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Sometimes we hear people think that Skype is a rockstar-only company and that you must have three PhD-s to work here. This is most certainly NOT the case. Many of us are just starting their career or are here for the summer as interns. This is also true for Steve, today’s featured staff, who came to Skype as part of a student exchange program.

Download this interview as [MP3](http://download.skype.com/share/audio/stevezhang.mp3) or [OGG](http://download.skype.com/share/audio/stevezhang.ogg) (length 4:22).

]]>Just to do something fun and different, Steve was using the Pocket PC version of Skype while I was on a PC, so that explains why the sound is a bit different from the other interviews.

**This is an interview with Steve, who’s working in Skype’s customer support. The first question I’d like to ask you is, where are you from and what were you doing before you joined Skype?**

OK. I’m from Canada, Eastern Canada. I’m a second-year student in Electrical Engineering in the University of Toronto. I’m here as a trainee for the summer for three months. Actually, this is a summer job for me.

**Did you have any contact with Skype before you were asked or invited to join?**

No. I first heard of Skype after I received this offer. I applied through this IAESTE, which is an international training program which places students from universities to other countries, so I applied through this program and got this offer. So now I know what Skype is.

**Let’s talk a bit about your work as Skype customer support representative. What exactly do you have to do there and what areas do you handle?**

OK. I basically reply customers’ emails. The department I handle is the general department and feedback department. So I answer e-mails from customers in those two departments, and basically I do fairly general work.

**What would your average day be like? Are there any differences between days during the week or for any other reasons?**

I think there is not much difference. I think every day is a routine and it’s the same, so I reply like 80-90 e-mails per day and that’s basically the routine.

**Do you remember from the feedback that we’re getting — I know myself that we’re getting tons of feedback — so are there any funny or strange stories that you have received that you’d like to outline here?**

Actually no. They are fairly general feedbacks. Like such and such wants to add this or that kind of function. So I keep them in the feedback department so in the future anybody could look at them.

**Let’s talk about your own Skype use. So you as a Skype user. Do you use it yourself a lot? Do you talk to let’s say friends or family or colleagues?**

Yes, I do. Since I’m in Tallinn, I use Skype to communicate with my family in Canada. So I do use Skype a lot. I make SkypeOut calls all the time, and I like this piece of software. The connection is very good and the prices are cheap, so I do like this a lot. I also like the Skype PC-to-PC calls because it’s free and the connection is very good, the sound is very clear.

**How would you comment on Skype as a company? How does it feel to work here? How is your team and other colleagues? Did you have any expectations when you came here?**

Actually no because I haven’t worked a lot in this kind of companies because I’m only a student so I’m only in a learning stage. So this I can’t quite comment. But from my personal point of view, I like the way Skype is. Everything is quite flexible and people manage their times on their own schedule and everything is not very strict, which gives people an easy atmosphere to work and people can feel at home when they are at work, so that’s what I like about Skype. So I feel very happy and relaxed when working and this way I can even work better.

**What is your future plan after you graduate this Electrical Engineering? Do you already have a vision of where you would like to work as a career?**

For me personally, I am interested in law and politics, so I will probably go to a law school.