How many IT people do we have here?

[NamedSEVEN]

In other forums, it always seems like a good number of the riders had an IT background. How about it in here - anyone work in IT? If so, what do you do?

I've worked as a programmer / developer for the 6 years I've lived in Georgia. Had the chance to play with some pretty cool things.

[sl500]

I am currently Information Dissemination Management Division Chief at the School of Information Technology on Ft. Gordon. Which means that I don't get to touch anything...which sometimes is a good thing lol. But the folks in my division are always off doing cool stuff, some of them are at the Nerd Ranch (that is the actual name) somewhere in GA learning how to write apps (the Army had an app writing contest, so now we have to develop a course of instruction for our officers on writing apps).

[TroyBoy30]

been in IT for over 17 years. currently a technical engineer at a co in forest park

[MrBlah]

15 years of IT for the military, from installing & setting up cisco's, to database/software design stuff, still doing it, finance/log database stuff now for the army

[BlueLghtning]

I've been in IT for over 10 years. Started in Tech Support. Now I'm a QA Analyst and do software testing for many of our in house programs. I also did a bit of performance and Load Testing.

[NamedSEVEN]

I've done COBOL, VBScript, C#, ASPX, MSRS, SQL and a handful of other things. For a while I've been the Source Control Management Guru for our team - keeps me busy and provides TONS of job security. Best part about being in a huge company is that we change apps fairly often - so being the guy that figures out how they work and teach the team to use them has been a huge plus.

[Prophet]

IT for almost 12 years.... netadmin / web & data programmer

to think next year going to give it up in order to try and become LEO

[MrBlah]

I've got so much grey hair now, many days I've come to work and thought I would be better off working some low stress job, LEO would not be that

[impalanar]

11 years on the software side. TS/QA/Mgmt

[Back Marker]

my first computer was a radio shack trs-80 (coco) when it first came out. then i worked at a small computer shop where i learned hands on how to upgrade them (1985). although i was an art major, i was active in the hacking/warez community (i was a skript kiddy). while still attending OSU, i worked at a local kinko's and became in charge of their computer services (included maintaining and upgrading novel printer network and mac/pc). my hacking/warez skillz grew from there. i opened up several 0-day warez sites and controlled 5k zombie flud nets. many top name warez groups recruited me. cyber wars were fun.

for my I.T. profession: i landed a job at Lucent Technology running cables then i took advantage of their union provided I.T. courses. I managed to work as a network tech in one of their manufacturing facilities (Bell Labs). then i got laid off during the IT bubble collapse. so i worked for a headhunter doing consultant jobs (doing everything from installing GPS to troubleshooting mainframes).

i was hired as a temp while the company was searching for a network admin. surprisingly, i was offered that position because of my personality (this was Cirque du Soleil - Walt Disney World). i learned everything on my own (Active Directory, Cisco switches/firewalls, SQL/POS/Print/File/Exchange servers). those days as a consultant prepared me for the unexpected and quick learning curve. even though i first started with Solaris, my weakest point is programming.

i'm no longer seeking a career in I.T.

-a|ex

[Lazarus]

I worked IT for a year and a half. DBA with SQL 8.0.

[Jared]

web programmer for 4 years now, about to move on to a new job in two weeks! yeah!

[ramm]

Been in the biz since graduating high school. 2 weeks after graduation I landed my job and I love it. 3 years and counting now. Web stuff, client stuff pretty much anything but programming (**** that) :lol:

[chkaotic]

Been doing IT for 13 years now (wow.. I just realized that too).. started outta H.S as local ISP tech support, and currently I work for a consulting company in Suwanee as a Network and SATCOM Engineer, primarily working with tactical Military communications systems. Got ny MCSE 2k and CCNP, and currently studying for my Routing/Switching CCIE.

Spent about 2 1/2 years in total overseas in Qatar, Turkey, and Afghanistan supporting Army and USMC comms from '01 to '08.. and potentially going back this year, if not early next year for a short trip (gotta pay off my racing debt somehow, right? hehe)

[NamedSEVEN]

I'm more of a fan of programming when it's something from scratch. I've been working on a C# / ASPX app for building VMWare machines and provisioning them - and it's a beast of an app. So many moving parts and having to learn EVERY inch of it sucks.

When I'm doing something from nothing - MUCH easier. Though in a huge company, it's seldom that you actually get in on the ground floor to build some enterprise wide.

[steve c]

25 years.

