Scott suggested posting the resume here (not posting my personal information and the formatting is a little screwed up):

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Operating Systems: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10; Windows Server 2003/2008/2012; VMWare Virtual Infrastructure, vSphere, ESXi 5.0/5.1/5.5; CentOS 5/6; Ubuntu Linux; Mac OS X

Software: Microsoft Office 2003/2007/2010/2013; Adobe Acrobat X; Adobe Dreamweaver and Photoshop; Asterisk PBX; Unitrends; LogMeIn Central, Pro, Rescue; VNC Clients; Spiceworks; Cisco Webex; Various softphones including Zoiper, 3CX and X-Lite; Cisco AnyConnect Client; AutoTask Business Management; Bomgar Remote Support; Webroot Endpoint Protection; Sophos Endpoint Protection; Kaseya; Teamviewer; Citrix GoToMeeting;

Networking: Cisco switches/routers/firewalls; TCP/IP; Ethernet; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n; VoIP; VPN with Pertino and Cisco ASA solutions; Crimp cables using T568B standard

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Had articles published on several notable websites, including VMware and Spiceworks, regarding experiences in IT purchasing and decision-making, career advisement, and product experiences
• Spoke at an international IT conference on methods for best building relationships between vendors and companies
• Setup own website running Wordpress on LAMP server as a virtual machine on ESXi 5.1; publish articles to help younger people in IT get going in their career
• Assisted with setup of 2,700 laptops for Tableau conference in Las Vegas, NV, including placing laptops, Kensington locks, mice, AC adapters and networking the computers

EXPERIENCE

Resident Onsite Technician February 2015-September 2015
Staples Clay, NY
Provide onsite technical service to both consumers and businesses, in addition to sell all manner of technology items
• Provide technical support in-store as well as to customers on-site with matters ranging from new computer setups and training, to technical troubleshooting and networking
• Sell electronics but especially computers with a focus on upselling and adding attachments
• Act as a guide and trainer to newer associates in matters of technical troubleshooting and improving sales skills

Managed Services Specialist December 2014-January 2015
nDivision Carrollton TX
Provided support to customers for issues ranging from issues with workstations to server issues
• Supported end-users with issues on their workstations using remote support tools such as Kaseya and Teamviewer
• Troubleshot issues on the servers that include Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory issues
• Worked on projects for new clients that included setting up a new domain and deploying new machines while migrating away from an older, physical environment to a completely new virtual environment
• Supported clients with VMware and Hyper-V as well as both Windows and Mac computers

North America Tier I GOLD Support September 2014-November 2014
Intel Security Plano TX
Provided support to enterprise customers on multiple McAfee Enterprise-Level Products
• Provided support for McAfee customers who used McAfee Vulnerability Manager and McAfee SIEM
• Troubleshot issues of all kinds from database issues to networking issues on McAfee products, in addition to collecting necessary logs and files for Tier II when a case needed to be escalated

Technical Analyst I April 2014-June 2014
Centrada Solutions Irving TX
Provided technical support to a variety of hotels located across the country.
• Provided technical support to users experiencing issues with printing, Windows and special hotel-based software, such as Opera, Galaxy and Lightspeed
• Acted as liaison for customers with necessary vendors and facilitated service and repair of hardware and software issues
• Worked in a team environment to manage completing existing tickets that I have claimed while still meeting the required first response time on new tickets, per each client’s SLA
• Worked for a portion of each day by opening tickets and routing tickets that are submitted via email by correcting the priority and client information for the ticket ensuring tickets are seen by the appropriate team/people
• Acted as a frequent escalation point for my team lead due to demonstrated skill in areas of networking and printer support primarily; worked in resolving several issues where other techs were unable to resolve including the whole hotel being unable to print, having slow connection issues and losing trust to domain controllers due to improper DNS settings
• Helped resolve a common problem experienced by users by noticing the method being used and deployed by other technicians was incorrect and corrected; this lead to a revision in the method being used and helped to correct the recurring issue for many users
• Setup a new batch script to fix an old, broken one and helped move this through to production in addition to setting up logon batch scripts for users when the need arose

