Nicki Owzarek, Programmer Analyst

Has a Knack

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I've been working for Faneuil for five years and I've been programming about two years. I have a knack for programming I think."

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My Job

MY JOB

Title: Programmer Analyst
Key Tasks & Responsibilities:
- design and create databases and provide flexible reporting
- maintain effective communication with clients and colleagues
- perl and PHP scripting for reporting, automated processes, web reports and internal web applications
- validate and load raw data for campaigns
Started Job: 2002
Works with:
- other programmers
- account managers
Reports to: IT Department Manager
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Work Process

Work Process

There are a couple of ways that Account Managers approach our department for a project. If it's a higher level project they fill out an IT Request Form.

It goes to the IT Manager who will then assign the project to one of the Programmer Analysts. If only a minor change is needed, then I just receive the request from them by email or phone.

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Tools

Tools

Some of the languages and databases we use are Oracle, Informix, K Shell, Centenium and Visual Basic. Visual Basic is really helpful when learning new languages because one language is closely related to another. It just may differ in the way things are defined.

We also use Perl, PHP, HTML, Java Script, SQL (Structured Query Language-for database access) and SQL Plus, all important languages to know.

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Working To Specs

Working To Specs

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"One good example of specifications is when the Sprint campaign did come up, there was reporting that needed to be done which I had to build a web application for. And there were certain things that needed to be reported back to go back to the clients.

"So they scoped out what they actually needed on the report and then I had to deliver that to them."

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Where I Work

Where I Work

The Faneuil Group provides complete customer contact services. Using live telephone representatives, interactive voice response systems, email and the web, they assist clients with customer care, market research, product support, account management and other support issues.

Faneuil specializes in applications that require major systems integration and information retrieval from client databases. They offer exciting career path opportunities with rewards and professional advancement.

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Starting From Scratch

Starting From Scratch

When I started in the IT department they were converting to a new call management system called Centenium. This meant changing the way reporting worked.

I created a database as a tool for pulling data for reports and prepping and loading data back into the system.

To do the project I needed languages like PHP and, in building a web based page, also required Java Script and HTML, all things I learned along the way.

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About Me

ABOUT ME

Background
- grew up in North Kildonan
- now living in St. James

Interests/Activities
- home computer entertainment
- playing pool
- socializing with work and non-work friends TOC

Manitoba

Manitoba

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Manitoba is a very interesting place to live. I enjoy the people and the seasons. Summer is a really good time in Winnipeg."

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A Balanced Life

A Balanced Life

I have a really good balance between my work life and my personal life. I'm not really required to stay overtime a lot.

Sometimes it's necessary because a project has to be done at a certain time, but other than that, I come to work and at the end of the day I go home.

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My Day

MY DAY

7:30 am: Arrive at work, check emails for potential problems with the automated overnight processes
8:30 am: Deal with any situations that have arisen
9:00 am: Work on current programming project
9:30 am: First of several short breaks taken throughout the day
10:00 am: Work on current project, programming, testing data
(No lunch. I just take small breaks!)
12:00 pm: Continue with programming, possibly some research or a client meeting
1:30 pm: Do further study on new languages/programs such as Perl, Centenium
2:30 pm: More scripting, programming and possibly web work
4:00 pm: Go home! TOC

Data For Clients

Data For Clients

Most of my time is spent working with Oracle. I create tables and modify tables and I do lookups.

If a client needs some sort of application built to get stats from their campaign, I build the tables, or I build the application used to get the stats.

I also program reports for the Centenium database.

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Small Breaks

Small Breaks

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I enjoy taking smaller breaks. It just gives me enough time just to gather my thoughts and come back. Sometimes with some of the languages that I use I get writer's block.

"So with a small break it gives you usually enough time to refresh and come back and go at it at a different angle."

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Working Together

Working Together

I often work with other Programmers. On a current campaign one of the programmers is doing the Centenium programming and I'm doing the Oracle programming. The two databases have to mesh so we have to talk a lot.

