Научная электронная библиотека

Монографии, изданные в издательстве Российской Академии Естествознания

АДАПТИРОВАННЫЙ ПРАКТИКО-ОРИЕНТИРОВАННЫЙ КУРС АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА ДЛЯ СТУДЕНТОВ 1 КУРСА ВЫСШИХ УЧЕБНЫХ ЗАВЕДЕНИЙ ИНФОРМАЦИОННО-ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО ПРОФИЛЯ, ОБУЧАЮЩИХСЯ ПО ЗАОЧНОЙ ФОРМЕ

Жаравина И А,

Unit 9. What is your job?

When I left college, I got a job of an IT support technician through an agency. I worked for a large chain, which sold building materials to the public and to trades people. Almost every business these days, large or small, needs support technicians. I was taking calls and providing advice on all sorts of problems. It’s a job where you need not just technical skills but also good ‘soft’ skills. That means people-handling skills96. You need to be able to understand how the caller feels as well as trying to solve their IT problems. You have to keep calm when you’re under pressure. People may be pretty frustrated by the time they phone you, and they expect you to fix their problem right away. It’s a demanding job because you have to cope sometimes with angry people, get all the information you need to help them with their problem, work out how to solve it technically, and then explain in a clear, simple way what they can do to put things right.

Overall, a computer support specialist is a person who provides technical assistance and help to people or an organization’s employees97. A specialist’s duties depend on his specific title and area of expertise. A technical support specialist runs diagnostics programs to fix software and hardware problems and responds to questions from co-workers about computer problems. In addition, a computer support specialist writes training manuals and teaches computer users how to navigate new software or hardware. A technical support specialist also responds to computer users seeking help. Typically, a technician receives emails and telephone calls detailing the type of help needed. Then he gives computer users instructions to resolve the problems.

It is a good place to start. You learn to think quickly and how to handle people but I wouldn’t advise doing it for long. It’s not the best paid job.

In my present job I get to work with people face-to-face. The work is more interesting. It’s not all trouble-shooting98. I also get to install software, maintain servers, and advise on the best choice of new hardware. The ability to think fast and decide things quickly is essential. My job is really fascinating. The money is better too. I’m a system administrator and I think it’s my job. A system administrator, or an IT systems administrator, a systems administrator, or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network.

The duties of a system administrator are wide-ranging, and vary widely from one organization to another. Sysadmins are usually charged99 with installing, supporting and maintaining servers or other computer systems, and planning for and responding to service outages100 and other problems. Other duties may include project management for systems-related projects, supervising or training computer operators and consulting people for computer problems beyond the knowledge of technical support staff101. To perform his or her job well, a system administrator must demonstrate a blend of technical skills and responsibility. The “subject matter” of systems administration includes computer systems and the ways people use them in an organization. This entails a knowledge of operating systems and applications, as well as hardware and software troubleshooting, but also knowledge of the purposes for which people in the organization use the computers.

However, perhaps the most important “skill” to a system administrator is problem solving, frequently under various sorts of constraints and stress. The sysadmin is on call when a computer system goes down or malfunctions, and must be able to quickly and correctly diagnose what is wrong and how best to fix it. Sysadmins must understand the behavior of software in order to deploy102 it and to troubleshoot problems, and generally know several programming languages used for scripting or automation of routine tasks.

However, system administrators are not software engineers or developers. It is not usually within their duties to design or write new applications software.

In fact, there is wider choice of IT jobs to take:

A Computer Systems Analyst

A computer systems analyst is someone who ensures an organization’s information technology and computer system operates efficiently. The analyst consults with IT personnel such as managers to understand the organization’s needs and goals. Then he/she designs computer systems that meet their goals103. A computer system analyst chooses to integrate new designs with existing systems or develops entirely new software or hardware systems.

A Computer Programmer

A computer programmer is a person who writes computer software programs that are a series of instructions for the computer to follow. The programmer, who typically works with other IT personnel such as systems analysts and computer software engineers, implements her/his designs or an organization’s designs. She/he uses programming language such as Python and C++ to code the instructions. The programmer may also modify, update and repair existing programs.

