Mentor Interview
I have 2 mentors. For this reason I have 2 answers for the specific questions.
NOTE: All of these answers are from notes that I took, meaning they are paraphrases.
Questions about my mentor:
I have 2 mentors. For this reason I have 2 answers for the specific questions.
NOTE: All of these answers are from notes that I took, meaning they are paraphrases.
Questions about my mentor:
- What should I know about you before I start working here?
- Jennifer McWhorter- I am CDIP's Administrative analyst, I do a lot of outreach work for the community as well as to lawmakers and government organizations that fund us.
- Grant Cameron- I am a programmer and data analyst. I review the data before it goes on the website and create new software and hardware to make the buoys and field stations more efficient and effective.
- What is your job title?
- Jennifer McWhorter- Administrative Analyst
- Grant Cameron- Programmer/Analyst
- What are your main duties and responsibilities?
- Jennifer McWhorter- I do a lot of outreach and education for the community. There are a lot of government organizations, as well as community organizations, that are interested in the data that CDIP collects. I help with outreach by leading tours of our facility at SIO and going out to different organizations. A lot of different organizations tour our facility. We get everything from the Navy to Birch Aquarium summer camps coming over to see what we do. Every year I attend a conference in Washington DC where I speak to lawmakers about why our program is important so that they keep funding us.
- Grant Cameron- I work with all of the data that the buoys collect. The buoys collect the data and then send it in a vary raw format to our headquarters every 30 minutes. I review the data, make sure that everything is correct, format the data and then put it on the website. I also work with the software in the buoys and field stations.
- What skills and training are necessary for your position and how did you acquire these skills?
- Jennifer McWhorter- Understanding how waves work as well as how the buoys work. I also have to have good communication skills so that I can explain the work we do to the everyday person. I have to be able to talk to surfers about why our app can make their surf day better and I have to be able to talk to lawmakers about why our program needs to be funded. I developed a lot of my oceanography knowledge at school. I learned about how the wave buoys function on the job.
- Grant Cameron- I learned a lot of the hardware skills at a young a age, I learned how to solder when I was in 9th grade. I learned computer sceince and programming in my college education. When you know how to program you can apply that knowledge to many different things, including the wave monitoring we do at CDIP.
- What should I know about this organization before I start working here?
- CDIP is an organization that collects and releases wave data to the public using over 60 wave buoys around the world. Every 30 minutes new data comes in. It is reviewed, formatted and released to the public many times each day.
- What is a typical work day like?
- This really depends on your position:
- Programmers spend their days handling the steady stream of data that comes form the buoys as well as creating and installing new software and hardware to make the data capture more efficient and effective for all buoys and field stations.
- Engineers work with the physical buoys on a daily basis. Buoys have to be collected form other places, machinery has to be replaced, battery banks in the buoys have to be changed and sometimes a buoy that has been set adrift or moved out of it's designated radius has to be retrieved.
- Researchers work on analyzing data for long term projects.
- Administrative staff work on outreach to the community, handling the budget and dealing with the many organizations with which CDIP is affiliated and funded by.
- This really depends on your position:
- How is this organization structured?
- This organizations has several main departments (although they are not separated into departments), programing/data analysis, research, buoy maintenance and coordination/outreach. There are five programmers, three buoy engineers, four researchers an outreach person and the coordinator.
- Coordinator: In charge of budget and administrative decisions.
- Programmers: deal with the data and improve hardware/software
- Engineers: Maintenance buoys, deploy/retrieve buoys, test buoys.
- Researchers: Work on long term research, have general understanding of both programming and engineering aspects.
- Outreach: Informing the community, stakeholders and the government about the work CDIP does.
- This organizations has several main departments (although they are not separated into departments), programing/data analysis, research, buoy maintenance and coordination/outreach. There are five programmers, three buoy engineers, four researchers an outreach person and the coordinator.
- What is the purpose of this organization?
- This organization has three primary purposes, which are preformed by the 3 main "departments":
- 1. to monitor, maintenance and improve the wave buoys, field stations and other equipment
- 2. to analyze and release the data they send out
- 3. to educate the public about what the buoys are and how they work.
- This organization has three primary purposes, which are preformed by the 3 main "departments":
- What does it take to be successful in this organization?
- Self determination and self motivation.
- There is a lot of work that has to get done every day. You have to take the initiative to do the needed work autonomously and troubleshoot problems that arise.
- Good communication and collaboration skills.
- Everyone relies on everyone else to keep the program running successfully because everyone has specific knowledge about another part of the program. For example, a programmer needs to be able to communicate and collaborate with the buoy engineers if they want to install new hardware or software on to the buoys. The buoy engineers will have to collaborate with the outreach staff to move buoys in order to move and prepare buoys to an exhibit at birch aquarium.
- Specific knowledge.
- Engineers need to understand the components of the buoy and how to maitenance them.
- Programmers need to be able to program buoy and field station software correctly and effectively.
- Outreach people need to have an understanding of laws, funding methods and affiliated organizations.
- Self determination and self motivation.
- What other advice do you have about working here?
- Work hard, be respectful, be available and have fun.
- Work Hard: We appreciate the help and will ask you to work with us on real project were doing. We need young take the work seriously and do what you are assigned because this is real work for our program that we need to get done. You sought out this internship and you seem to be very engaged.
- Be Respectful: Everyone at CDIP does important work. Respect them and pay attention to what they say, they really know what they're talking about.
- Be Available: We know you have a main project to work on but we will need you too do other things sometimes. Be willing to help with all things, every opportunity is a good chance to see what different people at CDIP do.
- Have Fun: We want you to have an enjoyable experience at CDIP. We want you to learn, be engaged and enjoy the beautiful ocean view.
- Work hard, be respectful, be available and have fun.
- How important is getting along with other people in your career?
- It's important to get along with everyone because CDIP is a small program, all in one building, where everyone relies on the work of others to keep the program running properly. Also, you are seeing your coworkers every day. If you can't enjoy interacting with them, you will have a miserable experience. Yes, getting along is very important.
- What questions do you have about your internship?
- This week I have been learning a lot about what CDIP does and how they do it with my initial mini project with Ms. McWhorter. I understand the basic anatomy of a buoy, I know many facts about their wave buoys. I know where several buoys are. My questions now are about the specifics. I want to know how the data transfer works and the different software and hardware components involved in sending receiving and formatting the data in an accurate way.
- What connections can you make between this internship and what you've done in school?
- I learned about data in Math last semester in Ms. GC's class. Understanding the basics of the data collection process has helped me understand the work that the programmers do at CDIP. Soldering and other workshop skills that i learned in 9th grade have helped me be able to work with the hardware in a safe and effective way.
- What new skills are you developing (or will you need to develop) for this internship?
- I am starting to learn how linux works as well as how the communication between buoys and CDIP works.
- How are you getting to and from internship? What's it like to be commuting?
- My internship is at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla. It takes about an hour to get there. I have been getting up earlier to have time to get to La Jolla, eat and arrive to my Internship on time. Commuting is not too bad at all. I'm grateful that I have a ride because taking the Coaster would take forever. I would have to get to Carlsbad at 6:30, take a 45 miute ride to get to San Diego and then take a bus to La Jolla. I have been enjoying my internship thoroughly.