Industry Expert Interview

 Post-Interview Reflection Report

1. For my Industry expert interview assignment, I am interviewing Ashley Garcia, my youngest and only sister. I am so proud of what she has accomplished, and she has been my motivation during my education journey. She graduated a year earlier from Greenfield High School then she got awarded a full scholarship to attend the CSin3 program. The CSin3 cohort program is offered by Hartnell College and California State University Monterey Bay. It helps students receive their bachelor’s degree in computer science within 3 years. Therefore, a year after graduating high school, Ashley got her associate's degree from Hartnell College. Two years after that she received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from CSUMB. Ashley graduated from CSUMB in 2022 as a 20-year-old. She is a software engineer 1 at EBSCO Learning working as a front-end developer but can do other jobs in her position.
2. During this interview, Ashley mentioned imposter syndrome which is the doubt you feel in your abilities even when you’re more than capable of doing the work. This is a challenge to overcome during the start of your career as it happens to several people who work in a computer science job. Ashley has struggled with this but in the company that she works in, she is open about her struggles and her company supports her as much as they can. While working as a software engineer it is imperative to communicate any struggles to get the help you need as there is a team effort to consider. As Ashley mentioned to me, while having a job that revolves around working with others it is better to be a team player because it is easier to teach skills than attitude. In this interview, we also talked about trends in this industry. Ashley is working on integrating AI with some of the products that EBSCO learning has. AI is a huge trend in this industry making its way to companies. Ashley mentions that the company she works with, and many others will most likely implement AI into their systems by next year. AI can be utilized not only to help programmers but also many other aspects of the company from the content team using it for new ideas on social media to clients using it on companies' websites. An example she also gave on how impactful AI is becoming is how AWS which is already successful, implemented AI and invented Amazon Bedrock. Although AI is becoming a success, Ashley does not think they will get rid of job titles, but it may lessen the number of jobs.
3. There are plenty of career opportunities as a software engineer from front-end development to back-end developer, and in between. Ashley mentioned that in her company, EBSCO Learning, communication is a huge part of working with a team and the outcome of your work. She can communicate with her superiors about any struggles she comes across, and instead of getting bad feedback or judgment, her company provides great ways to work through those struggles. I know not all companies are the same, but this excites me to work in this industry and gives me a bit of relief due to thinking I do not have a lot to offer. After this interview, I am eager to start my career as a software engineer.
4. Ashley gave great ideas about internships and how we should take the chance to apply to every job even if we do not think we will get it. I am discouraged when applying to internships because I do not think I would get it, but after talking with Ashley, she gave me the courage to at least try. She also felt discouraged due to not feeling like she knew enough so much so she almost missed her interview with EBSCO. It is better to try than to not try at all. Interviews can also be a challenge, but the practice taken when doing them will make it easier after each one.