Are you a curious person who wants to know what the workday is like for other people? If you struggled with picking a major in college, looking for some new inside knowledge, or are just curious about what life is like as part of the American workforce then this blog post will be perfect for you. In this post we’ll explore the day-to-day that an employee of a Saas supplier goes through. While a job in software development has its challenges and benefits, working in an office environment presents its own unique set of challenges.
1. Are you a curious person who wants to know what the workday is like for other people?
If you struggled with picking a major in college, looking for some new inside knowledge, or are just curious about what life is like as part of the American workforce then this blog post will be perfect for you. In this post we’ll explore the day-to-day that an employee of a Saas supplier goes through. While a job in software development has its challenges and benefits, working in an office environment presents its own unique set of challenges.
2. Introduction
One of our Saas suppliers is an Amazon Web Services (AWS) like arizonabased saas 27m altos ventures Partner with their own data center, website and a small production team. After speaking with the Engineer who works there this is the first part in a series of articles that will take you through each stage of his development day. This first article will cover getting from home to work and checking in with our receptionist on the way to his desk at 8:00am .
For those who aren’t familiar with the American work culture, this post will give you some insight into what day-to-day life is like.
3. Getting from home to work
The Engineer drives a car to work every day and walks into the office building. Our receptionist is one of his favorite things and he greets her with a smile and a “Good Morning”.
4. On the way to his desk
This first part covers walking through the office lobby, passing by all the other engineers, and greeting his colleagues as he enters the common room and sits down at his desk. We’ll continue tomorrow with covering how he spends most of his time when working.
5. Checking his inbox
10:00am – As our Engineer works on his task list, he checks his email and replies to any urgent messages. Electronic mail has been around for a long time, but it’s still a crucial part of our daily lives. It stores a part of us like an online photo album, where we can see if someone is thinking about us. For the Engineer, he uses email to communicate with his clients, coworkers and other employees. We’re going to continue this guide tomorrow with what the engineer does during his day when he gets down to work in earnest.
6. The Morning Tea and Lunch Starts
11:00am – The Engineer sips some tea and opens a couple of emails. There’s no specific time for lunch, but it usually happens around now. What if you work near a supermarket? Just go get something to eat and then come back to work. It’s not a big deal. If you were working in an office in Japan, it would be more difficult because there aren’t many places for you to eat nearby, plus it would take too much time.
7. The Morning Meeting
2:00pm – Around this time, the Engineer runs into his boss for a meeting about what he’ll be working on during the rest of the day. In the meeting, he learns about any urgent tasks or things he needs to take care of by himself. He doesn’t have time for personal meetings at this stage, but he does meet with each coworker individually throughout the day to discuss and prioritize what they need to work on that day.
8. Lunch and News
The Engineer has lunch at around 2:00pm and heads to his office. The human body isn’t like a computer, where you can set it up so that it only works when you want it to. He can’t live without working for eight hours straight, which is why he takes a break after lunch and reads the news in the meantime.
9. Chores in the Office
When it comes to chores, there are never enough hands to go around, so our Engineer spends some time helping out other groups with their tasks from time to time. From answering questions to offering advice or just helping out as needed, he doesn’t mind taking care of that kind of work at all.
10. Heading back home
6:00pm – The Engineer works through dinner because he has no set schedule when it comes to eating meals. He finishes up around 6:30pm, which is enough time for him to eat and head home. If you work from home, then you’re free to work until your heart’s content.
11. Checking in with his roommates
After a day of work, the Engineer heads home to his apartment and checks in with his roommates. It’s not necessary to visit every other day but it happens pretty regularly. They don’t spend much time talking about what they did or what they have planned for the day unless there’s something that happened that needs attention as a group.
12. Dinner and a Shower
The Engineer takes his time eating dinner because there’s no rush and he showers after he comes home.
13. Lights out
After taking a shower, the Engineer goes to sleep right away because he needs his rest. The human body is just like the computer, without any rest it’ll slow down when it’s doing hard work. That being said, if you have something that needs to be done quickly, going straight to sleep isn’t your best bet. You might want to try a different approach where you work through all night with plenty of breaks in between so that you can keep your mind from wandering off somewhere else entirely.