- Steve

[Thunderpunk]

19+ years. Started out in sales, moved to tech support. Was a bench tech for several companies for many years. I owned my own Web Development company for a while. I've worked onsite for NASA, Lockheed Martin, USDA, Several universities in New Orleans, was a Dell Warranty Tech, Charter Communications as the Advamced Services Coordinator and HSD Lead Tech rolling out their Pipeline service, FastBand Internet in the capacity of Chief Operations Officer ISP, I owned my own computer repair/networking company for 6 years. I hold an MCSE+S, MCSA+S, MCTS, MCP, DCSE and A+ Certifications. I also have accumulated a number of laser printer certs over the years. I fix just about anything. I have had my hands on every operating system Microsoft ever came out with for the most part. Currently I'm a Senior Desktop Engineer/Systems Administrator for a national industrial supply firm. Do I like IT? Its' ok if you are working for the right company. Currently I am.

[ZeroAccess]

Well was a diesel mechanic and got laid off and decided screw mechanic work.
I was really good with computers when I was 16 and got into a little bit of trouble being a script kiddie. So I decided I was going back to school, I went to Chattahoochee for Information Security and have two classes to go till I get my associates in Information Security. I've been BARELY playing with Backtrack and doing web penetration testing but I want to do more. Just keep getting sidetracked. I decided I wanna get my bachelors in Information Security and KSU has a program but had to take a sidestep to University of West Georgia for a semester (long story, hand got blown up and was in hospital when KSU's deadline hit). So in the spring I'll start at KSU.

I've been trying to save up some money to get certified so I can land a job doing help desk or something else to work my way up. I'm pretty comfortable in my skills and can do almost anything anyone ask. I may ask a few questions or need to do research but I honestly doubt theres anything I couldn't do. Not to sound cocky I just understand technology but getting my foot in the door with no experience and no certifications has proven difficult.

I owned my own company for a short time and setup some stuff with is but I just don't have any "real world" experience and its killing me.

[tigerrider]

I guess I could say it's been 18 years for me as I was doing CAD/CAM stuff for CNC turret presses back then. Even programmed via punch cards when I started. I went full on 'net in '95 or 96' at MindSpring. I did the home page and feature pages there and wound up in a QA role. I am now currently a QA Manager that supports over 30 different web based products. They just rolled Mobile into my group last week. Yeah...more toys and stuff to keep up with. We have two dev groups here, a Ruby on Rails side and a .Net side.

[Gmoney]

12 years - get tossed into everything.. currently playing with sip trunks..

[SlimDizzleATL]

Been doing IT stuff since I was about 12. 26 now. Started by official career in 2007. Specialize in Network and Open Systems

[ramm]

What I have determined, is that we're all a bunch of nerds that ride motorcycles.

[SlimDizzleATL]

What I have determined, is that we're all a bunch of nerds that ride motorcycles.

Basically.

[Jared]

... Its' ok if you are working for the right company ...

+1000, entire reason I'm moving on from this firm in Buckhead to another one in Midtown!

[chkaotic]

Basically.

Well you know what they say.. "the Geek shall inherit".. :)

[Bryce]

16 years for me. I've been the IT director at the place I'm at for 7+ years... We're a small department, so I'm still hands on and work with pretty much any aspect from network management, server admin, software development (mostly Lotus Domino/Notes and web stuff), VoIP, end user support, whatever... Pays the bills and keeps me busy

[patracy]

I make sure solitaire works.











11yrs so far. I'm in healthcare IT and work for a major org in the metro area. Highly specialized in what I do. But have a very broad range of knowledge. I get to play with a HPUX (4 RP8420's maxed out) and linux (currently up to 40 nodes) cluster that keeps me busy between infrastructure and the applications. Working on phasing out the old big iron stuff and bringing in more linux devices. Also kinda the go to guy when it comes to everything. (it's not as glamorous as you might think UGH!)

[SpeedGeek]

Software engineer @ Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Lab... Mostly Java programming related to AI + robotics + Human/Robot Interaction

Georgia Tech grad in CS, currently working on my Masters in CS from Drexel University (online). Been using computers since the C64 days. First I touched was a TRS-80 at school, and a TI 99/4A in the store. I've owned the C64, Vic20 (salvaged for my sister), Amiga 500 that I built the SCSI controller for, then a number of home built PC's.... Now I'm a Mac guy.

[patracy]

Noticed a lot of peoples roots go back to the TRS-80 lineage. I've still got an amiga 2000 that runs. I need to set it up and play with it.

[U.F.O.]

Been doing this for money for 20+ but have been playing with computers since 1981 and high school science classes... we built a Heathkit HP-8 (I think... that was a long time ago) with a whopping 2K of RAM. You booted it up by punching in hex code on the 10 key keypad on the front to bring up the BASIC ROM. It was a big deal when we got the cassette adapter... until then you had to type in programs every time you booted it.

