Job Finds Student Before Graduation 

Most people hope that their college major will enable them to find a job after graduation.  But not everyone has the smooth transition from college to career that Jay Pote experienced.  Enrolled in Greenville Tech’s associate degree program in Network Systems Administration, Jay saw a position posted on the bulletin board at the college.  He didn’t pay much attention to it until an instructor urged him to apply.  The company, Unimark Plastics, hired Jay to work part-time while he was still in school.  Three days after graduation, he was offered a full-time position with salary and benefits.  It was almost as if Jay never had to look for a job.  Instead, the job came looking for him.

            Working for a small company means a wide variety of duties.  Jay describes himself as a combination of held desk, troubleshooting, applications support and network support.  Pote says the job isn’t everything he expected – it’s much more.  “This was a chance to get in, take what I learned in class, and expand on that knowledge,” Pote said.

            The hands-on aspect of Greenville Tech’s program, Pote says, is one of its greatest strengths.  “Having the ability to learn in a hands-on lab environment instead of reading how something should work is an advantage,” Pote said.  “Things can sound one way in theory but be much different in practice.”

            Pote recommends that people considering the IT field get in touch with people who are working in the field and see how technology relates to what they are doing.  He also suggests connecting with students in the classroom to get the benefit of different points of view.  This, he says, is necessary in the real world of work.

            By the first of the year, Pote will have built on the foundation he started with his associate degree by adding the Microsoft MCSE Certification.  And while some people go straight into a certification track, Pote thinks a better progression is from the foundation of a broader perspective with the associate degree to specialized certification.

            So even though Pote got a job before he even graduated from college, he knows that the learning will never stop.  “With some fields, you go to college, earn a degree, and never look back.  With this field, you have to be ready to learn as technology changes,” he said.  “You’re never done!”