 Sandee Jeffers
Group Leader
Southwest Research Institute
San Antonio, TX
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 B.S. - Computer
Science/Math, Trinity University
M.S. - Computer
Science, University of Texas- San Antonio (UTSA) |
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Group leader for the
software section, coordinating software development efforts and
focusing on supporting space scientists in their studies. |
 
"In my job now, I probably say it's probably around 50 percent management,
50 percent still I do technical work. I still sit at the terminal. I still
write computer programs. I still design and develop software, but 50
percent of the time is personnel issues, managing, reviewing other
people's work, reviewing documents, writing documents, whatever may be
necessary to get the job done."
"It takes a routine. Getting the kids and the whole family in a routine
and balancing out. When I'm at work I try to forget about home issues and
concentrate on work. And there's a time to concentrate on home issues when
I'm at home or on my lunch hour or whatever the case may be. And it
really, I think, requires both parties - the husband and the wife - to
work together as a team."
Sandee Jeffers of the Southwest Research Institute faces two main
challenges and they both involve people. As Group Leader for a section
that develops software principally for space scientists, she spends fifty
percent of her time managing, "taking care of personnel issues, reviewing
other people's work, reviewing documents, writing documents, whatever may
be necessary to get the job done."
At work she not only handles the concerns of her group members but also
those of her clients. Jeffers explains, "One of the first phases of a
project is preparing the requirements analysis." The problem she
encounters is that "space scientists don't always know what they want."
But until those requirements are established, "you really don't know how
to direct efforts, how to split things up, how to start on the job and get
the job done." So the biggest challenge at work has turned out not to be
technical but human. She has had to develop the interpersonal skills to
get "the requirements written down so that everybody understands them and
everybody agrees that that really is what is needed." In the process, she
has discovered some new things about herself: "I like dealing with
people."
The second challenge Jeffers faces is balancing work and family life. With
three children at home, including an infant, it is difficult to maintain a
routine. Jeffers preserves her sanity by keeping the two sides of her life
separate. "When I'm at work, I try to forget about home issues and
concentrate on work. There's a time to concentrate on home issues when I'm
at home or on my lunch hour." She feels fortunate that her employer allows
people to have flexible hours whenever possible. As long as the work gets
done, supervisors do not watch the clock. But sometimes it is not possible
to be flexible, such as when "there's a meeting at eight o'clock that I
need to be here for." For family life to succeed, Jeffers concludes, "it
requires both parties, the husband and the wife, to work together as a
team."
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