Turning 50 – An IT Journey
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| Photo by Kendall Scott on Unsplash |
What an interesting and amazing ride with lots of twist and
turns! As I reflect on my career, I
wanted to focus on the people who provided my greatest “Ah Ha” moments.
I attended the University of South Carolina (Go Gamecocks!) and
graduated with an Information Systems degree. My first job was with Computer
Sales & Services in Columbia, South Carolina. The job focused on selling
computers, networking, services, and accessories to corporate accounts across
the state. Though It was a small company, I worked with many great people who illustrated
how to balance work and life. The owner of the company offered a bit of advice;
master the hard part of your job and the rest becomes easy. Success will ultimately follow. What great
advice! Implementing this mindset has served me well in my career.
The next stop on my career journey was with a company called
PC Genius. It was a small local computer training company in Columbia
where I sold the training to corporate accounts. I mostly sold Microsoft Office
application training. One of my corporate clients was Seibels; an
insurance processing company. Calling on corporate accounts and interacting
with different corporate cultures taught me to always keep my eye out for
potential job opportunities.
One of those opportunities was a job at Seibels. I went
from selling to supporting at a large company with ~750 employees and had
legit data center infrastructure. My new job was in telecommunications. I was anxious
about the career change, but took the job anyway. As in most IT jobs; I took a risk and it furthered
my career.
Moving to
telecommunications at Seibels gave me the needed experience to secure my next job
opportunity at Time Warner Cable as the Telecom Manager. Time Warner
Cable was a huge company and this is where my voice and data career converged.
Finally, I was back fully in the IT department. My job at TWC showed me how IT is
truly a business differentiator, not just a necessary cost center.
Staying in touch with friends and former co-workers at Seibels
ultimately led me back to a new career at Seibels as Director of
Technology Services. The job description included managing the company’s IT
infrastructure and telecommunications. One of the perks of being so involved with
the IT infrastructure was being introduced to VMware. My lesson from the
Seibels job was going back to a previous employer can still be a career step
forward.
The next career opportunity before VMUG was Immedion. As
the General Manager at the Asheville, NC datacenter, I managed the entire
datacenter, staff, and customers. This position afforded me the opportunity to meet
and interact with many people all over the globe. The position at Immedion
opened my eyes to how fast technology is changing, and the amount of data being
produced. What an exciting time to have a job in the IT industry! It sparked a
new passion in me. I began to look for a
way to combine my IT experience/enthusiasm and share it with others in the IT
community.
Thus, the final stop on this 50-year old’s job journey
brought me to VMUG. A global community that has shaped so many careers. My
position has highlighted to me how much the people aspect of technology is what
is driving us all forward. Bits and bytes brought us together, but it is the
community that keeps us going.
VMUG has positively impacted so many IT careers. Thankfully, I include myself on that list.
Brad
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