The lines of communication always have to be open right from the start because if they aren't and things change and you aren't aware of them, it's harder to make changes in the end.

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Self Reliant

Self Reliant

I work on my own a lot but there is support there. I can get feedback from my boss or from other people who are using my application.

I've worked in other departments without a lot supervision. For instance, with the MTS InSite web site it was just: 'create the web site'. So that gave me a lot of free reign with what I needed to do. But you can't take advantage of that because you do have to produce an end result.

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Pressure

Pressure

If there's a high pressure situation I like to keep focused and work through it and try to get to that end result. I'm more or less easy going. I take each situation in stride.

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Me and My Job

ME AND MY JOB

Likes
- it's always challenging, never boring
- lots of opportunities to learn more

"I don't like jobs where you're filling out papers and doing the same thing every day. Every day differs here in the way things fall."

Challenges
- deadlines and time restrictions can make it more intense
- when things don't always work the way you planned

"But at the same time, that gives you the chance to handle the situation and then the end result is really rewarding." TOC

Personality Fit

Personality Fit

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I find that I can be pretty like, easy-approachable. So when somebody needs something done, then it will get done. And I'm not a quitter. So if there's something that comes up and I don't have the end result and I don't know how to do it, I'll figure out how to do it."

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Proud of

Proud of

I'm very proud of the Global Intranet site project. Global reporting is used by Team Leaders and Account Managers to monitor agents' activity. It gives various stats like logged time, sales data and sales per hour. It was something we needed but didn't have efficient tools for.

So I created a global database which is used at all levels and all campaigns, depending on the criteria. I learned a lot doing this project, including PHP and the functions that go with it.

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The Pace

The Pace

Generally I set my own pace, depending on the project. If I am working on a campaign creating tables and processes, then it's a little more fast paced and intense because there is a deadline.

If it's something more like the web pages I'm creating, the pace is a little more relaxed.

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Value

Value

I think my work is important because people need the data and they need different ways of looking at it or using it. I'm the person that is able to make that data useable.

I help productivity because Team Leaders can monitor how their agents are doing and without the tools I make it would be a lot harder or even impossible.

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My Resume

MY RESUME

Education
2002: Visual Basic-Level One, Red River
2001: Legal Administration Assistant Program (with honours), Robertson College
1996: High School Diploma, River East High School

Work Experience
July 2002: Programmer Analyst, The Faneuil Group
Mar 2002: Programmer Trainee, The Faneuil Group
2001: Junior Analyst, The Faneuil Group
2000: Account Support, The Faneuil Group
1999: Production Assistant, The Faneuil Group
1998: Lead Representative, The Faneuil Group
1997: Telemarketing Agent, The Faneuil Group
1996: Retail Cashier, Bargains for Dollars
1995: Gas Station Attendant, Turbo TOC

Job Skills

Job Skills

Technical Skills
- database languages (Oracle, SQL+)
- scripting languages (PHP, Perl)
- shell languages (ksh)
- unix (Linux Red Hat 7.3, Sun Solaris 7)

People Skills
- good communication and listening skills
- work effectively in a team

Other Essential Skills
- be self-motivated
- be organized, analytical, good at problem solving
- documentation skills: report/record writing

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Languages and Programs

Languages and Programs

I don't have a lot of background knowledge on Perl. I have a couple of books that my boss picked up for me and there is someone in our department who is a good resource whenever I have any issues with my scripts. My biggest resource are books like the O'Riley series on languages like Perl.

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My Path

My Path

I started as a caller at Faneuil. While working on the MTS campaign, I was promoted to Lead Representative, a floor support role. Then they changed the title to Production Assistant and gave me more responsibilities.

As a PA I did database work and became a Junior Analyst in the Business Intelligence Department pulling lists and learning Oracle, SQL and their tools. From there I moved into IT and became Programmer Trainee, then promoted to Programmer Analyst.

