Talk to the professionals in an online chat
Date: Monday 23 January, 2012
Participants: Neil Cowzer and Marian O’Sullivan from Microsoft
Neil Cowzer
Marian O'Sullivan
On Monday 23 January from 7pm we held a live discussion with Microsoft’s Neil Cowzer (Software Developer) and Marian O’Sullivan (Business Graduate).
Marian is an Operations Specialist working for Microsoft Consulting in Enterprise Services: “My role basically involves working with the Swiss subsidiary and involves providing business insight to my subsidiary and support to ensure customer engagements are managed effectively.
“Managing the business relationship with multiple stakeholders within my subsidiary is also a very important part of my role. As you can imagine, this business is a very interesting one and varies from day to day. I also have had to chance to travel to meet the team in Switzerland which I really enjoyed.”
We took a range of questions about careers, courses and jobs in Ireland’s ICT sector and what it’s like working at Microsoft. Afterwards we also followed up on questions that there wasn’t time to answer during the live online discussion.
Find out more about Microsoft in Ireland
Hi folks, Donna here from Smart Futures, happy to be introducing Marian and Neil to the session with Microsoft tonight. We’ll take as many questions as possible tonight and any that we don’t get to we will follow up on over the coming days.
Hi all, Marian here from Microsoft. I work for the Microsoft Consulting Division as an Operations Specialist as part of the Business Operations Graduate Program. As part of this program, i have the opportunity to work in three different roles in Microsoft as it is a rotational program where we graduates work in a different role each year for three years. Before starting in Microsoft, I studied Commerce in UCC.
Hi everyone, Neil from Microsoft here. I’m a software developer in test on Microsoft Office for the past 6 months. Basically, my role involves testing and automating the test of new features of Office. Before joining Microsoft, I studied in UCD, completing a BSc and MSc in Computer Science.
We received a question posted earlier today from Anne Sheehan, who is thinking about returning to work after a 12 year break as an at-home mum. She had worked in I.T for 22 years, programming, using VAX BASIC and progressed to business analysis, testing , etc…and is wondering where to begin and is afraid she is too old to go back to third or fourth level.
Anne, it’s never too late to look at upskilling yourself and yes you absolutely have that wealth of experience to offer an employer. Companies aren’t just looking for skilled staff in programming and software development, but also in project and product management, which may also be areas of interest to you. There are a number of conversion courses, for example those run by ICT Ireland and Irish Software Association Skillnet, with connections to courses such as the postgraduate Diploma in Software Engineering in NUI Maynooth, MSc in Applied Software Technologies in DIT, or the cloud computing programme in Cork. There are also programmes in data analytics and product management which may also be of interest. Info here: http://www.isa-skillnet.com – also check out http://www.bluebrick.ie, http://www.careersportal.ie and http://www.coursehub.ie for more info on conversion courses.
Similarly we’ve had a question from a poster called ‘herrste’ who says
“Hi there, started out in the electrical end of things as we all know this sector has fallen rapidly and was wondering would you have any advice on the route to take from here as I would really like to enter the IT sector. As a hobby which of course is officially not on paper I love programming be in assembly,c++, etc. Any help would be grateful, cheers in advance.”
I think the above advice on conversion courses is definitely something for you to look at as well – particularly if you have an interest already in programming.
I have watched Microsoft’s video posted here on this website and it keeps referring back to graduates. What have these graduates essentially graduated from and also what are the age requirements for the 3 months summer internship at Microsoft?
Hi Shane, Marian here. Thank you for your question. Graduates in Microsoft come from a variety of backgrounds including Commerce, Computer Science, Business Information Systems etc. Many would also have studied languages as Microsoft in Ireland is the EMEA ( Europe, Middle East and Africa) headquarters
As far as we know, there are no age requirements for the summer internship in Microsoft but we can check this out. Generally our interns are in college or have just graduated.
for a career in Computer Science how important do you consider it is to have taken Physics as a subject in the Leaving Certificate?
Hi Joseph. Neil here. Thanks for the question. I studied Physics myself, however for computer science course, the requirement is normally a science subject at leaving certificate level, but it’s best to check out the course/college websites for specifics or ask your school guidance counsellor. These sites all have resource on CAO requirements (http://www.qualifax.ie/,
http://www.coursehub.ie/, http://www.bluebrick.ie/, http://www.careersportal.ie/).
Thanks for your questions, which are flying in, we’ll do our best to get to you all!
Hi Neil. Ciaran – Donegal here. Was wondering how long did you study for your software development?
Hi Ciaran. Typically, a computer science course is 3-4 years. I’m a little bit different in this regard as I stayed in College to do research after completing my degree. This is not a requirement though, indeed I was offered a position in Microsoft before I decided to stay on in UCD to do a research Masters.
