questions about what their normal schedule is like, what they do for their career, what the rules of the company was, what was expected to work there, etc. Bruce went a lot into answering those questions, which is put throughout this reflection, as well as his and his co-workers realistic thoughts on the company, it was interesting. I am more prepared for next year's Career day now, because of this experience. I would actually not change any of how my Career day went, it was fun, for sure in a simple quiet-like but also more intimate way, and I got to re-meet a lot of people I haven't seen for more than 1-7 years. Now for next year, I'll try pursuing actually careers that I'm interested in, for example, doctors, nurses, surgeons, veterinarians, etc., by calling vet hospitals or really small clinics that aren't strict on rules, as the hospitals I've cold called this year. I hope to have more fun job shadowing opportunities in the future.
My cold call experience
When I had to cold call professionals or their workforce, I tried using a script going along the lines of," Hello, my name is Elizabeth Tran. I am a student at High Tech High North County. I'm calling as a part of a school activity where I am to shadow a professional in the work force to learn about a career. Is there someone I can speak to about potentially shadowing?" Then followed it up with some more info about shadowing, the date of Career Day, as well as what career I was interested in that workplace, it was an interesting and confusing experience being passed off to many people in the same company bu they all were very nice people. Though I believed I chose the wrong places to call, as they were bigger hospitals/clinics with strict rules, but I was able to keep it all with a professional tone when the rejected me. They also gave me advice on what to do so that's a plus, I suppose.
Down below are pictures of how my schedule went, from 7 am to 3:30 pm, at Nordson, Asymtek with various people including Bruce Rusnak, Jon Sweetman, Samantha Mon (my Mom), Miss. Tatiana, and Miss. Martha