CI7900 Reflective Essay Brief Sample 2023
INTRODUCTION
In this essay, a reflection has been provided catering for an individual’s experiences all through the internship period. The reflective essay is quite essential as it focuses on the respective developments for an individual. The internship period offers an individual to explore and as well as develop all the aspects that include personal and professional development. I, Anisha Maria Thomas, a graduate trainee, were provided with an offer to complete my internship in the company of “AKHITECH”. I was offered the position of “data engineer”. This reflective essay will focus on my learnings as well as experiences that I have acknowledged in this entire internship period.
PERSONAL ANALYSIS
Personal analysis is quite essential in respect to effective evaluation of experiences of oneself (Moon et al. 2018). In order to make a proper analysis of the experiences, a model of the “Gibbs reflective Cycle” has been explored. Application of this cycle I have acknowledged the significant difference between personal and professional development. I have successfully understood the importance of the role of a “data engineer” within a company. “Gibbs reflective Cycle” with its successive stages provides a detailed assessment of experiences acknowledged which includes ‘description’, ‘feelings’, ‘evaluation’, ‘analysis’, ‘conclusion’, ‘action plans’ (Adeani et al. 2020). The very first stage deals with ‘description’, which focuses on providing a brief description of the experiences an individual had.
Ineffectively describing my experiences, I would like to shed light on the roles and responsibilities of a data engineer, I have acknowledged. In my internship period, I worked on “data architecture” by proper usage of a “systematic approach” in order to make a plan. In addition to this, I have created and maintained data and have well-conducted research on the issues that arose while handling several problems related to business. Proper handling of issues is quite difficult as well as the data collection process (Ranalli et al. 2018). In order to maintain these roles properly one needs to be quite good at his or her communication skills as well as needs to know how to engage its audience thereby enhancing the level of performance (Atadero et al. 2018). In the logbook, I have also mentioned the fact that a continuous learning process is quite essential as well as building up a “data pipeline”.
The step that follows ‘description’ is the stage of ‘feelings’, which caters to focus on the respective feeling an individual has experienced on the ongoing process of a project (Sekarwinahyu et al. 2019). Feelings are quite essential as they provide a notion of enthusiasm to the respective individual in his working process. If I have to discuss my feelings, I would first say that I was quite enthusiastic at the beginning of my internship period. This is because I had no practical experiences earlier and was excited about learning new things. During the period of internship, I also faced several problems and with optimism have tried to resolve those. In doing this my head helped me and also appreciated it.
The stage of ‘evaluation’ is of necessity as it will provide an insight to the individual of whether the experiences are good or bad with respect to the individual. This stage also provides an acknowledgement of how good or bad the experiences are, and this further will help an individual to take up difficult responsibilities actively (Ibrahima et al. 2018). In evaluating my experiences, I would say that my experiences both included good as well as bad moments. Moreover, when I started making communications with my peers, I faced language barriers issues. I also felt alienated when I was unable to resolve the issues. On the other, I have good experiences when I got knowledge about et respective areas that includes, “data ingestion”, “data analytics”, “data transformation” and as well as “making of business intelligence reports” with the usage of “cloud technologies” such as “AWS or Microsoft Azure”.
“Analysis stage” helps in providing an explanation of the situations experienced throughout a certain period with which an individual can make sense of his or her experiences (Dressler et al. 2018). Here, I will provide the reasons which supported me to conduct this internship period successfully. The first reason is that my leader was quite responsible and properly coordinated me through all my activities. He provided me with ample help and also showed me how to fulfil the roles and responsibilities of a data engineer. Peers were also supportive although I figured out that I need to work on my issues related to communication that including issues associated with language barriers. The next step is that of ‘conclusion’, which helps in properly describing what happened all through the process (Wang, 2020). The period of internship for me had been quite essential and effective as it provided me with several practical knowledge of truly being a data engineer.
This internship provided me with several situations which made me acknowledge that the role of a data engineer is quite important but on top of that one needs to have other qualities in order to properly work within an organization. One needs to maintain their personal and professional life separated. Moreover, one needs also to focus on their respective level of performance and efficiency and also should focus on the continuous learning process (Atadero et al. 2018). This is because the advancement of technology taking place and if not followed properly may lead to delay in conducting the project and as well will tend to lower the efficiency level.