I played my first ever game on that thing... Star Trek.

Think I've had them all... C64, C128, Atari ST, Ti99/4a, TRS-80, Data General, every PC and clone in between.

Been doing Infosec work since 2001. I deal mainly with forensics and e-discovery now.

[SlimDizzleATL]

Well was a diesel mechanic and got laid off and decided screw mechanic work.
I was really good with computers when I was 16 and got into a little bit of trouble being a script kiddie. So I decided I was going back to school, I went to Chattahoochee for Information Security and have two classes to go till I get my associates in Information Security. I've been BARELY playing with Backtrack and doing web penetration testing but I want to do more. Just keep getting sidetracked. I decided I wanna get my bachelors in Information Security and KSU has a program but had to take a sidestep to University of West Georgia for a semester (long story, hand got blown up and was in hospital when KSU's deadline hit). So in the spring I'll start at KSU.

I've been trying to save up some money to get certified so I can land a job doing help desk or something else to work my way up. I'm pretty comfortable in my skills and can do almost anything anyone ask. I may ask a few questions or need to do research but I honestly doubt theres anything I couldn't do. Not to sound cocky I just understand technology but getting my foot in the door with no experience and no certifications has proven difficult.

I owned my own company for a short time and setup some stuff with is but I just don't have any "real world" experience and its killing me.

Good career path. Im looking to get into Info Security. I've had a Cissp class, but there is no point because I cant get the experience to get the full cert. Its where the money is for sure.

[rr_double_rr]

I am in a weird version of IT. Tech support for mobile SATCOM and networking solutions for the military. Been doing that for a little over 8 years.

[auniquesoul]

.i manage the back end of Oracle as a sales analyst / database admin...been in IT for about whew 10+ years now..

[Calimus]

Late to the party, but I've been in IT for 15 years. Most of that time was all on the hardware and OS end of the world with mild networking mixed in. Now I'm on track at my new job to complete my skills for network admin, security and bit of everything else. I work for a college and the great things is, you learn about every aspect rather then just staying specialized.

[Soupskin]

I'm network admin for a small company in Alpharetta. One day I'll get off my duff and get some more certs for security specialization. But, my current employer is just too good to leave.

My youngest boy is currently in the hospital. I was in late today because of a meeting there. When I got to work it had hit the fan and my coworker decided to reboot out DC's bringing the whole company down. Not to mention I had 5 people telling me their own personal theories. I sit down and get to troubleshooting when then CEO comes and sits next to me. He says "How's your son? Do you need to go take care of him? This stuff can wait..." This is while no one in the company can currently work. Being that I have 4 kids, I have no desire to leave this environment, even for more money.

[Back Marker]

I'm network admin for a small company in Alpharetta. One day I'll get off my duff and get some more certs for security specialization. But, my current employer is just too good to leave.

My youngest boy is currently in the hospital. I was in late today because of a meeting there. When I got to work it had hit the fan and my coworker decided to reboot out DC's bringing the whole company down. Not to mention I had 5 people telling me their own personal theories. I sit down and get to troubleshooting when then CEO comes and sits next to me. He says "How's your son? Do you need to go take care of him? This stuff can wait..." This is while no one in the company can currently work. Being that I have 4 kids, I have no desire to leave this environment, even for more money.

that's awesome bro... my previous employer was that way. i was also a network admin and the company manager let me set my own hours and also let me telecommute. i did all my system maintenance at home during off hours. unfortunately, the I.T. department became outsourced and the climate changed dramatically, so my decision to move to GA was easy. i worked at Disney World/CirqueduSoleil.

-a|ex

[CougarJackson]

I have been in IT for just over a month :-)...on the sales side.

I work for an electronics distributor and I am a sales support rep, specifically for IBM Power.

[klassified187]

Ive been in IT for about 5 years. Im a software developer for Oglethorpe Power.. Used to be a IT consultant for about 2 years but got tired of travelling all over the place. I specialize in .NET (C#, VB, ASP), VBScript, Javascript, PL/SQL, TSQL, etc.. And I know a little PHP, Perl, jquery. Looking to get into cell phone apps using Adobe Air.

[wicked]

currently a .NET developer but i actually know how to WRITE code for both back end and UI (worked with a 'senior .NET developer' a few months back that knew two things about JavaScript/AJAX, HTML, XML and pretty much anything that isn't drag and drop in VS...jack and shit)...been in IT for about ten years...have done network engineering, sys adm, dba, blah blah blah...im a swiss army geek