Social Work Interview Report

When I met with Mr. Sheridan at the Professional Arms Center of Excellence (PACE), I experienced what a typical day as contractor and Informational Technology (IT) would be. We started with setting up a couple desktop monitors for the new Microsoft Surface Pro tablets the Air Force ordered to replace their laptops. This consisted of taking them out of their packaging, screwing them into to their stands, and hooking up all the proper wires. In addition, I had the chance to watch him explain all its features to another staff member. He took care to explain the new uses of the computer, whether an external hard drive was needed, what would happen to the computer that was replaced, and how the identifications cards would work for it when leaving
the network. Once the old monitors were discarded, as they were no longer compatible, I watched him try to change the resolution of the monitors and set up the Microsoft Surface Pro tablets to display each of the two new monitors as extensions to the computer's desktop. In addition, while I watched him work I was able to see one of the problems I might face when I installing and formatting new technology in the field. He was unable to change the graphics card settings due to not having full administrator access to the new computers, leaving the screen a tad expanded. When we were finished setting up the new monitors and he was done formatting the Air Forces more secure version of Windows 10, we just did small jobs around the workplace such refilling the printer ink and he fixed any minor issues they had with the new computers that he could solve at the moment. Afterwards, he explained me to how important it was to maintain good relations with the secretary and manager of my future workplace, as they are responsible for overseeing everything that happens in the building.

Mr.
Sheridan’s job seemed pretty low-maintenance initially, owing to the fact that he set aside time on Monday, so we could focus more on talking as I helped him with small jobs around the workplace. Mr. Sheridan is highly versed as an Information Technologist at PACE as he worked in separate buildings on base in accordance with his own, an example being a help desk position nearby, making his job much easier. Owing to his fourteen years of work experience and formal education at Norwich University in Vermont, where he focusing on the earliest forms of cybersecurity and forensics, he is definitely a skilled member of the field I can trust to to reliable and relevant information
from.

After working alongside Mr.
Sheridan, meeting the staff at PACE, and talking to Mr. Sheridan about his experiences in his field, I am kind of skeptical of whether or not his position is something I would aspire to be in. Though Mr. Sheridan is absolutely experienced in his field, an average day at PACE just seemed to slow for me to appreciate. I am hoping that future visits there will be more for me to see and learn from, but considering Mr. Sheridan’s opinions on his experience working on Randolf Air Force, I do not expect too much. Mr. Sheridan convinced me that his position is more of an inconvenience or set back, owing to the career decisions he made in college as he wishes he had majored in Criminal Law instead. His position as an contractor and IT seems like something I would desire to avoid to experience first hand, as he himself is much more experienced than he given credit for but is still tied to doing more low-level work. On the other hand, I look forward to planning small projects with him possibly outside of his job whenever
possible.