Don Jones
Principal Technologist
Concentrated Tech
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Was an apprentice aircraft mechanic (graduated).
Was a retail manager.
Was a telephone IT support technician (internal to a company).
Was a network engineer for an IT consulting firm.
Was a network manager at a telecom company.
Was an IT trainer and director of technology consulting services.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Principal Technologist
I teach people when and how to manage technology in a business environment.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Writing
Teaching / Mentoring
Day to Day
I write a lot, and I do a lot of verbal presentations (both in-person seminars and online). I interact with my students. They help me understand what challenges their business or organization faces, and I help them understand what technologies might be helpful. I then help them learn how to apply and manage those technologies.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
Forget college - what they teach for IT is rarely applicable to the real world. Instead, get an entry-level job, take IT training classes, and learn from experience. Take on additional responsibilities at work to learn about new things on the job. IT would be better served by internships and apprenticeships than by traditional classroom learning. Very few of the top people in IT received formal training in the subject. If it's your hobby as well as your job, you'll go far - and be happier.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Teachers:
"You can't get into computers, because you aren't very good at math."
Challenges I Overcame
LGBT
