Featured Professional June, '04 - Counseling Services


			Featured Professional for June, 2004
	Counseling Services Home General Information Academic Counseling & Change of Major Admissions Counseling Career Counseling Personal Counseling Disability Services Undecided Student Advisement Parents Contact a Counselor Workshops Featured Professional To Your Health Article Student Employment Services Email - Counseling@midlandstech.edu
			Rob Acuff Company or Agency employed by: Bank of America Current position: Senior Systems Engineer Educational Preparation: Associate Degree in Business Management - Midlands Technical College Associate Degree in Business Marketing - Midlands Technical College Certificate in Communications Network Management - Midlands Technical College What are the typical duties of someone in your position? I work on several national projects as well as being the main point of contact for any technical issues for my region. My group installs, configures, and maintains Novell, NT, and 2000 servers for a lot of the groups in the Bank. We also test applications before they are rolled out to clients. How did Midlands Technical College help prepare you for your career field? MTC gave me the base of knowledge I needed to get a successful start in my career. What things do you find rewarding about your profession? I like to feel I am helping people. When a client's system is down or they are planning a new system they need someone with the technical knowledge to fix their problems and give them direction. Are there aspects of your profession that you find stressful? Yes. There are times when a system is down or you are implementing a new system or software that you are pushed to meet deadlines. It is rewarding, though, when you have a major project done and the client is happy. What do you see as the most important personal qualities someone considering going into your profession should have? You must have good people skills. I like to say that my job is 50% technical skills and 50% personal skills. Your clients must feel good about what you are doing for them. What advice do you have for students at Midlands Technical College who might be interested in entering your profession? Get into some of the computer classes and start working on your degree. See if you can find an entry-level job to get started in the field while earning your degree. If you can do these two things you come out of school with a degree and experience. That is a great combination. Is there any other information you would like to share with students? Enjoy your time at Midlands Tech.! I have life-long friends I met there.