Why I am at MATC

The story of why i am at MATC starts somewhere around eight years old. My best friend at the time lived across the street from me and he happened to have a big noisy PC with Windows 98  on it. At eight using the computer was a bit intimidating to me so I would usually sit back and observe all the cool things he would do it with it. Eventually one day my friend had to be off doing something and I was alone with the computer, so I decided that I'd observed enough to somewhat know what I was doing with it. I scribbled around in paint, played the pre-installed pinball game and navigated to WWF.com to listen to 20 second clips of wrestling theme songs over and over again and it was amazing. Everyday after that I would beg my grandma to get us a computer. After 3 years of begging she surprised me with my own big, bulky, noisy PC on my 11th birthday. From that point I taught myself how to use it by messing around on it all day and everyday, taking a break every now and then to eat and bathe. I learned how to navigate the internet, I would screw around with the settings alot and frequently take the computer apart and put it back together again. Soon I had become the designated family tech person. Fast forward 14 years later and I'm still on my computer all day, everyday, teaching myself  and learning from watching others.

As it relates to I.T. I have no real work experience. Outside of I.T. I work in customer service going from simply cleaning stores to managing one.Two years ago I decided that I needed to set a real goal. I wanted to pick a career, but I really wanted to make sure that it was something that I would love to do because I've had a fair share of jobs that just made me feel miserable. That's when it hit me. If your on a computer all day figuring out how to make this or that program work or wasting time watching this and that video, why not take that energy and apply it to a job or a possible career? At first I was a little doubtful because I didn't think I knew enough about I.T. support to succeed in that field as I taught myself  about technology rather informally. I compare it to a driver who remembers how to get places by following landmarks rather than street signs. I could explain to you how to get through a troubleshooting scenario in my own round about way, but I wasn't completely familiar with the actual terminology and there were probably faster more efficient ways to do what I was doing.

After coming to the conclusion that nothing but good could come from pursuing something that I've always been interested in, I signed up for the IT Support program here at MATC. With this being my fourth semester, I can happily say that it was a great move for me as I've learned more and adapted better than I ever imagined I could. Courses within this program have taught me more about the terminology, the hardware, the software and how to better explain myself to the average person when troubleshooting a problem. Jobs and tasks that seemed a little intimidating like working at a help desk or (my goal for the time being) filling a I.T. slot at a hotel or hospital seem attainable.