Meet Our Alumni
2004 Graduate Scott StairsLast year at this time, I was still doing work in Mt Pleasant. However, it wasn't exactly in the CS field. It was more administrative work, and was just getting me by until I could find something more worthwhile with programming. I was sending my resume to a few select employers and hoping for a response, but wasn't really actively seeking anything else. In April I lost my job due to the cuts that the company was making. It was then that I really put a lot of effort into finding a new job, this time something directly related to the CS field. After applying to a number of positions and placing my resume on Monster (which, I might add, if used right, is a very good resource!), I waited to hear some responses. I received 2 responses immediately and set up some interviews. I was offered a position at the conclusion of one of the interviews. It was attractive to me for several reasons, so I accepted the position. I've been employed since April 2007 with a company called RB Control Systems. We are also sister-companies with Valley Pool Sales in North Versailles. We sell and support one of the best POS solutions tailor-made for the Pool & Spa Industry, and - just recently - have begun to expand into other industries. It is still a fairly small company, but we are growing quickly as we add new clients and new staff to support those clients. We have clients in many states as well as Canada - as far away as California or right next door in North Versailles, as Valley Pool Sales was our first customer! My official title is a Network / Program Technician - though my duties are primarily programming using MS Access & VBA, and troubleshooting/tech support via telephone and Remote Desktop/VNC connections. I really enjoy my job MOST of the time, though this time of the year is particularly stressful and busy for everyone. With it being the off-season for pool sales, now is when we do most of our new sales and installations. We have a good group of people all working together - and usually have a pretty good time. Anyway - that's my story, and they seem to enjoy having me around. I've learned some things since graduating that I would like to share: First of all, if at all possible do not slack off during your senior year (or anytime for that matter!) You may feel you deserve a break, but how you act in your senior year, and how actively you search for jobs, will be reflected in the type of job and the career level that you achieve once you graduate. I did well in most of my classes, but I didn't actively search for jobs until I was pinching every penny that I had saved. Once I felt the squeeze, I began my job search, but it was too tight and I took the first thing that came around, though it wasn't necessarily in my field. Had I searched actively immediately, I would have found a good job right away, and would probably be farther along in my career than I am now. Second, do your best at what you do, even if it isn't what you want to do. You may just learn some useful things for later in your career, or it may actually lead you to a different place in your career. The first job I landed had nothing to do with the CIS field, but my hard work was appreciated by the management. They learned of my other skills and helped me to get my next job. That job was more in the line of what I wanted to do, but it didn't have the challenges or level of pay that I desired. However, I still did my best, and the way I performed in that job led me to my next job. Eventually I found myself where I am now, but it would never have happened if I didn't work hard to do my best in my first few jobs. Third, MONSTER IS A VERY GOOD RESOURCE! If you are looking for a job, first put your resume together. Post it on Monster (and other career sites). But don't stop there. Search for jobs that apply to your skills and your desires, but be flexible. The more applications you get out there, the better chance of landing a job you want. Worked for me! And fourth, don't sell yourself short, but don't lie either. All of your skills are useful, but only if you really have them. I had some experience taking tech support calls back in high school which I didn't really like, and didn't really mention much. However, I still included it on my resume, which turned out to be very useful for my current position. By the way, I still don't like it, but it comes with the territory. Other applicants had impressive resumes, but could not demonstrate their ability when asked to. If you write it down, be sure you can back it up! I hope you can take some of these words of advice and put them to good use. I wish you the best in your studies and future endeavors. And <begin shameless plug> if you know anyone who owns a Pool & Spa Company (or any retail or service company for that matter), have them look into the RB Control Systems POS at http://www.rbcontrolsystems.com and tell them I sent you! <end shameless plug> 2003 Graduate Brian LaSitisAfter I graduated Saint Vincent College in May, 2003, I accepted a position with Allin Consulting in Pittsburgh, PA as a consultant on their Collaborative Solutions team. As a consultant, I've beeni involved in various client projects mostly doing development work. Allin Consulting is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, so all of my work is typically related to implementing Microsoft products, such as SharePoint or Project Server, or building custom solutions using the .NET Framework. In addition to being involved in the development phase