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Case Study

Name: Nancy Akl
Position: Analyst Programmer
Company: Wespine Industries
Qualifications: Bachelor of Computer Science – Computer Technology with First Class Honours
Age: 25

What is a typical day for an Analyst Programmer?
Usually I start off in the office and review our software to see if it is continuing to meet the requirements of the business. If when assessing a business need, I find an area that needed to be improved, I talk to the users and discuss exactly what new systems they require, work on that system, develop it, test it out, come out on site and install it.
The day is varied; I get to go in and out of the office, which is an aspect of my job that I really enjoy.

How does your job make a positive impact on the industry?
Compared to other IT jobs, this one is very practical and hands on. You deal with the people directly and you see how your program affects them and you’re able to be onsite when needed.
That’s definitely one of the benefits; you can talk to people directly and not be sitting in your office all day. Being on site also means responding to issues that arise a lot quicker and being able to facilitate what the workers are trying to achieve. It also provides real time feedback and a lot of reporting and information that we couldn’t of otherwise gotten, so in that way I can actually see what I do making a difference. 

Do you enjoy living locally?
Life in Bunbury is very relaxed and enjoyable. It’s nice to be right on the ocean where everything is readily available. To be able to work in IT in a small town and not have to move to a big city is a positive about the industry. 
The city lifestyle’s nice if you want to go shopping, clubbing or to concerts but because we’re not too far from Perth, it’s easy to do such things on a weekend or day trip. 
Travelling is also something which appeals, and being in the timber industry I know a lot of people who have been able to travel nationally and even internationally to other mills or other suppliers of equipment, so you do get a chance to travel and see other areas of the world.
 
Please note: We spoke to Nancy about her career and what she does day to day. We hope you find this useful and interesting – but please remember, that all jobs are not exactly the same and other roles with the same title may be different in many respects. You should confirm all the details of a particular job with the organisation offering it.