The step for an “action plan” is quite essential in evaluating an experience as this provides a better insight into one’s strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, it also assists an individual in the near future, by providing him or her with a proper plan of action that will help in effectively eliminating the difficulties (Constantinou et al. 2020). In addition, this stage is effective in helping the individual with proper management of time (Skirpan et al. 2018). I have acknowledged that I need to focus on my leadership aspects and will learn to make a better management of time.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
All through the entire period of this internship, I have learned several things on the aspects of my previous theoretical and also added up several practical knowledge while working in “AKHITECH”. In making an assessment of my personal development in this company I have learnt how to work by effectively cooperating with my peers and at the same time with my seniors. Moreover, I have also learned how to maintain a proper balance of my own work and teamwork. I was quite inspired by the implementation of effective leadership by my seniors and thereby also learned how to properly coordinate with their respective teams.
In addition to this, I have also learned how to apply several management tools and make effective use of them in order to manage the entire team. Thereby focusing on both the professional and personal development of individuals present within the team and also helping them to eradicate their issues. Furthermore, this has helped the team members to enrich their performance and lead to better management of time (Meyer and Dykes, 2018). It is also acknowledged how to maintain a healthier and better working environment and also to maintain cultural aspects (Marshall, 2019). Working within the institution made me acknowledge how to maintain a positive environment for the team as well as how to maintain a better connection among the team members.
Moreover, I was quite lucky to have got a chance to gather practical knowledge as a data engineer within a respected business institution. On the professional level, acknowledgement has been made of how an individual needs to maintain his or her professionality within a workplace (Deveci and Nunn, 2018). In addition to this, I was quite honoured as I have successfully accomplished the activities that were allocated to me. From day one, I have focussed on activities, learning and properly maintaining my roles and responsibilities as a data engineer. The first week, I had given my focus more on learning my responsibilities from my manager who successively introduced me to ‘Linux’. In the second week, I started learning and as well revised by commands on lining the basics that included “logging to respective account”, “command structure” with that of “Linux manuals and the man utility”.
In the second week, I have focussed on learning the “Linux environment” that successively includes “UNIX shell game”, ‘bash’ and “shell variables”. In addition to this, I also have learned how to choose the right path as well as create several new groups. Moreover, this led me to develop both my personal and professional skills. It is said that the better an individual with his or her own skills the more efficient that individual is in maintaining roles and responsibilities (Whalen et al. 2018). Furthermore, it is also acknowledged that with better skill, one can handle any difficult situation with ease and better management of time (Bornasal et al. 2018). In addition to this, I have learnt that better management of time provides one with more advantages and opportunities within a work culture.
Furthermore, I can say that I have had a remarkable experience all through this internship maintaining a position of a data engineer. I have developed my skills and knowledge in order to become an effective potential data engineer. Moreover, I have also learned how to use several pieces of several software and how to conduct research effectively. I was quite successful in developing and creating better models with the proper identification of patterns. I have also learned how to extract historical insights from descriptive models which are required for “data aggregation”. I have successively learnt to build up a “data ingestion pipeline”. All of this practical knowledge is indispensable in my life as these professional skills and experience will enhance my future aspects. In addition to this, I will perform better in my future prospects and that will help me develop my action plans to eradicate problems with ease.
CULTURAL ASPECTS
In this entire internship period, as a data engineer, in the company of “AKHILTECH” which was founded by a team of “Data analytics and Cloud Solutions Architecture”, which aims at providing help to 500 customers in transforming their technology, I was really pleased with my experiences that I have collected. Moreover, I felt the importance of this gained practical experience which will support me in future on an immense level. Although it’s quite a short period of time, for effective learning all the activities related to “working on data architecture”, “collection of data”, “building of data pipeline” and “creation of models and identification of patterns”, this learning was quite essential in developing a promising future (Lynch et al. 2018). I am quite grateful that my hard work and seriousness at work has made me achieve my degree.
Cultural aspects are quite essential while working in any institution as it contributes to developing one’s character and personality and thereby strengthen them from inside. Moreover, in an organization too, certain cultures are prevalent that constitutes uniqueness to the business organization (Zhang and Qin, 2018). The culture of a business organization promotes several aspects of ‘values’, ‘traditions’ that are maintained within the institutions, ‘beliefs’, “quality interactions”. In addition to this work also contributes to several ‘behaviours’ that are to be maintained within the business organization to promote its values as well as ‘attitudes’ that needs to be maintained properly within the business firm (Ullmann, 2019). All these aspects together help an organization to maintain a better and a positive environment within the office arena and thereby also attracts talented people, “drives engagements”. Moreover, it also helps in developing a “satisfactory environment” which has been gradually developed due to positive impacts at work (Celepkolu and Boyer, 2018).
