Here is my most current job history in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest). Different from other resumes, if an entry is for a previous job, you’ll find a small write up of what I took away from that employment experience. For my current jobs, I’ll write up what I think of them so far.
Freelance Computer Technician
PC Paramedics
Self Employed
2005 – Present
Job Description: On-call computer support and repair. Services included data recovery, user migration, systems optimization, network configuration, custom PC builds, physical system security, backup implementation, hardware deployment.
What I like most about this job: Freedom! Also, the ability to get to know your clients rather than them just being “another customer” really make the job fun.
What I’ve learned from this job: Most of what I know about computers today came from working on other people’s machines. Finding unique problems then working out their solutions is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to learn. You can’t become a great mechanic without working on other people’s cars and the same applies for computer repair.
Skill Set: Windows 98 – Windows 7, Windows Server 2000 – 2008, Ubuntu Linux, Microsoft Office 2000 – 2010, Open Office, Libre Office, LAMP/WAMP server configuration, Network Architecture, Malware Removal, Physical/Software Computer Diagnostics and Maintenance
Student Assistant
College of Computer Science and Engineering: Information Systems
California State University Northridge
May 2010 – August 2011
Job Description: Support technician for faculty, staff, students, and computer labs for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Job includes troubleshooting and repairing Windows based computers, creating and deploying images using the enterprise edition of the Symantec Ghost Software Suite, network diagnostics, server maintenance, as well as creating/running network cables, building server cabinets, and upgrading hardware in computers in the labs. Other tasks that are not part of the technical aspect of the job are things like filing repair claims with our vendors, support triage, inventorying survey equipment, and moving computers from labs/offices to the office to be worked on.
What I like most about this job: There are three broad points about this job that I like; the mysteries, the people, and the atmosphere.
- Mystery: The high point of my day is when I’m given a computer and am told to figure out what’s wrong with it or if I’m given a problem and am told to find a solution to it. This is especially true if I can’t figure out the answer right away. Whether its looking for a problem with some piece of software or tearing a computer apart and putting it back together again, I love chasing after answers to puzzling problems!
- People: On my first day, I was walked around the administrative offices and introduced to everyone “upstairs” and was told that these were people I would have to interact with on a regular basis. Well, I’m horrible with names, so I decided that, every day, I would go upstairs and briefly stop and say “Hi” to everyone, see if they were having any issues, learned about them, and, in the course of it, their names. I work with/for so many interesting people from so many wonderfully interesting backgrounds.
- Atmosphere: What makes this job one of my favorites is the relaxed work environment. Even when we have a thousand things going on, you never feel like you’re standing on a precipice; there is always time to sit down, relax, and gather yourself before continuing about your day.
What I’ve learned from this job:
This job was not, by any means, my first foray into computer repair. I’ve been fixing computers since I was 15 years old, so I had a good amount of experience under my belt before I even started. Part of why I was scouted for this job was because my supervisor (then, my classmate) was impressed with how I had diagnosed a network printing problem with a client.
That being said, however much I knew before I started, I doubled after my first month. The enterprise world is so different from the SOHO world, it’s unbelievable. Dealing with four or five machines is easy, but dealing with four or five hundred machines across different environments and platforms, and with different needs, is no easy feat. I learned so much about Windows Server, deployment systems like KACE, and imaging solutions like the Symantec Ghost Suite, as well as enterprise networking. Also, having such a large pool of systems provided me with a lot of interesting problems to figure out and learn from. My time there was a great learning experience.