Technical Support Specialist November 2012-March 2014
Niagara Technology Group Piffard, NY
Provided technical support and consultations to clients across the country.
• Provided technical support and day to day break/fix for various clients located across the country with varying environments while working as part of an international team
• Advised in the purchasing decisions of new equipment for the office such as replacement parts, printers and new computers after looking at needed features and functionality and assessing the best solution at the most cost-effective price
• Worked as part of a team to deploy new infrastructure to clients that include but are not limited to:
o Virtualized servers using VMware ESXi
o HP and Dell desktop replacements/upgrades
• Performed Unitrends remote configurations for clients as contracted by Unitrends and used Salesforce to track cases and manage account information
• As a Unitrends installer, I worked with helping clients learn and implement best-practice backup strategies as well as configure and troubleshoot the solution to backup Windows Server 2000/2003/2008/2012, Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008/2012, Microsoft Exchange 2003/2007/2010/2013, AIX and Linux
• Consulted and deployed large-scale PBX systems for clients customized to fit their needs including determining necessary hardware purchases/resource provision requirements, projecting time estimates and assessing the most fitting solution; most often used Asterisk-based ElastixManaged and tracked tickets using Spiceworks and then Microsoft Dynamics CRM to ensure they were documented thoroughly and completed in a timely manner
• Managed and implemented Office365 internally and to clients including creating/removing accounts, resetting passwords, managing permissions and deploying Office to end-user machines
• Provided internal technical support for administrative staff including troubleshooting printer issues, configuring new computers with internally used software and troubleshooting VPN connectivity issues running on the Pertino VPN

Tech Supervisor/Onsite Technician July 2010-June 2013
Staples Clay, NY
Provided desktop support and sold technology items from printers and bluetooths to laptops and desktops.
• Provided support to users regarding all Windows issues including virus removals, hardware diagnostics, parts replacements, PC reformats and tune-ups
• Assisted customers in determining the best solution for them based on their needs in an honest and courteous manner in addition to upselling other items such as peripherals, software and services
• Was consistently the top salesman in the store both on a weekly basis up to yearly basis, even passing full-time coworkers while only working part-time
• After attaining position of Tech Supervisor, store had three best weeks for sales in the history of the store in regards to sales in the 15 years of the store being open at that location
• As the onsite technician, I provided services from a basic printer install up to setting up a print server for a business in addition to gaining additional work from seeking opportunities to upsell my services to customers

IT Support Agent February 2012-September 2012
Ridgeway and Conger New Woodstock, NY
Provide technical support to 40 local users and 150 representatives across the country.
• Helped in the restructuring of the network and deployment of new Windows servers and workstations including a full domain controller changeover and network infrastructure upgrade/replacement
• Assisted in setting up new Active Directory environment with appropriate logon scripts, group policy objects, OUs, file permissions for users and printer-deployment
• Worked on testing and implementing network monitoring software with Nagios as well as additional monitoring with the addition of network inventory and helpdesk using Spiceworks
• Performed routine maintenance on user workstations including physical cleaning and performance enhancement
• Provide daily break/fix support for users including virus removals, printing issues and software troubleshooting as well as teach users best practices regarding email safety and how to save themselves time and effort through functions such as keyboard shortcuts
• Learned about compliance with FINRA in regards to email and website content, email archiving and required policies for users both remote and local
• Assisted in beginning a computer refresh to replace legacy Windows XP desktops/laptops of various brands with new HP Windows 7 desktops/laptops
• Assisted in diagramming and documenting the network infrastructure, both physical and logical, using tools like Spiceworks and Microsoft Visio 2010
• Was primary resource for helping develop a Standard Operating Procedure for various technical tasks and determining the standards to meet

Don't don't don't don't don't!!!!
They ruin printers, don't give nearly the same yield and did I mention they ruin printers? People think they are getting a good deal. When it starts leaking you won't think so. I've seen too many people get one or two good ones and then get a bad one. Not worth it.

@Bob-Beatty Now?? OKAY!! I might get in trouble with @minion-queen but I'll tell her you told me to.

@travisdh1

My ultimate career I really want to end up in is sales engineer. So my question is what is the best way to work towards that?

