Blog: My First Week of Work
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My First Week of Work - Friday, January 25, 2008
Well one week has passed since I started working at Applied Signal Technology, and I'm still here, so apparently I haven't done anything too bad. :)
The week started with a full day of orientation on Monday, during which I was given a huge stack of paperwork to read and complete. I also got three free lunches in a row- Monday with my two managers, Tuesday after a welcome briefing for new hires, and Wednesday at the monthly company lunch, at which I boxed a lot of food to take to work on Thursday, so I guess that counts too!
Workwise, I've been placed on the several-person Switch Control team, the group that writes software to control network switches. The learning curve is very steep, and the first couple days were pretty tough, but oh how much more I know now compared to a week ago. One team member, Michael (and there are actually two Michaels and a Mike on the team, so maybe I should say one of the Michaels), has been my quasi-mentor and helping get up to speed. I'm getting bite-sized projects of increasing difficulty as I'm becoming more familiar with concepts and terminology (and there's LOTS of that) related to the project. I'll be a guru in no time!
I'm really enjoying the organized but relaxed environment at the company. The friendly social atmosphere and people-oriented mentality is one of the things that attracted me in the first place. Every person gets his/her own office, often shared with an officemate. My officemate is a really cool guy who started a week before I did, but unfortunately they relocated him today. Maybe they'll put in a new hire with me next week and then I'll be the one with one week's experience!
The company also tries to make sure its employees' needs are met. Relocation assistance has set me up with temporary housing and a rental car, the company offers 100% reimbursement for grad school (which I need to decide if I want to do), and free medical and dental coverage. We have a facilities request helpdesk system where we can put in a request for supplies and furniture. If I need an additional whiteboard in my office, want the desk behind me removed, or want my table adjusted, it's taken care of pretty quickly. We also have an IT department that takes care of computer issues, but unfortunately they seem to be a little slow because of understaffing.
So overall, things have been good. I'm really enjoying my job and being independent for the first time. Of course, my family (particularly my dad) has helped me immensely during this transition, and I owe them so much and am certainly going to miss them.
The week started with a full day of orientation on Monday, during which I was given a huge stack of paperwork to read and complete. I also got three free lunches in a row- Monday with my two managers, Tuesday after a welcome briefing for new hires, and Wednesday at the monthly company lunch, at which I boxed a lot of food to take to work on Thursday, so I guess that counts too!
Workwise, I've been placed on the several-person Switch Control team, the group that writes software to control network switches. The learning curve is very steep, and the first couple days were pretty tough, but oh how much more I know now compared to a week ago. One team member, Michael (and there are actually two Michaels and a Mike on the team, so maybe I should say one of the Michaels), has been my quasi-mentor and helping get up to speed. I'm getting bite-sized projects of increasing difficulty as I'm becoming more familiar with concepts and terminology (and there's LOTS of that) related to the project. I'll be a guru in no time!
I'm really enjoying the organized but relaxed environment at the company. The friendly social atmosphere and people-oriented mentality is one of the things that attracted me in the first place. Every person gets his/her own office, often shared with an officemate. My officemate is a really cool guy who started a week before I did, but unfortunately they relocated him today. Maybe they'll put in a new hire with me next week and then I'll be the one with one week's experience!
The company also tries to make sure its employees' needs are met. Relocation assistance has set me up with temporary housing and a rental car, the company offers 100% reimbursement for grad school (which I need to decide if I want to do), and free medical and dental coverage. We have a facilities request helpdesk system where we can put in a request for supplies and furniture. If I need an additional whiteboard in my office, want the desk behind me removed, or want my table adjusted, it's taken care of pretty quickly. We also have an IT department that takes care of computer issues, but unfortunately they seem to be a little slow because of understaffing.
So overall, things have been good. I'm really enjoying my job and being independent for the first time. Of course, my family (particularly my dad) has helped me immensely during this transition, and I owe them so much and am certainly going to miss them.