A Computer Systems Software Engineer

A computer systems software engineer is someone who coordinates each organization’s department computer needs such as billing104, payroll recording105 and ordering106. The engineer ensures the system107 such as the organization’s intranet is properly constructed and maintained.

A Computer and Information Systems Manager

A computer and information systems manager is someone who oversees an organization’s information technology108 by planning, researching and coordinating computer-related activities such as network security, Internet and software development. The manager consults with and supervises other IT personnel109 such as computer support specialists, computer software engineers and computer systems analysts.

The list of IT jobs is much wider: a hardware engineer who designs and develops IT devices; a webmaster who designs and maintains websites; a computer security specialist who works with companies to build secure computer systems and so on.

Notes to the text:

96. people-handling skills – управленческие навыки;

97. an employee – служащий, работающий по найму;

98. trouble-shooting – устранение неполадок;

99. are usually charged – обычно заняты;

100. service outages – перебои в подаче услуг;

101. beyond the knowledge of technical support staff – за пределами знаний службы технической поддержки;

102. deploy – применять;

103. to meet one’s goals – достичь ч-л цель;

104. billing- счёт- фактура;

105. payroll recording –сведения о зарплате;

106. ordering – выписка, чек;

107. to ensure the system – гарантировать функционирование системы;

108. to oversee an organization’s information technology – наблюдать за реализацией информационной технологии организации;

109. to supervise personnel – контролировать персонал.

Tasks for the text:

1. Put the necessary word into the sentence:

1) A computer programmer …… computer software programs.

2) A computer systems software engineer …… each organization’s department computer needs such as billing, payroll recording and ordering.

3) IT support technicians …. sometimes with angry people.

4) IT support technicians …… to be able to understand how the caller feels as well as trying to solve their IT problems.

5) A computer support specialist ……. technical assistance and help to people or an organization’s employees.

6) The analyst consults with IT …….. such as managers to understand the organization’s needs and goals.

7) The ability to think fast and decide things …… is essential.

8) A technical support specialist ……… to computer users seeking help.

2. Complete the sentences using words from the text or words with the appropriate meaning:

1) A computer systems software engineer coordinates ………

2) A computer and information systems manager supervises ……….

3) A computer programmer uses programming language such as ………

4) The ability to think fast and decide things quickly ……

5) A computer support specialist writes training manuals and teaches computer users how to ……

6) Almost every business these days, large or small, needs …….

7) An IT support technician is a demanding job because ……..

8) Good ‘soft’ skills mean ……

3. Match a line on the left with a line on the right to choose the suitable reply of a colleague talking to another one at a job:

4. Read the letter of application for the job of a computer systems analyst. Choose the best variant to complete the letter.

Dear Ms. Jones,

I (a)…am writing…this letter to apply for the position of a computer analyst in your international company. The position (b)…….. on the net dated September 08. I (c) ……. in the field of IT for four years: I worked for STORAGE Ltd. for three years as a computer programmer. (d) ……. last November, I have been working as a computer systems analyst. I often (e) ……. with company’s personnel, and sometimes I develop new software. I (f) …….. to move to your international IT company because I think it (g) ……. me a lot of new experience. I enjoy (h) ……, and I (i) ……. two foreign languages: French and Spanish. I can work in a team (j) ……. I have good interpersonal skills. You can contact me on the phone at ********** or e-mail *********.

Yours truly,

Kenneth Garcia.

a – write am writing have written

b – is advertising has advertised was advertised

c – was am have been

d – Since For During

e – deal am dealing will deal

f – like will like would like

g – gives will give gave

h – to travel traveled traveling

i – speak am speaking do speak

j – as to from

5. Do the questionnaire, answering questions. Make up other 5 special questions to know about someone’s job.

6. Decide what is (more/less) important for getting a good job. Represent it in the form of triangular diagram to express hierarchy. Add some qualities to the given list you consider to be important:

7. Write your CV.

This is a model: