Gill Development

Well I’ve been here at IGT for a week and two days.  So far it has been up and down.  At first I was told that I wouldn’t be receiving my computer for a couple weeks, then I got it the second day.  Then I was told that I wouldn’t be receiving my signing bonus until the end of August, then I got it the first Friday after I started!  I was also told I’d be receiving my badge which lets me into the labs and the entrance to the building we’re in on Friday…well I still haven’t received that.  That is mainly due to the fact that they don’t keep track of paper work they have people fill out too well.

That was a big frustration at first.  I was sent a packet of papers to fill out, however since I didn’t have the address of where I would be moving, I had to put down my parents’ address.  That works, but it isn’t quite accurate.  When I got here I then had to fill out a few pages that I already did, but it wasn’t too big a deal.

Outside of the stresses of not receiving things on time, things have been better since I did receive the important things early.  I’ve been working on learning about what it is I was hired for.  I can’t tell too much, however it is the future of IGT, which is a pretty great feeling that I’m on such an important project.  It has been quite boring, frustrating, overwhelming, and interesting since I’ve been here due to everything I have to know.  Most of what I’ve been doing has been dealing with learning about the new system and trying to get it all understood…well there is much more than I was ever expecting.  Hopefully things will sink in soon and I can get onto helping my colleagus out.

Well that’s work stuff.  I’ll post later on how things are outside of here.

-Jason!

Wow what has happened since I last posted…

Well I finished my senior project, Piratopia.

I finished all of the required classesI needed.

I graduated from college with a BS in Software Engineering, an AE in Computer Engineering, and a minor in business.

Went to Washington and Canada for fourteen days.

Watched a couple weddings.

Moved into my new appartment in Corvallis.

And now today I start the first day (at IGT) of my lasting career.

Hopefully everything goes well which I am sure it will.

I’ll post later.

Jason

Once again I’ve slacked on updating my site.  I have no good excuse except that I’ve been quite busy with school this term.  To think that I have roughly 22 days till graduation comes around.  Once it comes around I’ll be enjoying some time off for about six weeks.  After that I’ll be taking on the title of Software Engineer I at International Game Technology.  Though it wasn’t my first pick, the thought of working there sure has grown on me.  I’m definitely looking forward to what the Corvallis area will bring. 

I’ll explain a bit more.  At the end of March I accepted an offer with IGT in the Corvallis location to work in the Server Base group doing C# development work.  Sounds like it’ll be quite interesting.  I just hope I am able to make many friends and that it is a great start to my future.  I’ll definitely miss the people I became friends with at Garmin, however I’ll do my best to keep in contact with them and perhaps one day I’ll apply with them for another shot working on their exciting products.

As for today, I’m currently driving down with 14 students to Santa Clarita, California (next to LA).  We’ll be heading to Six Flags tomorrow (opening of X2 that day!), then to Santa Monica State Beach on Sunday, followed with West Hollywood on Monday.  It’s going to be a blast of a trip!

I don’t know if people are reading this anymore, so if you are, please comment and let me know I still have interested people!

Until next time (which will be sooner),

Jason

I realized that I haven’t updated my site for quite a while.  I blame this on the fact that I’ve been so busy with school projects, my on-campus jobs, and looking for a job.  It’s been quite an intense term so far and not looking like its going to calm down any time soon.  The term ends towards the end of March so hopefully spring break will be fun and a worth while break.  I’ve got another term of five classes starting around April 1st, and I’m hoping it’ll be much nicer.  I’ve got three classes scheduled on site at OIT next term with two online through Chemeketa.  Shouldn’t be too bad of a term though.

Well for those who keep up on what I’m doing, here is a quick update.  I hope that you’ll keep in contact and wish me luck on finishing this term and finding an awesome job for after I graduate.

I’ve been slacking on updating “piratopia.com” so I’ll be sure to update that soon as well.  Be sure to take a look there as well.

After six whole months of interning here at Garmin AT, I’m finally heading out.  I’ve had a fantastic time being part of the Garmin team and will definitely be looking this way in the next few months as I get closer to graduating.  Hard to believe that the internship has come and gone already.

I’ve learned a lot throughout this ordeal and am extremely glad I took the time out of my sequence to partake of it.  I gained a lot while I was here and have given my fair share of help throughout this internship.

For all those Garmin people who take a look at this, thanks for all the good times and for making me feel like an actual part of the team.  Who knows what will happen later down the road, I may just end up sitting next to a few of you.