Hi Marian and Neil,
What are the key strengths that Microsoft look for when recruiting graduates? Is it purely academic excellence or experience, personality etc. ? And is the interview process difficult?
Thanks Peter
Hi Peter, thank you for your questions. No generally Microsoft look for a mix of the above so Microsoft would look at academic results, experience and people’s hobbies as well. The interview process can be extensive but mainly due to the large numbers of people that apply. Generally soft skills such as communication and team work skills are important due to the high level of teamwork required.
Is it better to do a general computing degree or to study a specified course such as computer games development?
Hi Liam, if that is your real name :) That’s a bit of a tricky question. If you’ve your heart set on getting into games development, then studying a games development course is perhaps a good idea. There are a number of games development companies in Ireland and I would encourage you to seek them out and try get some work experience before deciding. If you’re unsure or wish to leave your options open, a computer science degree will give you a solid foundation. You can always later specialize in games development.
Hi Neil and Marian, getting lots of questions in relation to specific courses and colleges…can you talk a bit about how a student would go about choosing one over another?
For choosing the best course for you, it is a good idea to look at the course content and try talk to either a course coordinator or someone who has experience with that course or college. The best advice is perhaps to make sure the subjects that are in the course interest you and are something that you are passionate about. While there’s a lot of variation in facilities for the different colleges, all of them have active extra-curricular communities.
After completing a degree in computer science, what sort of area could you work in at Microsoft?
Hi David. Cheers for the question. In Microsoft, we hire computer science graduates into a variety of roles. This year alone, we have been hiring Software Developers in Engineering, Software Developers in Test, International Project Engineers and Program Managers. All of these areas would require a solid computer science background.
We’re almost out of time so we’ll take one more question before we wrap up.
what money is there being a software developer? Neil?
Hi Paul. Neil here. I’m obviously not going to get into the specifics of my of salary. However, in general computer science graduates and software developers are well paid in comparison to other areas. In software development, there is signifcant room to progress through the ranks and salaries. In Microsoft, the salaries are competitive :)
Thanks for that Neil and Marian. We hope the session has been of use to students here. We’ll answer as many as we can that we didn’t get to tonight so do come back over the week. Thanks for joining the chat!
As promised, here are some of your questions that we couldn’t get around to in the live session…
At Microsoft Ireland what qualities/degrees do look out for? Is your recruitment pushing people with relevant experience, relevant degrees or both? What degrees would Microsoft require. [Sorry I dont have a particular job in question, im guessing a computer science degree would be a good start? If so do you care what college it is from? DIT vs UCD etc.
Hi Shane, as far as I know Microsoft don’t have any particular preference for what college your degree is from. Within the grads and/or my team alone there are people from UCC, DCU, UCD, DIT, Trinity, Carlow IT, University of Manchester… Basically, we come from all around Ireland and Europe.
When hiring in Microsoft and in other companies, there is obviously a focus on hiring someone with the relevant experience. For the graduate programme, your college degree is likely to form the large majority of your experience. So yes, the right type of degree, i.e. a computer-related one, is necessary although it wouldn’t necessarily have to have Computer Science in the name but you would need to make sure it covers similar topics to such a course.
It’s important to bear in mind that the right experience isn’t the only thing they look for: communication style, self-motivated, problem-solving skills, and even your fit in the team are considered. Essentially we look for smart, creative and passionate people, we don’t have a preference on where they come from. But you should look at the skills that any college puts in place and ask yourself are they teaching the skills that are going to get me the job I want.
Hello! This question is directed to Neil.
Since you are a software developer, how varying is the work that you do? I was considering entering this field of study of software development, and I am unsure as to what you can specifically do in this field. Anything related to (more specifically) operating systems instead of building programs?
My second question is, if I was to enter this field of study, what programming language would you recommend for me to begin with? I was considering C, Java or Perl, but I am unsure.
Looking forward to your reply!
Marten. Cheers for the questions. It’s important to note that I’m a software development engineer in test (SDET) which is slightly different from a typical software developer or software development engineer (SDE) in Microsoft.
SDE develop the code, fix the bugs for the products that you would work with day-in, day-out.
Here in Microsoft, SDETs develop code and automation to test the products, handle the infrastructure for testing the products and research often. Along with Program Managers, the three roles work to develop the features that make it into the final product. So my work is varied and I would say, more varied than the other two roles I’ve discussed.
Software development is quite a broad field and continually evolving. New areas and new products are changing what we even consider a computer and consequently, what we consider to be programmable or uses “software”. For example, smart phones and tablets are fast replacing the PC as people’s primary computing device. Even the TV is becoming a computer with features such as Xbox Live. So if you do take the software development root, odds are that the platforms and reach of software will have continued. One thing that doesn’t change is the fundamentals of computing – and this is what most computer science courses focus on. In general the first 2-3 years of a computer science degree are to build these basics up, and in your final 1-2 years you begin to specialize.
