>> John: Hi.
My name is John Magyar.
I'm a Division Manager with District Photo.
I've been with District Photo for over
6 years now, but I previously worked
with in photo finishing for the last 30 years.
>> Interviewer: Can you tell us
a little bit about your story?
How did you get into this
industry or career field?
>> John: Right out of college, I needed a summer
job because I was going into the military,
and I started working in a
photo finishing operation.
After I got done with my military
thing, they brought me back.
I've been in photo finishing ever since.
>> Interviewer: Can you describe
what being a Division Manager means?
What do you do on a regular basis?
>> John: Well Division Manager...
what I do for Division Manager is I
manage basically 3 shifts of production.
We run around the clock.
We do the...
We print photographic prints from Internet
sites, print millions of prints a day, you know,
for customers, a variety of
customers, and a variety of companies.
>> Interviewer: What do you love about your job?
>> John: I love the interaction
of technology and people.
>> Interviewer: So do you have to do a lot of
research to stay up with the new technologies
that you guys can use or new equipment?
>> John: The technology is actually key.
It's actually some of that can stay on.
Some of it is actually forced on, you have
to keep up with to remain competitive.
>> Interviewer: What are some
of the challenges that you face?
>> John: Some of the challenges is...
the day-to-day challenges is making sure
that we produce a very good quality product
for our customers and turn
it around in a timely manner.
>> Interviewer: And how do you like
monitor the quality of your products?
>> John: We...
A lot of it is done through systems.
We put our systems in place
where operators can...
We minimize the chance of mistakes.
We have a QC department that does an excellent
job of checking all our chemical and printing
and setting and make sure
our technical quality...
our machines stay up technically
and [inaudible] all the time.
Then we require our operators
to maintain their own quality.
>> Interviewer: What does
it take to be successful?
>> John: To be successful, I think number
one, you have to be people-focused,
you have to be a good people manager, treat
people fairly, fairly and consistently,
and then number two is, which is getting to
be important, very important also to skills,
is to have a technical background.
>> Interviewer: So what kind of
technical background would you suggest
for preparing, you know, for your kind of job?
>> John: The technical background,
obviously computer, very skilled in computer,
and not only the PC's, but also get some
experience in programming, that type of skill,
and also then you'll just get some hands on
skills in just the nature of the machinery
and the business itself,
the printers we have to use
and the customized equipment
we have to use in training.
>> Interviewer: Great.
Any type of college major you would suggest?
>> John: College major?
Definitely business, definitely a business major
would fit in to this to understand the nature
of the business because it is a business.
It's a profit driven business and decisions
are, you know, gear around the provident
of the business, and also manufacturing,
ok, training in manufacturing quality.
>> Interviewer: What are your hours like?
Time in the office versus out of the office?
Do you get to work from home at all?
>> John: No I don't get to work from home.
Most of my time is in the office.
Most of my days from like 8 to 5, but depends.
It can be longer depending on what's going on.
>> Interviewer: Do you get to travel at all?
>> John: I used to travel
a lot in previous jobs.
I don't like travelling so I try minimizing
it, but yes, I do get to travel sometimes.
>> Interviewer: Any final advice for
someone interested in your career field?
>> John: Final advice would be...
would it be to start in as a, you know, as
a supervisor or lower level type manager
and work your way up through the lines after
you come out of, you know, college or...
>> Interviewer: Great.
Thank you for your time.