This entire internship was totally worth while and I would do another one with Garmin any time (Cept I’d rather have an actual job with them for better pay if nothing else).

I recommend Garmin AT to anyone with an interest in aviation who wants a fantastic job, so go apply as soon as you can!

I’m going to miss this place for sure!

Jason

At 5pm today will be the end of yet another day with Garmin AT. I am reluctant to say that I only have 10 days left with them before heading back down to Klamath Falls to finish my degree. I’ve had a fantastic time working here at Garmin and am looking forward to what possibilities lay in front of me over the next six months of job hunting.

This last Friday I had an on-the-phone technical interview with Microsoft. Received a call at 2:30pm introducing myself to a fella named Vijay. The interview was surprisingly not as difficult as I was expecting. I’ve heard all the nightmare stories of the “evil” questions MS asks, and didn’t get any of them except for asking me how I would go about designing an alarm clock for the visually impaired. Other than that the questions were somewhat technical, but not as technical as I was expecting. The email I received said it would be a “very technical interview“, but I can’t say it was. Only pseudo-code answers were asked for and nothing programming language specific. Oh well, at least it went very well and I was able to answer each of the questions I was asked. I was told I should be hearing something in the next two weeks, so I’ll let you know how that all goes.

Last Friday I also had my final MECOP appraisal which went very well. A multiple number of Met and Exceeded Expectations. I was quite glad it went well and really feel that this internship has been a great experience.

Until I write again…

[UPDATE] Instead of the two weeks I was expecting till I heard back from Microsoft, I received an email within two days of the interview on Tuesday from them.  I guess I did well in my phone interview cause they want me to go out to the Redmond, WA location for an on-site interview with them.  I’m looking forward to it, however it’ll be quite nerve racking.  I’ll meet with 3-5 people for a one hour interview with each.  This one will be way more complex than the last, so be praying for me and wish me lots of luck that things go well.

I finished everything I needed to get in for school this last Monday and just found out today that I got an A in all three of my classes!!! That brings my overall GPA, between Chemeketa and OIT, to a 3.52!!! My GPA at just OIT is 3.55 and my GPA with my core classes is 3.75. How great is that.

On top of that, I have a phone interview with Microsoft this this Friday at 2:30pm. Wish me luck if you get a chance. Until then I’m going to do all that I can to prepare for it, and also spend some time applying everywhere else I have in mind.

J!

After five years, I’m happy to say that this last Tuesday, I finally received my Associates degree in Network Technology from Chemeketa Community College!

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Fall term is coming to an end, which means I have a lot left to do in a short amount of time.  This next Monday I have my senior project design to turn in and my OpenGL Graphics class to finish up and get my project turned in.  I have a good amount to do on both, so wish me luck.

On top of school work I also have my six-month internship coming to an end December 28th.  It’s hard to believe that it’s already been five months since I started working here and it’s coming to an end so soon. 

This new year brings on a whole bunch of new challenges that I’ll have to face.  No longer getting my nice paycheck from Garmin, and having to push myself to the extremes with five classes this term and five the next.  I’ll at least be able to get paid for the work I do for Campus Activities which I start when I return and will also be taking back the presidency position for the Oregon Tech Game Developers.

With so much to do in just six more months of school, I’m quite stressed.  But I know it will all pay off in the end!

Until next post.

Jason

Tomorrow I take off down to Klamath Falls to visit my school, Oregon Institute of Technology. This time I’m not just going down as a student, I’m going down as an employee representing Garmin. Funny thing is that I’m going without being an official employee. I’m an intern and will be for another two months. After that I’ll be in the process of finishing school and looking for a job.

Though I am really looking forward to representing Garmin at the career fair and in the classes we go to visit, I find it kind of nerve wrecking since it will leave me little time to visit potential employers. I think Garmin is a fantastic company and would love to work for them, I just want to keep my options open at this point in time though. Representing Garmin tomorrow and the day after will consume my time to mingle with the other companies since I will be manning the Garmin booth telling students about Garmin. How crazy is that. This is MY career fair as a student, yet I’m going like I am already employed. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. For all I know, I may have the opportunity to drop off a few resumes after all.

I’m looking forward to the next couple days and hope to see a number of fellow students apply and get interviewed for Garmin. After this I come back for work on Wednesday, and then take off that evening to Spokane, Washington for NACA West representing OIT as the entertainment coordinator for Campus Activites. I’ll then return back to Salem next Sunday. What a busy week!

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