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Learning Perl

Learning Perl

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I'm learning a new programming language...and it's Perl. And I've never actually worked a lot with Perl before but it is a very beneficial tool to programming. So I'm taking that under my wing, basically."

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My Future

MY FUTURE

I see myself getting deeper into databases, perhaps becoming a database analyst or administrator. I'd like to just keep building and gaining more knowledge and basically seeing where that takes me.

In the near future I plan to get my Level Two in Visual Basic, take more programming language courses like PHP and Perl to back up the knowledge I already have and then take a Database Administrator (DBA) course. TOC

Customer Contact

Customer Contact

I think a lot people think telemarketing itself is a nuisance kind of career. But I think there's a lot more involved.

I believe telemarketing provides a lot of feedback to different clients because they do use the information to change their marketing strategies and products and such.

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Next Project

Next Project

We're modifying one of our current campaigns and basically starting fresh. I'm setting up all the background data, all the Oracle tables and everything.

Also, there are nightly processes that run to update certain tables and I'm trying to integrate Perl into my scripts to pull the data.

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Job Future

Job Future

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I think Faneuil's a great place to work and it gives you the opportunity to learn a lot and I think programming is an awesome career!"

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Useful Links

MORE INFO

Programmer/Analysts are employed in computer software and consulting firms and in programming units in both the private and public sectors.

Most programmer analysts obtain a degree before entering the workforce. However, some companies may take promising employees like Nicki through the training process themselves, either sponsoring courses or training them on the job.

Exciting "on the job" development opportunities like this are one reason to pick a high growth sector like customer contact.

Click below to find more information. TOC

Job Market Info

Job Market Info

The links below take you to federal and regional government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

The official titles for Nicki's occupation are 'Computer Programmer', NOC* code 2174 and 'Computer Analyst', NOC* code 2171.

Job Futures (Programmers)
Job Futures (Analysts)

Manitoba Labour Market Information
(Select Manitoba, the Area in Manitoba, NOC code 2171 or 2174, then click Search)

Human Resources Development Canada - Computer Programmer

Human Resources Development Canada - Computer Analyst

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupation Classification' code or 'NOC'.

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Education

Education

Not assessed for Useful High School Subjects in Job Futures.ca

Red River College
Full Time Programs
(then click on Computer Analyst Program (CA/P)

University of Manitoba
Computer Science Department

University of Winnipeg
Applied Computer Science

Brandon University
Computer Science Department

University College of the North - The Pas/Thompson
Computer Programmer/Analyst
(see pages 27 to 28 and 52 of the pdf)

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Industry Association

Industry Association

The Manitoba Customer Contact Association (MCCA) is a group of customer contact managers, directors and owners joining together to build the industry in Manitoba. It was created in 1997 to enhance the image of Customer Contact Centres and expand Manitoba's qualified sustainable pool of human resources.

The MCCA offers support to those who are in or seek to enter the customer contact sector through networking, trade shows and training programs.

Check out the MCCA web site for the latest information on job postings, resumes, employer, career and employee profiles.

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Related Careers

Related Careers

Related careers from Human Resources Development Canada web sites:

Computer and Network Operators and Web Technicians (2281)

Computer and Information Systems Managers (0213)

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Professional Associations

Professional Associations

The Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP)
- information, networking and education for IT professionals

Experts Exchange
- networking site for IT professionals

Information Systems Audit and Control Association - Winnipeg Chapter
- provides education and professional development for IS audit and control communities

Manitoba Innovation Network
- focuses on creating economic development through information technology

Smart Partners (formerly Smart Winnipeg)
- works to create technically enabled communities

Canadian Information Processing Society
- for Information Technology professionals

Institute for Information Technology
- government institute that focuses on information technology research and development

Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology
- support to women in science and technology

Wired Women
- offers support to women in technology

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