Client Interview Memo

Running head: PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEW REPORT 1

PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEW REPORT 4

Experience as a Computer Scientist

Opening Statement

For this report, the professional interviewed is a computer Engineer/ Web Developer who works for Omnivision Technologies Inc., a corporation that designs and develops advance digital technologies to use in mobile phones, notebooks, security cameras etc. across the United States. The interviewee is the technical manager of the organization and works at its headquarters in Santa Clara, California and has been working in this position for the last five years. This computer science expert provided very useful information about the computer science profession and highlighted a number of challenges common in the career. Further, he provided some recommendations on how the challenges can be dealt with. From the information provided by the interviewee, it is clear that the computer science profession is full of challenges particularly regarding the fast changing technology. The interview revealed several important topics which require further research.

Methodology

The interview was conducted on a skype video call and lasted for slightly above 30 minutes. Before the interview, the interviewee was contacted one hour in advance in order to avoid an ambush. He was also made to understand that the questions which were to be asked during the interview regards the profession, its concerns and challenges. The phone call was recorded during the entire conversation and the information later transcribed and key points extracted. This report is based only on important points and not everything that the interviewee said.

Essential Background

Computer science is a field of technology that deals with studying processes that interact with data and which can be depicted as data in program form. Skills in computer science enables one to manipulate, use, or communicate digital information using programing algorithms. An expert in computer science has knowledge in computation theory as well as the practice of software systems design. Computer scientists are also popularly known as computer and information scientists and can work in a range of environments. For instance, these professionals work in private software publishers, government agencies, academic institutions, and engineering firms (Page & Smart, 2013). Wherever they work, computer scientists’ general roles include solving computing problems as well as developing new products.

The professional interviewed for this report has in-depth knowledge in computer systems and management. Through his leadership skill, he organizes the successful delivery of effective and efficient technical solutions within the company. In particular, he is responsible for planning, designing, developing, production, and testing communication systems. He is also responsible for supervising technical and operations teams, landline and cellular network, IT infrastructure, and service platforms. He works with the chief technical officer (who is an expert in telecommunications engineering) to design and develop software that facilitates landline and cellular networks.

Challenges

According to the interviewee, the challenges in the field of computer science starts right from education and training. He says that in most parts of the world, there exists a major gender disparity in computer science training. Another key challenge in the field is related to the changing technology. These changes need professionals in computer science and other related fields to constantly update themselves on new technologies and what can be done to make them even better. Big data is also expanding fast, thus making it a challenge for computer scientists to come up with new and efficient algorithms to handle huge amounts of data. The emergence of technologies and systems such as internet of things means that computer scientists and information technology experts to integrate and network everyday appliances so as to make them work more intelligently.

The interviewee also identified new or emerging computer technologies, challenges in computer architectures, issues in distributed, parallel and mobile computing, changing programming paradigms and user interfaces, the need to develop and change computational models from time to time, issues with performance measures and complexity, dealing with uncertainty, and artificial intelligence, robotics and real-time bounded rationality. All these are trends, changes, and challenges in the field of computer science as it grows and changes with time. Computer scientists have to prepare themselves well to lead and steer these changes.

Conclusions and Call to Action

Experts in computer science have several career options since basically every system in life needs to be computerized. The key challenges in the computer science profession are either related to education, training, or the changing technological needs. The field is changing so fast that the methods or content used to teach it in the past cannot be used a few years later. Because of the fact that computer systems are becoming part of many aspects of our lives, training in this area needs to be focused on equipping learners with necessary skills. Training and learning should be an ongoing process in order to be updated with latest changes. Affirmative action should be instituted to encourage more female learners take up the course.

Reference Page, D., & Smart, N. (2013). What Is Computer Science?: An Information Security Perspective. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media.