I am one of those people that having a device for the sake of having it has no appeal to me. I would have been happy with my S3 for a long time. I switched carriers for work and ported my number over from Verizon to T-Mobile. I had a Windows 8 phone for awhile...I won't talk about that dark, dark part of my mobile life...now I'm back on Verizon, on my own plan, with an S4. It works for me. I will NEVER go iPhone. EVER! Some have tried, threatened and many boasted. I just look at them and ask why Apple, with their latest iOS renditions, are boasting features Google has had since the Froyo and Gingerbread days. (Thats 2.2 and 2.4 for non-Android people) Android is rock solid, more flexible, it works, and has the dominant part of the market share, and is growing. Oh, and while I forget what the exact feature was, the next version of iOS slated to be released is basically ripping off Google again...I'm beginning to see a pattern here...

Anyways, rant over, I have my phone for mobile and my laptop for home. The laptop can travel so I can do everything I need everywhere. I have a computer at work I do work stuff with, mostly.

All that said, my setup in its prime...I just need to replace the top-left screen.

Official word is any feature requests go to @addie by sending an email to [email protected] with Feature Request as the subject line.

I'll be at the Letchworth tour but that's it. Can't wait to see everyone Saturday!

@scottalanmiller said:

How goes the rewrite? How tight is it now? Approaching one page?

Still working on it. It's down to about two pages now...

@nadnerB Yeah, honestly, most any phone in the Android 2.x generation phones was not very good. Android was still young and not nearly as stable as it needed to be. (Froyo was HORRIBLE too) Honeycomb or 3.0 was where true stability was first seen. Now we're at 4.4 and wow, rock solid. I couldn't be happier with mine.

Also, yeah, WP8 is quite lacking in the app market and in the general interface. I couldn't stand it, but, then again, I'm very biased to the feel of Android. The single biggest reason I couldn't go to iPhone? It's the "one button to rule them all" mentality. I like having three. That's really the only thing that made my Nokia tolerable...but it was a bad mix between Android and iOS. YMMV

@scottalanmiller @joyfano

@Minion-Queen said in Conference planning not for the faint of heart:

Ok I think with the exception of one dang line of text that I can't get to behave. It is looking good... Please let me know if you see anything amiss! http://mangocon.it/

We got a lot of the cosmetic things worked out, so it's much better. Just need to get a couple lines of text to cooperate! Lol

@scottalanmiller said:

Also, getting down to one page will also make it very easy for you to justify why some things that you wish to busy are missing.

That's actually a pretty clever way to handle it...

All I have to say is...

So this is my setup that I'm on right now.
http://imgur.com/RoAMO3l

I decided it was time for a wallpaper change. The below pic is what it is now.
http://imgur.com/GfDMHIc

@Minion-Queen said in MangoCon 2017:

Nope not kidding. I need to pick dates for next year already

Would July work for anyone?

July? NO!!!! Upstate NY in the fall! If we're gonna have people from all over coming in at any point in the year, it should be when the colors are in full swing! Early October would be my preference!

@scottalanmiller said:

Yup, it makes gaps seem more logical too.

That's an incredibly simple but clever solution.

Leaving this page open to come back to, but I prefer a harsh truth over a kind lie. A lie is never truly kind. I learned from a dear friend a couple years ago that when you #@$@ up, don't dance around it. Man up, own up and move on. If it means you lose the job, so be it. But don't play the blame game. Don't play the ignorance game. Be truthful, be forthright, and tell it like it is. Don't be afraid to speak up and be heard. If someone is attacking you, for legitimate or illegitimate reasons, you have a right to say your part and explain. Just don't lie or tell half-truths. Many employers would rather you tell them you screwed up, you won't let it happen again, and that you will work twice as hard to regain their trust over not admitting fault when it is yours to admit.

I have learned this lesson earlier than most, I feel. Because of this, even by @scottalanmiller 's admission, I accept criticism much better than I did a few years ago. I embrace it as a chance to grow. I firmly believe that, no matter how horrendous at the present, every experience in life is a positive one. From suffering, we gain empathy. From pain, we gain insight and understanding. From success, we gain confidence. Anything in life can be used as a bettering experience, when applied to your mindset with the right attitude. Ok, that is all.

/rant

@computerchip dang straight!

@gjacobse

@gjacobse said in Letchworth Park:

@scottalanmiller said in Letchworth Park:

@travisdh1 said in Letchworth Park:

Last minute scheduling change, I'm staying! Is it to late to get added to the list for parting at Letchworth?

What about the wine list?

No whining,,..

There will be dining however...