Changing Careers from Clergy to Computers
A calm after the storm
The self-destruction of Futurist Computers was a memorable event. It made me appreciate a stable job all the more. From October through December I'd searched for a stable job but hadn't been offered anything. I went to interview after interview for help desk jobs, Unix administrator jobs, programming jobs, any job I could get an interview for. I interviewed at large corporations, small companies, and everything in between.
After a while, I got a feel for interviews which simply weren't going to pan out. For the most part, I never even tried applying for jobs offered through consulting companies and headhunters. Most of them insist on at least 2-5 years experience and won't even talk to you if you don't have them. Now that I had just 3-4 months experience I was getting lots of interviews, but no offers.
Right before Christmas '98 I had two interviews back-to-back on one day, both of which brought me jobs (actually I had a third interview that day too). One was at a medium size company called DCA, which manages employee benefits. DCA was looking for someone to assist at the internal help desk and to back up the sole computer operator. Very little Unix work was involved, but it was a stable job doing technical work, and that was what I needed! I spent several hours talking to the manager (who was about my age) about Novell, FreeBSD, and the large number of young pups who expect to make $75K in computers with no experience. I left the building knowing that I wouldn't be offered the job, because no one was offering me jobs.
A week later I received a call from the HR person at DCA asking me to come in for a second interview. This time I met the IT department--all three of them--to be screened. This time I felt certain that I would be offered the job, and I was right. On the day we were told that we had no future at Futurist (actually, it was at Ion) I was offered a job at DCA. Naturally, I accepted it, and started the following Monday.
Internal help desk at DCA was a nice change from the support I'd done at Futurist. The user base was much smaller and at least had had a nominal amount of training. I spent a lot of time during my first two weeks doing upgrades of Office 97 and virus scanners. It wasn't challenging, but it was steady work with computers.
Then I started training to back up the computer operator, and the fun began. I got to start working with the big iron systems (at least, as "big iron" as they got at DCA), especially the VAX. I'd wanted to learn VMS for a while, and finally got my chance. I learned the intricacies of mounting and loading tapes, managing backups and printing. Again, not rocket science, but it was all new and interesting to me.
That's an important attitude when you're changing careers. Odds are, you haven't worked with a lot of the technology you're going to see in the IT field. Take advantage of every learning opportunity you get. Learn all you can about everything you can. You never know what new skill or technology could lead to your next job.
Our team at DCA was far smaller than our team at Futurist, and most of my coworkers were great. Our senior member was a VAX expert who'd worked for DEC for many years. He encouraged and gave me the opportunity to learn anything I wanted. He'd take the time to explain any details of networking, VAX, VMS or NT I wanted to know. Treasure people like that when you find them, because they can really help you grow in your new career.
After I'd been at DCA a few weeks we got a new boss, and he was also a rare find. He took a personal interest in each of his team members and worked to be involved with the group. I think he also valued some of my insights into human nature and sometimes asked my advice in dealing with people issues. He knew and appreciated my past experiences as a pastor. Again, treasure people like that.
I enjoyed the work and learning I got to do at DCA. I enjoyed most of my coworkers. My job was a definite step up in the technical world. And I only stayed 10 weeks.
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