Q: How did you get to where you are today in your career?

A: I’ve always had an interest in working with computers and learned a lot just from being the informal “tech support” for family and friends. When I got the opportunity to join IT Insights, I realized that I could turn a natural interest of mine in to a great career.

Q: What do you prefer to work on?

A: I really like working directly with users on issues they’re having with their devices. I like having a chance to show them a great solution they can understand and that makes using their tech much easier and less frustrating.

Q: What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve learned while working in IT?

A: The people skills matter as much as, if not more than, the technical skills. Knowing how to communicate about troubleshooting and solutions inspires confidence and empowers clients to understand their devices better.

Q: What’s your approach when advising clients on technological solutions?

A: Find analogies to help explain technical topics and explain the benefit of the solution that they will see as a user.

Q: What’s the most unusual or interesting tech problem you’ve ever had to solve?

A: One of the weirdest was a PC that kept going back to the sign-in screen every 60 seconds. Tried every possible setting and typical troubleshooting step. Turned out it was an unrelated bloatware app installed by the manufacturer causing the glitch. Yet another reason to dislike bloatware.

Q: How do you stay updated with the ever-evolving technology landscape?

A: A carefully curated feed of YouTube channels and news sites is great to have.

Q: What is your favorite tech tool or trend you’d recommend to everyone?

A: Give AI chat apps a try if you haven’t yet. They’re certainly not perfect, but they’re a fantastic tool to summarize search results, documents, or data.

Q: What’s your go-to tech gadget or app that you can’t live without?

A: Not really “tech”, but my office chair and adjustable desk. I never realized what a difference it makes to have everything properly adjusted to work comfortably at your desk until I had it. Never going back.

Q: What do you do in your free time?

A: My main hobbies are playing guitar and running.

Q: If you weren’t working in IT, what alternative career path would you have pursued?

A: Building guitar amps.

Q: What advice would you give to someone getting started in the IT field?

A: Don’t be too worried if you don’t have much formal training in IT. If you’re interested in working with technology and are willing to learn on the job, try to network with people in the industry to make opportunities for yourself.

Q: What advice would you give to businesses who need IT support?

A: What can I say other than ‘you need IT Insights!’”