Present day, I have a cushy IT job with a major university.  I handle all of the IT for a federal project the university is involved in at a military base near my city.  I have a flexible schedule, earn a high salary (highest I’ve ever earn) and increased my skill-set again.  I really can’t say too much of what I do with this position because of confidentially clauses I’ve signed.  But I can say that I don’t have anything bad to say about this job except that it’s finite.  But I knew that fact when I accepted the position. Once the project ends, I plan to move to a bigger city with better job prospects.  I also want to … Continue reading →

I set my sights on the education industry for my next job move, specifically colleges and universities.  I heard good things about working in IT in the education system so I searched for jobs there. I found one at the local university in my city as a Desktop Support tech and I applied for it.  It paid several thousands less than my current job but it offered better benefits, stability and promotion.  I applied for it, interviewed and got the job.  I put in my two-weeks notice with my old employer and prepared to work at my new employer. I have to say that I enjoyed the first six months of my new job.  I enjoyed my coworkers, the freedoms … Continue reading →

This part of my IT career I saw my skill-set, experience and my confidence improve dramatically.  I became so good as an IT professional that my bosses and coworkers would come to me first with an issue or problem for me to fix.  I became “The Go-To Girl.” I enjoyed the admiration but at this point of my career I wanted more from my job.  Not only did I want benefits, but I wanted advancement and stability.  I wanted to grow with a company and become a valued employee instead of jumping from job to job.  But I soon discovered to be careful what I wished for.

The time is early 2010 and I’m trying to find a permanent job to replace my contractor gig over at “Health Insurer.”  One morning at work I receive a call from a recruiter seeking an IT tech to work on a federal contract.  Now I had my resume posted on several job websites and that’s how the recruiter (and the previous recruiter) found me. The job was to provide technical support with the military’s electronic medical records programs.  It sounded interesting and the pay rate was pretty high (the highest I’ve earned up to that point) and the contract was long-term.  So I applied, did the interview and got the job. This was my first federal contracting gig and I was … Continue reading →

In late 2009 I got a phone call from a recruiter seeking qualified IT techs to work on a three week tech refresh project for a large company in my city.  The gig paid pretty well and I needed the money so after our discussion of the job requirements, I tentatively accepted the position. At the end of the phone call the recruiter dropped a bomb on me: The job was at my old employer, “Health Insurer.” It turns out the parent company of “Health Insurer” dropped all of its in-house IT to save money and replaced them with a third-party and their IT contractors, which happened to be a large PC manufacturer.  In turn, the third-party subcontracted any work the contractors couldn’t … Continue reading →

I call myself “The Wise Fool” because I started my sophomore stint in the IT Industry.  Plus, I wasn’t entirely dumb as a freshman but I was wise enough to do some damage. I was ready to take on more responsibility but I was afraid of committing a huge error.  I wanted to be trained but sometimes I felt I knew more about a piece of hardware or software than my trainer. I felt I paid my dues and deserved more pay even though I was nowhere near done paying my dues and had a long road to travel before I could command a higher salary. But like high school, I knew this chapter of being “The Wise Fool” would … Continue reading →

I started “My Small Business” at my mom’s house since I was still living with her.  It was cheaper than renting out commercial space and my mom didn’t mind.  Actually, she wanted me to open my own business since her parents were small business owners and did well during their early years. In the short time I had my business, about five or so months, business didn’t go well.  Well, business was nonexistent. I didn’t have a single customer during my stint as a business owner. The cause of this was the glut of computer repair shops in my city.  Another problem was the cost of repairing a computer in comparison of buying a new one.  Computer parts, on the whole, are … Continue reading →

This time I secured a job before leaving my last job. I accepted a job as a Technical Support Specialist at “Disability Insurance Company” in early 2009.  It was a full-time temporary position with a possibility for a permanent position and I took the job thinking I could get hired and create some roots. The job title sounds all fancy but basically I was a drone on the Hell Help Desk.  I supported the company’s sales agents who had company-issued laptops and internal employees.  The internal employees were fine, as their issues were usually password resets and email issues.  But the sales agents were the bane of my existence…and ninety percent of my calls. First off, the sales agents were clueless … Continue reading →

I was jobless again but within two months I had another job.  My coworker from “Computer Repair Shop” told me about a job his friend had in which he fixed Dell computers under warranty.  I was interested in doing something like that so I searched for a job with a company who provided those services.  I’ll call them “Dell Warranty Repair Company.” At first, they didn’t have an opening in my area but after a couple of weeks of searching, one popped up and I quickly applied for it.  Within a couple of days I received a call from someone in the company and did a quick interview.  I was hired on the spot because I had my certification, a … Continue reading →