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(Describer) Beside four different-size different-color circles connected by lines, title: Career Connections.
(Describer) Title: Software Developer.
My name is Daniel Di Lillo.
I'm a software developer
at O'Neil & Associates.
We help our customers make
the things they make better.
We do that by optimizing their
product support information,
then optimizing the technology
to deliver that documentation
to their customers.
A software developer,
in general, we write code.
We also interact
with team members,
software analysts, testers,
and we build software.
One great part about my job
is designing a user interface
and writing code
to give it life.
We collaborate with customers
to know how the product
should look and feel.
Once we've got that,
we'll flush out the back end
and find out,
"Do you need a database
or some integration
with other systems?"
Each customer is different,
but we build the software
to meet expectations.
Our end product
is typically a website
or system that allows customers
to produce PDF documentation
and a manual
for their end users.
We will write some code,
do some testing,
incorporate content
that they have,
or set them up to produce
content within our system.
That's delivered
to the customer
by way of the website
or desktop application
built to their specifications.
Some are commercial players.
We work with
the Department of Defense.
A variety of customers
are interested
in making products better
in the same way.
(Describer) In a meeting...
We have to work
with the customer
and talk about their data.
I grew up in a small town.
My dad was a photographer.
My mom worked
in social services.
We weren't necessarily
computer people,
but like many kids
in my generation,
you played video games
and thought, "That's cool.
I'd like to work
in that field."
Academically, I was always
much more inclined
towards art than science.
I enjoyed the creative process,
but found other classes that
really melded math and science
and the creative side
of me together.
Drafting was a class
where I used a program
to draw building plans,
then the software would
show how it looked in 3D,
and I thought that was cool.
That parallels what I do now.
You write something flat,
but you bring it to life
and see it animated,
and that's cool to see.
I have a bachelor's degree in
management information systems.
One thing that's cool is
you don't necessarily need
a four-year engineering degree
to become a great
software developer.
It's about having
just the aptitude,
the passion, really the drive
to become really skilled
at writing code
and analyzing problems.
Software developers
have to spend time
keeping our skills fresh.
Some of that happens just
interacting with other folks,
prototyping things.
It happens at night
or on weekends.
You pick out side projects.
You may do some online training
and learn by doing.
You can rely on the Internet.
There's information out there
about new techniques, new tools.
That becomes a great
source of training.
Day to day can vary,
but typically I may
attend design meetings,
where we look at
details of the software,
put together
the hard requirements
that dictate what
we're going to build.
Then later in the day,
I'll write some true code,
which later on will be
incorporated into the product.
To be successful
as a software developer,
you really need
hard technical skill.
When you build software
integral to people's work days,
when something's
not working right
it's important to solve
that problem quickly
because time is money.
You want to get that person
back being productive.
It's important
to have soft skills.
It's really a people job.
You're talking to customers,
to colleagues, administrators,
you're talking to sales folks.
Being able to have
those conversations,
being able
to articulate opinions,
helping folks
who are not technical
understand technical problems
is really vital.
If you're someone who's
interested in computers,
if you're someone who is
curious about technology,
this could be your path.
It's the best combination
of creative and technical
that I've come across.
It's really fun to sketch up
a user interface
or imagine what
a product should be
and then identify a solution
that brings that to life.
It's great when
everything's working,
when our users
are telling us,
"Hey, this software
made my life easier today."
That's a really great feeling.
(Describer) He uses a tablet at the office’s reception desk.
Titles:
For more information, visit OhioMeansJobs.com.
CET, Think TV, Public Media Connect.
Copyright 2015.
Funding to purchase and make this educational program accessible was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Contact the Department of Education by telephone at 1-800-USA-LEARN, or online at www.ed.gov.
Funding to purchase and make
this educational production
accessible was provided by the
U.S. Department of Education:
PH: 1-800-USA-LEARN (V)
or WEB: www.ed.gov.
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