Roopa P. has been working for twelve years as a programmer analyst. I have never really known what my mom exactly did at her job. So, I conducted an interview to help me know what my mom does for a living. I only knew a little bit about my mom’s job before the interview, but now I’m surprised how much I didn’t know.

What company do you work for and what does this company do?

I work at a company in Downers Grove, IL. This company prints magazines, catalogs, books, and we do digital printing. In fact, it is the number 1 printing company in the United States.

What is your current position in this company and what do you do in this position?

I am a programmer analyst and I am the project manager for my team. A programmer analyst works on computers most of the time. My team and I do data warehousing, reporting, and we work on projects. There are five steps in the project. We analyze, design, construct, test, and implement. In the analyzing stage, we identify what needs to be done. In the design stage, we find out how to do it. In the constructing phase, we build it. Then we test it and then put it in production, which is implementing it.

What degree do you need to get this job?

You need a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

Which classes were you interested when you were in middle school?

I loved biology and the other branches in science. I also liked art, but it was a natural talent.

What do you do on an average day at work?

Well, I do some production support also. It’s like the help desk, but it’s advanced. The help desk answer’s basic questions like how do I log in. On the other hand, production support tries to find errors in other’s mistakes.

What are your likes and dislikes about your job?

I like my team; they are very helpful and nice. There is also a good atmosphere and I like the king of job I have. I dislike my role as project manager as I have no experience in it. It was an opportunity, but I took it to learn new skills.


What challenges do you face?

I face many challenges between my job and my family. My daughter has to be dropped off at the day care so I have to wake up early. There is also a lot of work after hours and since we don’t have many resources, I have to multitask.

What was your dream job and why?

I was very interested in science so I wanted to do something in the medical field. However, because the computer was introduced when I was looking for a job, it was in high demand and my husband said that it would be a good job.

Would you rather have power or money? Why?

I would rather have money over power. Money equals power and money buys anything and everything.