of our team's projects, I've also had exposure during the design, testing and documentation phases of several projects. Since starting at Allin Consulting, I've attained my MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer) certification, and in January, 2005 I was promoted to the role of senior consultant. Overall I'm satisfied with my career at Allin Consulting, and I can attribute much of my success to the experience that I gained at Saint Vincent. The curriculum in the CIS department at Saint Vincent College is designed particularly well, providing one with solid technical skills in technologies that are currently in widespread use in the industry, as well as fundamental skills that are not directly tied to any particular technology, such as good problem solving skills and software design principles. The computing field demands a strong knowledge of an ever-changing array of technologies, and one certainly cannot expect to have a solid knowledge of every facet of the computing field upon graduation. Because of this, it is far more important to be able to apply the principles taught at Saint Vincent to make learning and applying new technologies a simpler task. In closing, I'd like to say that if you have a strong interest in the computing field and enjoy the challenges that it can bring, by all means continue to pursue your interest. The computing field is very dynamic and there are countless areas to concentrate one's knowledge in and be successful. Since graduation, I've never looked back and thought that I should have chosen a different major. 1995 Graduate Jenny SethmanSo, you have an interest in the Computing & Information Science major at Saint Vincent College? If you were anything like I was, you probably have lots of questions and are wondering where a degree in Computing and Information Science might lead you. Please let me provide a brief background about my experience at SVC and the opportunities that I was able to pursue after graduation. The academic curriculum at SVC prepared me for many different career paths within Information Technology. When I attended SVC over 10 years ago, there were three areas of emphasis within the computer science department: business, science, and applied computer science. This gave me some flexibility with my choice of electives I needed to take. I also gained valuable real-world experience by completing two summer jobs at Allegheny Power Company in Greensburg. Over all, I greatly enjoyed my time at SVC, especially the Discrete Math courses. After graduating, I decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania to get my Masters degree. I believe that computer science is a great field that has the ability to open many doors for you in your career. In my years of working in the computing field, I have had the opportunity to work in several different industries and functions. These experiences range from low-level C++ programming to facilitating requirements gathering sessions with upper management in Fortune 500 companies. I am also a part-time online faculty member with the University of Phoenix. Although there have been recent trends in off-shore programming, Information Technology is not an industry that can be totally outsourced. Regardless of where the actual programming is written, there will always be a need to maintain local resources with hands-on programming experience. Local programmers are needed to participate in requirements gathering and project management. Furthermore, there has been some research that directly contradicts the financial advantages that off-shore programming is cost effective. (See "Offshoring Is No Silver Bullet".) Basically, it is too soon to tell if offshoring will continue to grow, but regardless, I believe that if you have an interest in computer science, and enjoy studying this subject, then pursue that interest in your courses.
Best of luck to you, 1989 Graduate Dan Caugherty
After graduating from SVC in 1989, I went on to work as a graduate research assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory, working on what would eventually become the successful effort to map the entire human genome. I received my Master of Science degree in Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1992. My graduate work consisted of developing a software system for teaching some of the basic constructs of computability theory. I not only got a crash-course in the practices and pitfalls of object-oriented programming (remember, this was '92); I also received valuable insight in the software creation process. At RPI, I also met Jill, my future wife and fellow geek-in-arms. My tenure in the work force started at IBM in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Since that time, I have also worked at Nortel Networks' Research Triangle Park facility and at the Raleigh lab of GlobespanVirata, a leading supplier of broadband firmware. I'm currently an employee of SDE Inc., a firm that specializes in technical software outsourcing. In August 2003, I'll be following Jill's lead into the Executive MBA Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Most of my work lies in the area of networking and communications, particularly in the areas of device drivers and kernel processes. However, I've also spent considerable amounts of time in other areas, such as class library implementation, Web client and server development, and Java application development. As for advice for undergraduates, I'd provide the following:
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