As for a language, the best advice I can give you is to learn an object-oriented programming language such as C#, C++, or Java. Here in Microsoft, we primarily work in C#. Java is the most popular language in industry and typically taught in courses. Once you’ve got a good foundation in one language, it will be easier to learn others as the fundamentals of many languages are pretty similar. A good example of this is that some of the graduates (including myself) had never programmed in C# before starting in Microsoft, but none of us have had any real issue using C# since getting here.
Here’s a question that came in from James Lynch…
Hi, I’m just wondering what kind of prospects I would have for working with Microsoft after completion of the MSISS programme in TCD. And also how do you find programming, I assume that Neil would have to do that in his job anyway :) –
Hi James, my familiarity with the MSISS programme in TCD is limited to the overview on your website. From the looks of it, when completing your degree you’ll be in a (surprisingly) unique position: both business and programming experience.
It’s perhaps prudent to note that Microsoft Ireland contains two large divisions: the EDC, where the developers create and localize products; and the EOC, where the business, sales and operations elements are handled. I note this, as I’m not entirely sure what role or which division you would be best suited to.
For roles in the EDC, the general guideline could be considered that you need to be a strong programmer. Not all roles here contain day-to-day programming, but even if it doesn’t, sometimes it’s impossible to discuss a design issue without resorted to the technical ins and outs of the code.
As for how do I find programming, I like it. In fact, I’m trying to remove most of the non-coding aspects of my day-to-day job. It’s kind of a common trend among most software developers in test – part of the job description even.
And Mariya asked…
what prospects do you see for yourself in the future? like promotion?
is there much chance of producing your own computer games? what is the benefits of working here, is there a chance of a company car or other company benefits?
Hi Mariya.
There are great prospects for the future in Microsoft for career development. Many graduates have gone onto other roles in the European Operations Center, European Development Center and the Sales and Marketing Subsidiary or even to other Microsoft sites such as Redmond.
Company benefits include 25 days holidays, competitive salaries and also my personal favourite – job flexibility. Employees in Microsoft often work with flexi-time and have the opportunity to work from home.
I am interested in a technical internship with Microsoft Ireland. Can you tell me something more about the recruitment process? Does Microsoft Ireland recruit many people from countries other than Ireland? What do you expect from interns, is it more about deep knowledge of different programming languages or do you rather focus on general algorithmic skills?
Hi Bart, I’ve never been through the recruitment process for the technical interview so can’t say with certainty what it is. I would assume that it is similar to the graduate recruitment process which comprises of an HR phone screen, a technical phone screen, a day of onsite technical interviews.
The technical interviews and phone screen would focus primarily on your algorithm and problem solving skills. When it comes to solving these questions, you’ll be asked to write out the solution on a whiteboard in any language of your choosing. The assumption here is that if you’re hired, you’ll be able to transfer these skills/knowledge into whatever language you’ll be working with.
Finally here are some more questions that came in that we didn’t get a chance to answer in the live chat, that are being answered by Aoife O’Brien from ICT Ireland…
1. What job opportunities are available to me after completing a HDip in IT?
Hi Alan – it is very hard to be specific regarding the types of opportunities available to you following on from your course as I don’t know what your primary degree is.
However, you should look at the job websites and company websites which often specify the range of technologies that are required for roles within their companies.
Also don’t forget that apart from academic qualifications, companies are looking for well rounded individuals with good team work and communications skills. I would advise you to look at current vacancies and see if any of the skills they are looking at match the areas you studied – this will give you a good idea of the roles out there.
Also, keep in mind that technology companies are always looking for people with an interest and foundation in technology and will provide training in different technologies and skills and will constantly train their staff in new and emerging areas! You may enter your career as a IT guru and end up as a project manager/ business analyst etc!
2. Would ethical hacking be difficult to get employed in?
I can’t answer that question directly as I don’t work in this area but I would say that the area of cybersecurity and fraud detection is constantly growing and you should look at the various courses available that cover these.
http://www.careersportal.ie should have more information on these courses.
3. Would you have to have a good idea of how technology works for a course in digital forensics?
It helps, but if you are of an inquisitive mind and like to problem solve you may enjoy a course like this. It is best to talk to the course coordinator so you have a better idea of the requirements and the type of person who succeeds on this course.
4. Do you think tech sector will get overcrowded?
No. The sector continues to expand and has a very bright future. Employment through indigenous and multinational technology firms now tops 84,000, and since January 2011 over 80 jobs a week have been announced in the sector – this is on foot of 6% employment growth in 2009 and 4% in 2010.
With a growing multinational technology presence in Ireland and a vibrant and innovative indigenous software sector, the future prospects for Ireland’s technology sector are bright.
Technology and technologists and engineers are vital to all sectors of the economy, and a career in ICT is a passport to a job in every sector and business in Ireland.