Before interviewing Adam Kiel I have no idea what I should expect. I have no experience with what it means to be a software engineer, except what I've learned so far in the software engineering freshman seminar I'm taking now. Above all, I don't know what it means to work as a software engineer on a daily basis. I'm excited and nervous to find out and see if software engineering is something I really want to do for the rest of my life. I will go into the interview with a positive outlook that not all software engineer work styles are the same and will vary by company. Within this report, I summarize the information obtained through a formal interview with Adam Kiel about his profession as a software engineer. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Surprisingly, Adam Kiel was very willing to be interviewed about what it's like to be a software engineer and was quite eager to do so. He answered my questions quite quickly and concisely, as if he knew exactly how to answer each question and had chosen his words wisely. Adam said he works for Granular in Johnston, Iowa, just outside of Des Monies, a growing metro area, where their engineering teams focus primarily on the agronomic product, Encirca, as well as the customer success teams that support everyone their products. He's been there a little over four months and lives just two blocks from where he works, which is very convenient. He went on and started describing all the previous work he has done so far and surprisingly, he has done a lot for a 23 year old. He was a student developer for the Iowa State University Library, where he worked on several websites to maintain the library. Mainly worked on making their pages compatible with their content management systems. Additionally, work on on-site analytics for e-commerce and other technical needs. He later worked as a software engineering intern for Herzog Technologies, where he was part of a team that developed a data collection program that is now used by the geographic information systems team. The desktop application it developed from scratch allowed the team to collect more accurate data. He had to coordinate with the team to create and build GPS and camera integrations. What was really interesting to me was how during a hackathon he led a team in creating a Chrome extension, Rate ISU, which is similar to RateMyProfessor but only for his college and allows students to view the evaluation of professors while enrolling in lessons. Next, he moved on to his current job at Granular Inc. and his experience so far. Granular Inc. is a software solutions company focused on precision for agriculture. He is very passionate about his work, especially in how they are trying to make agriculture more efficient and profitable while still seeing and enhancing the value of farmland. Even though he is fairly new to the company, he knows the company's goal and mission and recognizes how the work he is doing helps others succeed. It was evident how much he enjoyed working here simply by the fluidity and enthusiasm with which he spoke as I asked him about the company. After explaining to me what his company does, he went on to explain his role within the company and what he does there. . He holds a position as a software developer and works primarily on the front-end design of their web applications, as well as systemslegacy without maintenance. It is also helping move towards microservices in Python hosted on lambda or otherwise known as map and filter in Python. They are trying to focus on creating single-function modules with well-defined interfaces and operations. This will make changes to the application and is ideal for messaging enabled, self-developed and independently deployed. Currently in Granular all the infrastructure is kept in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and they use cloud front and terraform to maintain it. Its project team averages six to twelve people, but currently has five developers, two quality assurance (QA), one delivery lead, one product lead, and one manager. It is currently working on moving its data processors from .NET 4.7.2 to .NET Core. In other words, they are currently using an app that uses third-party .NET libraries or NuGet packages that are not available for .NET Core. They are looking to move to .NET Core because they need cross-platform, microservice targeting, Docker containers, and scalable, high-performance systems. It's also working on building an enterprise-wide feature that handles every time something is flagged. This part is what he likes the most since he is creating a flag app that he needs to learn about Kubernetes, which is an open source system for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Kubernetes breaks down the groups of containers that make up your application into logical units for easy management and discovery. Some of the languages, technologies and tools it uses are AWS, – Runscope, Jenkins, Gitlab – Python, JavaScript, Transport Stream, Java, C# and terraform. It's fascinating all the different types of languages ​​and technologies it uses and how I'm learning Python right now, which can ultimately help me. A typical day for Adam will work, checking his emails and making sure the systems are green. Then he goes for coffee or Monster, starts coding, stretches his legs, continues coding, has an occasional meeting, then eats together with lunch and snacks. Afterwards, continue coding and peer planning, then go home for the day. To do his job, the skills Adam finds most important are the ability to solve problems, debug effectively, the ability to document and communicate clearly, and an enthusiasm to contribute to his team and his company. Adam had many opinions on what would be important for me to consider when ethically pursuing a career in this field. First, he told me to make sure my code was well documented and to give credit if I use someone else's code. Also, he told me to make sure I check the patents for an idea I might have because someone else might already have a patent on it. Finally, if I ever wonder if the logistics of a problem are being resolved ethically, I should definitely take the time to make sure they ultimately are. When asked what he likes most about his job, he said he loves programming and that's what he does all day. He also likes the way his company takes care of him by providing him with lunch and snacks every day. Adam recognizes the drawbacks of his job, such as the fact that there is no onboarding where new employees gain the knowledge, skills and behaviors needed to become effective members of the organization. So the process of integrating new employees into the company is not as good as it could be. He also doesn't like the fact that there is no acid test for learning and improving apps, where he puts himself to the test.