No.

What is your background? What types of degrees, skills, experiences are necessary for this field?

BS Mathematics; MAS System Engineering; MCSE

How did you get started in this field?

Hired out of college to be a programmer. Later shifted to networking.

What college (if any) courses have been most helpful for your career?

Theoretical mathematics becuase it honed my ability to think logically.

What are your specific responsibilities?

Strategic and tactical planning for our IT infrastructure as well as day-to-day operation and administration of our WAN, telephone systems and data feeds.

Describe a typical workday and workweek. What do you do during a typical day?

Read e-mail which includes a number of newsletters that let me keep an awareness of where the indistry is going.
Check server logs to see if there are any early warning signs of approaching trouble, plus checking the status of our several databases. Responding to helpdesk requests in my area of responsibility (web, e-mail and anti-virus). Performing project work in the lab. Project changes from time to time. Current projects relate to Windows 2000, Exchange 2000, and PeopleSoft 8. Answering questions from various managers on a range of topics. Sometimes this may take a lot of research on my part or it might require a cost analysis for options being considered.

Name 5-7 job skills that are needed for your job.

Expertise in Microsoft Back Office and Office 2000.
Database design and administration.
Programming.
Ability to write and/or speak to groups of managers (or one-on-one) to describe what I want or how IT could help them go about acheiving some goal.
Ability to describe technical problems to technically-challenged employees.
The ability to shift through new products and services and come up with the ones that could benefit the comapny. In other words, staying ahead of the curve.

Are you in a team-oriented position?

Very much so. I am the manager, but we are a small team so each of us has those areas where we are the prime support person and areas where we are the backup support person. Calls for a lot of cross-training.

Do you have flextime? Vacation time? Work at home? Telecommute?

We have flex-time within reason. I get a standard 2 weeks of vacation per year. Given the nature of what I do it is tough to work at home or telecommute, but I occasionally do remote admministration from home.

How many hours per week are expected or warranted for peak performance?

Expected is 48+, peak performance would limit it to about 45 hours.

Are many evenings or weekends required for your job?

It is very rare. When it occurs, it is because of something special like new wiring, changing out hardware or that sort of activity.

How much travel is involved with a job in your field?

In my present job very little, but in the IT consulting field, travel is a way of life.

Could you give me examples of projects that you are working on?

Upgrading to Windows 2000 and Exchange 2000.
Upgrading to PeopleSoft 8.

Could you describe your work settings? Offices, machinery, resources etc.

Standard office stuff, plus all the telecommunications and computer resources required for WAN.

What personal qualities do you think are necessary for someone to be successful in this occupation?

Clear, logical thought processes and decision-making.
Ability and desire to study all the time. (IT is a moving target, always in a state of change. You have to keep up.)
Being goal-oriented.
Ability to dissect a task into subordinate tasks that can be shared with a team of people.
An appreciation for the client's point of view.

What is the major challenge you face at work?

MAking people understand that IT cannot solve all their problems.
The constant changes in technology and being able to map this against corporate/cleint goals and requirements.

What aspects of your job do you find most rewarding? (Pros) Least rewarding? (Cons)

Pros: Amazing sense of achievement at the end of a project. The seeing of something you took from a concept to an established fact.
Cons: Coping with office politics

Are you confronted with difficult decisions or situations in your position?

Sometimes. Balancing conflicting requirements and political realities can be challenging.

Do you have a lot of interaction with a certain occupation? I.E. media, engineers, etc.

Yes, the traders

What is the Female to Male Ratio in your position/field?

I'm not sure. On the network administration side I would guess 9 to 1, men to women. On the programming side, I would guess it to be about even.

Describe the changes taking place in your field. Project future trends?

The ability to integrate or "glue together" heterogenous system will continue and the pace of change will continue to be as swift or swifter as now. I expect communications technology breakthroughs that will change our whole way of thinking about the relationship of hardware and software.

What is the turnover rate like in your field?

Not sure what you are asking. People in IT move freely from job to job, contract to contract. If you mean changing careers, a low percentage burn out and leave the IT industry, but most that burn out retire on the job.

Do you think women avoid technical careers? What do you think can be done to encourage girls to get more involved in the technology field?

I don't think they avoid them as much as they aren't really considered. Girls in school need to be exposed more to science and math. I also think more female-friendly computer software and especially games is desperately needed.

Do you believe that women will be in more technical jobs in the future?

Yes. That is where the money is.

Do you have any advice for women and girls that are interested in going into the field?

Go for it. Whether it is programming or networking, IT is a fast-moving and challenging career. Although absolute equality with men is still elusive, IT is better than most and getting better.