Through the period of internship, I have successively developed a lot of experience in working within the company of “AKHILTECH”. Working here I have learnt how to maintain the team together and I have learnt of the need of listening to everyone’s opinion present in the team. This is because this allows an individual to take up more appropriate decisions related to present circumstances. In addition to this, I also have acknowledged that while maintaining the duty of as an engineer I have made certain mistakes. Later I felt the need to take up certain resolutions which were advised by my seniors and as a result, it made me acknowledge how to easily resolve those issues. I have also learned how to respect my peers with their respective cultures. I have given all my efforts in accomplishing all my allocated tasks and thereby achieving the respective goals of the company.
Working in this company I have evidenced a better, motivated and positive working culture as my peers as well as the seniors were quite cooperative. The culture within the business organization was strong and bold with optimism and that resulted in developing potential individuals. Optimism within the institution was so effective that it created an everlasting impact on me as well as being influenced by work.
SELF-EVATUATION
The term “self-evaluation” is quite essential in respect to an individual in their lives, as it provides an insight into what one has achieved over a certain period of time. The achievement cab refers to both the professional level as well on the personal level (Costin et al. 2018). Moreover, the effective assessment of an individual provides him or her with proper acknowledgement of their respective weaknesses and strengths. Furthermore, it also helps in providing an individual to take up proper decisions and as well work on their loopholes (Ripamonti et al. 2018). In making a “self-assessment” for myself I have understood that it is quite hard, but thereafter I have compared my previous accomplishments with that of my present accomplishments. This made me realize that I have considerable issues related to “effective management of time”.
I have also understood my strengths lies in the fact of rapid and quality processes of learning and as well I have better adaptive qualities and the rest of my peers. This helped me in better acknowledgement of situations and complex processes with ease. I was able to conduct better planning and as well have careful effective patterns and models that will help in transforming the technologies used by our clients. I have also noted that time management is my weakness at certain points in time hindered my job and delayed the entire process of developing. I figured out that I need to learn better-communicating processes that will help me to make active and engaging conversations both with the cleanest as well as the team members.
WORK ACTIVITIES
Several activities have been acknowledged in the entire period of internship as a “data engineer” within the company. In addition to this, the company is quite successful in designing a proper set of activities that will help an individual to build itself who has been conducting through this process (Hess et al. 2019). Furthermore, the individual who is working as an intern will successively acknowledge the roles and responsibilities that the concerned individual needs to follow and maintain inefficiently playing its role (Wijirahayu et al. 2019). Being a “data engineer”, in the first phases of my joining I have successively learnt about the role and duties of many concerned with my position. Gradually I have acknowledged how to perform in order to enrich myself on both the terms of professional and personal aspects.
A proper set of activities has been prepared within the company, which will provide the intern to understand the focus of the company. Moreover, the company has also mentioned in the offer letter what they will focus on in the entire time period of the internship. The company intends to focus on developing “code to data ingestion”, “data transformation”, “data analytics” for its respective clients. For the interns, for every week certain “key activities” are allocated for gaining a quality experience for this period of internship. In the beginning, I have introduced to ‘Linux’. “commands over line basics”. In Addition to this, I have learnt how to design the data projects as well the conducting of effective reflection of the “ELT approach”.
In the sixteenth week, I have learnt how to set up and deploy several “cloud-based” data services that include “blob services”, ‘databases’ and ‘analytics’. In addition to this, I have also followed five stages in designing the client’s projects and also have implemented “ELT operations and working” based on the holistic workflow. In later weeks I have successively revisited my works and also revised my precious work before final submission. In conducting research, I have used previous knowledge and made proper documentation of the information that I have collected while conducting research.
I have provided in making the processes of research effective and have taken quality notes on that and used effective models in conducting the processes of data collection. Moreover, I have gathered considerable knowledge about the “automation of data pipelines”, “setting up of Broker URLs”. I have learned about the “elastic search HTTP-basic”, “tackling results for Apache Nifi”, “process control”, “shell scripting” and many more.
CONCLUSION
An in-depth study has been successively made which explores the respective experiences that I as a trainee had all through my internship period as a “data engineer” in the company of “AKHILTECH”. Here, during my internship period, I have successively learned the respective roles and responsibilities of a “data engineer”. I have acknowledged that although theoretical knowledge is essential but practical knowledge is equally important in order to work within a company. In order to make a better understanding of my experiences as a “data engineer”, I have used theories such as “Gibbs reflective Cycle”.
Moreover, the respective six stages of this cycle helped to make a proper assessment of my experiences that I have recorded in a “logbook” during the ongoing internship. On the other hand, I have successively developed on a professional level and gained more practical knowledge. In the beginning, I faced certain difficulties in handling teamwork as I had no such experiences but gradually over time, I have learnt to make better communication among my peers.
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