Database programmer with background in applied mathematics

Who is the main applicant?

(Wife). We are equal, but for official purposes he is.

Why did you apply for immigration?

Professional growth, better money, friendly society, peace and stability, clean environment, new horizons… and education and opportunities for Dasha

Have you been to Canada before?

I’ve been thinking of Canada for years, and the more I learn the more certain I am we’ll integrate easily, both socially and professionally.

Tell me about your travels.

I stayed in Hungary for two years when I served in the Soviet Army. We visited Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt as a tourist.

I would like to hear more about your army service.

I served as a private from 82 to 84. I served in the artillery. My specialization was auto and truck repair. I learned all phases of car repair, including full engine and transmission overhaul.

What’s you destination in Canada?

We are presently considering several options. Toronto is the business center of the country, and offers more opportunities. On the other hand, we want to live in a smaller and quieter community. A small university town, like Guelph or Kitchener or Brockville, of those I heard of, may be about right. Our first priority is work but I don’t think Toronto or Montreal are good places for raising children. The Maritimes is a nice region but from what I hear the economy there is not well developed. No British Columbia because it is too popular, too unsettled, and too expensive.

How will you look for a job?

Through recruiting agencies, newspapers, internet databases… Most importantly, I will tell everyone I’m looking for a job. Please take a few copies of my resume and pass them around. Call me about your computer and especially your database problems. I will be glad to have the embassy as my first Canadian client.

Where did you receive you education?

I graduated from the Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics in 1990. My specialization is applied mathematics.

My graduating project was mathematical modeling of roll and ball bearing loads. The aim of this project was to replace long and costly experiments with a computer program.

Do you have any additional training?

I periodically attend training. I am a MS certified systems engineer. I also have Cisco training. Upgrading professional skills both formally through courses and on my own is part of my work.

What do you presently do?

I’m a database programmer. I’m responsible for the design, creation, and maintenance of the corporate database.

Who do you work for?

I work for the XXXXX Customs Terminal.

What kind of an organization is that?

XXXXX is a large company that supplies materials to almost all major construction companies in Moscow.

How long have you been working there?

For three years.

Let’s talk about the database design. How do you go about setting up a database?

First, you create the business model. It is normally done by a business analyst.

Second, develop the mathematical model of your business. It is done in the computer-aided system engineering environment, such as the CASE system. It allows documenting inter-relations between entities.

Third, create your data tables. That’s the core of your database. MS SQL server graphic interface is normally used to do that.

These tables, however, are hard to access without a system of indexes and query tools.

So, you next step is to create these. These are also developed in MS SQL. To debug queries you use Query Analyzer.

Now you feed some real data and see what happens. Go back to your tables and search tools to refine them to fit the actual data.

Another good test before going any further is for the capacity to process large volumes of data. Sometimes a database works well but after a certain volume of data is reached it completely changes its character. Now, feeding real data is not realistic, so we resort to generating a lot of fake but credible data. For that use Data Transformation Services of the SQL server.

The final step is to create the user interface to make it easy and pleasant to access the data. MS Access or Visual Basic are used for that.

A wise programmer will also do something to prevent the user from accessing the data directly. Users should use the user interface and nothing but. This can be done with either on the client or on the server side. It is better to do everything on the server side. The client side only represent the data.

Automatic data backup, system integrity and performance monitoring, and access control are some of the nice features to have.

List your duties and responsibilities at XXXXXX.

The total number of employees at the Customs Terminal over 100. The number of computers is 80. At one time we have about 10 thousand storage units, with 3 thousand entering or leaving the gate daily.

There are three computer people there. One takes care of the routine service and maintenance. The other one administer the network. My job is the database that tracks the movement of products and documents.

My duties, therefore, are whatever it takes to keep the database working reliably, to modify to fit new types of products or new document flow procedures, and to ensure data safety and integrity.

I regularly communicate with system uses to collect their feedback.

I work very closely with my colleagues because my distributed database places a high load on the computer network.

I have no list of duties as such. I have a job to keep the database working. If it does, I can sit there doing nothing. But actually, I spend this time doing preventative maintenance, looking and fixing bottlenecks, and otherwise optimizing the system. Or reading technical literature, experimenting, thinking…