Brandon has an extensive history as a customer first support technician. He prides himself on putting end user goals first and tackling each problem with usability in mind. Working with people is Brandon’s passion, and he loves to get to know our partner organizations and their teams.
If you’re looking for someone to put the human touch on your IT experience look no further. Brandon will happily troubleshoot and resolve your issues and make sure to put the solution into terms that you can understand. He is focused on self-improvement and expanding his skills to better serve our partners.
We sat down with Brandon and asked him a few questions we thought our clients and partners would like to know:
Q: How did you get to where you are today in your career?
A: Since a child, I’ve always had an interest in computers. I was part of the generation where technology was really coming to life in the mid 80’s. I feel my generation was the worlds first IT department in the home.
Q: What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve learned while working in IT?
A: Minor issues can turn into very big issues. That’s why things like having regular maintenance, monitoring, and having an account manager to help keep an eye on things is so important. You don’t want some stray small thing to sneak by and shut everyone down.
Q: What’s the most unusual or interesting tech problem you’ve ever had to solve?
A: One day, a user’s PC changed its language to French for seemingly no reason at all. Nothing we tried could get it changed back to English, so we had to reformat the entire computer.
Q: What do you prefer to work on?
A: I have no preference. I enjoy helping and learning.
Q: How do you stay updated with the ever-evolving technology landscape?
A: My coworkers are a great resource for bringing new information to the team. Everyone wins by sharing that information. I also use a lot of Reddit threads to stay up to date and to look for resolutions to problems. There are really great communities there for everything from sports to IT, and even very specific ones. It’s a great library of first-hand experience.
Q: What is your favorite tech tool or trend you’d recommend to everyone?
A: Reddit has become my go-to tech tool. The evolution of websites has given rise to platforms like Reddit, which have revolutionized how we use the internet. You can find solutions to almost anything by adding ‘+Reddit’ to your Google search. Need a recipe? Reddit. Exploring a new city? Reddit. Does a printer problem stump you? Reddit has your back.
Q: What’s your go-to tech gadget or app you can’t live without?
A: A flash drive is always in my toolkit. Obviously, flash drives can be security problems, but we image them and load them up with tools that keep us agile and able to respond quickly.
Q: What’s your approach when advising clients on technological solutions?
A: Remove the jargon! I haven’t always worked in IT, and the language and terms can be the main problem. Make sure to explain to them in terms they can understand, what the issue was and the resolution to that problem.
Q: What advice would you give to someone getting started in your field?
A: It’s not as hard as it seems. If you are willing to learn, your potential is limitless.
Q: If you weren’t working in IT, what alternative career path would you have pursued?
A: Teaching? Coaching? Cooking? Cooking Teacher? Teacher and Coach combo? Something like that would be where I could see myself.
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: In my free time, when I am not playing chauffeur to my kids, I enjoy coaching youth football and traveling.
