Career Profiles:
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Kevin Ling
1. What is a brief description of your job?
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My formal job title is Multimedia Specialist. And what I do is help out with the technical support for the company in audio/visual, and do set-up for presentations, and work on slides, LCD's, and I also do recommendations for purchasing new equipment and to replace the old or obsolete.
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2. Where did you grow up?
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I was born and raised in Cambodia, and I immigrated to the United States in 1980. I've been living in California since then.
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3. What training and degrees do you hold? What were the specific
areas of study?
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I got my undergraduate degree in film studies at UC Santa Barbara. And mainly my training is in film productions and film theory.
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5. What is the minimum training that is required for your job?
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The minimum training for a Multimedia Specialist would be a basic knowledge of film production or video production, and some sort of a technical background, current technology such as digital technology and where it's headed.
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6. How many years of study are typically needed to acquire the
training for your job?
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To be a Multimedia Specialist it would require at least one to two years of study.
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7. What percentage of an average day is spent using your
training?
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On a given day I would go out and do customer service out in the field helping on technical support company wide. And as far as video editing goes, that's very sparse. I would say 30% of the time I would do that.
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8. What science education, if any, is useful in your field?
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As a Multimedia Specialist it doesn't hurt to have some sort of a science background. It would help but it's not needed or required.
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9. What general work skills do you use on a daily basis?
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On an average day the type of skills that you need to operate as a Multimedia Specialist would be technical skills and ability to solve problems on a spontaneous basis and be able to handle multiple tasks.
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10. Are you working in isolation or with a team of co-workers or
subordinates?
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You work with a customer out in the field and try to help them on a trouble shoot. So most of the time I'm out on the field and there are times I work as a team when I come back into the office and help out on the service desk.
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11. What are your working conditions? Dress codes? Environment
(Indoor or Outdoor)?
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As a Multimedia Specialist the working conditions are mainly out of the office, into a seminar, which is indoor. There is no dress code. It's mainly jeans and t-shirts, and boots.
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12. What is the biggest challenge you face in your field?
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As a Multimedia Specialist the biggest challenge is to be able to handle multiple tasks and do trouble shoots spontaneously.
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13. What is the most rewarding experience in your field?
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The most rewarding experience in my field as a Multimedia Specialist is to be able to help people in a difficult situation and to be part of their work and knowing that you helped them succeed , or helped them to solve a problem is very important.
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14. How did your interest in your field develop?
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My interest in my field as a Multimedia Specialist developed when I was back in high school. I was very involved in art, and technology andcomputer graphics, and I decided to go with the film degree at UC Santa Barbara.
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15. What did you want to be in high school?
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What I wanted to be in high school is to be able to produce film and hopefully someday I will be doing that.
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16. Was school easy or hard for you then, and did you like it?
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I think I had the most fun when I was in high school because we had a media department where we were able to produce videos and put on a show and that became sort of like a training ground for my college career.
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17. Are you doing now what you expected to do when you finished
school?
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Not exactly. I wasn't expecting to work for a biotech company but what I found out when I came to Genentech is a need for this type of work. And to be able to combine art and science together, that's very interesting that we can work together and do that.
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18. What advice do you have for students interested in your field?
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The advice I would have for students who are interested in doing multimedia work would--I would encourage them to do some reading about the technology, and digital technology, because digital technology is here and it's going to stay for a very, very long time.
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19. Beginning with high school, what science courses do you
recommend to prepare for your field?
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The type of science courses that I would recommend for students who are interested in becoming a Multimedia Specialist to work here at Genentech. I would take some sort of biology courses or life science courses in high school or college.
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20. How is the future projection for jobs in this career? Do you
forsee an increase in demand in the future?
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In the future I foresee a high demand in multimedia work in a biotech company or a non biotech company. There's always a need for in-house production or some sort of a media department because it's very cost effective to have in-house.
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21. Do you use the Internet on a daily basis? If so, how?
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I do use internet on a daily basis to gather secondary research on equipment and for references, and for bridging, or for finding [new sources and new ways of doing things.
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22. With regard to your profession, which web sites do you
recommend for students interested in your field?
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What I would recommend for a website for a student interested in multimedia work would be a website such as Media 100 website or Avid's, and a tdigital technology type of website that would help them understand more about the digital technology.
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