Students and Grads
Jody DePenning works for Cargill Corporation.
(Graduated May 2001)
What is your position in Cargill Corporation?
I am currently a Project Manager within Cargill's Information Technology
Division. The majority of what I do is less technical, but it does require
a technical understanding. The group that I work with in Cargill IT is a
global one in which we manage many collaborative services globally across the
company.
I was also fortunate enough to have an internship with Cargill prior to graduation which gave me a good feel for the company.
Do you feel that your internship was valuable
in attaining a job like the one that you have now?
Although my
internship at Cargill is nothing like what my job is today, that is the best
part. The internship opportunity is extremely valuable. You may end
up in a job or position that has nothing to do with what your intern position
was, but you are already familiar with the company and how it works. The
internship provides valuable experience and also facilitates personal
connections that can be used later in your career.
Do you feel like being a MIS major was the
best fit for your job?
I definitely feel the MIS major was the
best fit for my job. It did a fantastic job of preparing me to engage and
succeed within both technical and non-technical business tasks. As a
project manager, I often have to deal with financial implications, budgets and
cost forecasts. The business classes that come as part of the MIS program
made the transition into those tasks that much easier. The ability to work
within both contexts is extremely important and the MIS program presented a well
rounded curriculum to allow for that.
What course would you emphasize more upon if
you had to retake all of the MIS classes at ISU?
I would just mention to pay attention to the overall business classes just
as much as the more technical ones as they all are valuable coming into the
rapidly changing world of professional IT.
Blake Howard works for Cerner Corporation.
(Graduated December 2005)
What
do you do for Cerner Corporation?
I am a System Engineer. My responsibilities include installation of the system environment and outputs. The
System Engineer performs work on new project installations, software system
release upgrades and/or system performance/management projects. I am also
responsible for consulting with clients on system software environment and
hardware configuration decisions, as well as maintaining, creating and updating
interface code.
Did you have an internship in your field of work? If so, do you think they are very valuable in attaining a good job like yours?
I held an internship for almost two years with a smaller company in Des Moines, Iowa. I
began at an entry-level help-desk position with typical responsibilities - take the call and solve the problem if I could
or ask for help and escalate if I could not. Though this seems like a boring and simple job, it was not the case. Actually, this was the best thing that could have happened to me. Through this internship, I
gained as much knowledge, computer skills, and people skills as I possibly could, and this increased my job marketability, even with a lower GPA than preferred by many companies.
I began as a help-desk doing repetitive jobs like installing windows, and windows updates. However, instead of surfing the internet in my downtime, I watched others, asked questions, and learned the company’s systems. As my knowledge grew, so did my responsibilities. I soon began training new employees, and taking charge of daily activities. I changed from the person always asking questions to the person others asked. My business skills, computer skills, and leadership skills all grew tremendously due to this internship.
When it came time for career fairs I was comfortable speaking to people I did not know (I did it all the time on the phone at work). I was also confident. Several employers saw my GPA and frowned. At that point, I had to sell myself. I explained to them the current role I had in my internship, and how I was functioning as a full time salary employee in addition to school. Without this internship, I was just a college student with a low GPA. With the internship, I was a college student who had already been in the “real world.” I had practiced business skills, people skills, and computer skills. Iowa State provides the foundation for these skills, but it is up to the student to develop what they have been taught and apply them. Because of my internship, I had already become accustomed to situations that most new hires have yet to face. This “real world” experience dramatically increased my marketability and gave me better career opportunities.
Dawn Laux is a graduate student in Information Systems.
Please
describe your industry experience.
My 10 years of IT industry experience primarily comes from my employment
in a high tech credit union in Indiana. I began my career as a Systems
Administrator and moved up to an E-Commerce Manager before coming to ISU.
I have worked on a multitude of different projects ranging from the deployment
of a new online banking product to the telecommunication design of a new credit union branch.
Do you feel the education you received in IT affected
your ability to work on these projects or was more on the job training required
to complete these projects?
A degree in Management Information Systems educates you on the foundations
of technology implementation, management, and the underlying fundamentals that
are required in every IT project deployed. Technology changes so fast and you
have to know how to understand a new technology quickly and efficiently. That
is what makes working in IT so great! Your education in MIS also prepares you
to work well with others (team projects), how to meet deadlines (assignment due dates),
and how to brainstorm new ideas openly with others (classroom
discussion).
Is there a class you didn't take and wish you had?
I wish that I would have taken more classes outside of my major, such as communications, conflict management, and leadership courses.
How are things similar and different between most
students’ general knowledge of the company and their business to the way things
function in reality?
Once you leave college, your education is not over. You will be constantly
learning and adapting to your new environment in your career, but the skills
that you have learned in college are what set you apart. Today, IT is
intertwined in every department of an organization. You have to be involved
and responsible, and learn to listen to what a consumer, client, manager or
coworker is asking you to accomplish in your assigned tasks. Just realize that
in order for the organization to successful and make money, you must enjoy
your job to be productive. If it is a good company, the management's intent
will be to champion you to do well and be successful in your career.