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Job Title: Database Developer
Type of Company: I work for a company that provides marketing services to many large companies
Education: A.B., Mathematics, College of the Holy Cross •• M.A., Mathematics, Boston College
Previous Experience: I was a secondary school mathematics teacher for 7 years. But I then changed careers and have worked in various information technology (IT) positions for 29 years.
Job Tasks: Our company's mission is to provide our customers with the tools they need to find the people and companies they're best suited to do business with. We make that possible that by gathering client lists from various sources and formatting them in a way that will work with mass mailings (called "blasts") and/or enable a group of telemarketers to embark on massive calling campaigns.
My job is to format the client lists. I evaluate the data we've amassed and make sure that it contains the elements we need (name, address, email address, phone number). I then take the steps that are needed to load it, and I test it, often exhaustively, to make sure that it's loaded correctly. After I've satisfied myself that the tests show no flaws, I turn the data over to our marketing team.
Best and Worst Parts of the Job: The best thing about my job is that the projects I work on are relatively brief and I'm able to move quickly from one task to another. Many IT jobs require you to work on lengthy, complex projects involving lots and lots of people and computers. My job, thankfully, is the opposite of that.
On the other hand, the very quick turnaround times I face mean there's always lots of pressure and pressure can often mean stress.
Job Tips:
1.) Never assume that the skill-set you possess will be adequate 5-10 years down the road. IT changes constantly.
2.) Try to learn as much about the business you work for as you do about the technical skills required to perform tasks. Understanding what the needs of the business and it employees are is a critical key to success.
3.) Always make yourself available to assist others on your team and they will usually be more than willing to furnish their help in return.
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