Newbie onbaord

[channelmaster23]

Guys, I'm a newbie who just found out about you and decided to check you out. Looks good so far.

I am a 19 year Army vet who has done VTC for the military since 1999. I am currently stationed in Atlanta Georgia.

I drop my retirement papers on Tuesday so if you know anybody....

Along the way I've worked with Tandberg, Polycom/Accord Bridges, Picturetel and the dreaded Scotty boxes.

Got lots of war stories...I mean real war stories. I did time in Panama during "Operation Just Cause" and 16 months in the big kitty litter box for OEF and OIF.

Good to be here and hope to be able to contribute.

Jeff a.k.a. The Channelmaster

[nordal]

Hi Jeff.. Welcome on board! Let's hope your time here will be a little more quiet than your past army time :)

[channelmaster23]

Thanks Nordal. I'm glad to be here. I hope you are right.

[dfreeman]

Welcome back to the "real" world and thanks for your service! Drop us a line at Talent@vcav.com. We can get you a lot of contract work.
Dan

[cdneill]

If you need full time work in Atlanta, I hear Polycom is looking for some Tier3 customer support help there.

[channelmaster23]

I am definately in the job search mode now. I still can't make the jump, but I am seeing what is out there.

The POLYCOM situation sounds interesting especially if it is the ATL area. But I can also relocate if need be.

I saw an interesting job from Lucent in Colorado Springs the other day.

[cdneill]

Check this link:
http://www.polycom.com/company_info/1,1412,pw-12,00.html?trackID=&track=&req=25474&jobfunctions=%2Fcompany%5Finfo%2F1%2C1412%2Cpw%2D1 2%2C00%2Ehtml&location=%2Fcompany%5Finfo%2F1%2C1412%2Cpw%2D12%2D %2D%2C00%2Ehtml&hidID2=&hidID3=

[tom9933]

Just be careful if you work there you have to deal with difficult customers like me :lick:

[Entropy3XD]

The D.C. area has many opportunities in VTC for the military retired. The only problem is......it's D.C.

[channelmaster23]

cdneill

I took a look at it and if I could walk out the door right now I'd give it a shot. But I'll visit that site from now on.

Tom

It couldn't be worse than some of the General Officers and "smart guy" Colonels I deal with now. I've alway said, "If you can deal with military BS you can deal with any kind of BS."

Entropy3XD

Yeah, I see VTC jobs in D.C. all the time. But as you said it's D.C.! You pretty much go broke unless you have a second job.

[tonyi]

cdneill


Yeah, I see VTC jobs in D.C. all the time. But as you said it's D.C.! You pretty much go broke unless you have a second job.


it's sad but true. It's not cheap up here. Congrats on makeing the big 20 and thanks for defending our country.

The VTC market is ripe for jobs. You should have no problems. I'm x military and just hit my 10 years in the VTC world.

[tom9933]

I agree about the DC comment, I had a wonderful offer from a very cool company, but just couldn’t wrap my hands around the idea of living there. I guess I’m just too much of a country boy for the BIG city :)

[channelmaster23]

Tonyi

Thanks for your service as well. I feel pretty confident about my abilities. Being ex-military you probably went through the same.

I always ask, "How does my background stack up against a college graduate wiz kid?"

What I've found is that the military side knows how "get the mission done" that's what we've be drilled to do.

Tom

I was at Ft. Meade for a couple of years and it was tough. I still have friends up there.

When they tell me what they paid for a house and what they got, I shutter.

I could buy a mansion down here for what they are paying for crackerboxes up there.

I just wonder if anybody really starts off in D.C. in a sweet situation?

[tom9933]

Ah yes the classic for me was when I walked into a condo that looked like the crappy apartment I rented while in college. In college the place cost $300 a month and they wanted me to buy that rat hole for 400k. I about fell over, and the sad thing was the realtor who was showing me around honestly thought it was a fair price. I can understand maybe paying that kind of money in Cali with the nice weather, but DC has the same or worse weather as I have here. I think I figured my house was worth about 10x what I paid for it if I could somehow transport it to DC. I also remember the realtor telling me that everyone buys a house with an interest only loan and that was also a big shock to me. In fact I’m seeing some interesting stories on the net where that is beginning to bite people now that the housing market is starting to cool down a bit. That and the traffic seemed as bad or worse than LA.
Regarding your skills, I think you will find that your experience will be worth far more than any degree. Certifications and degrees are great to have, but this is really a who you know and what you know business. The only thing my degree has ever done for me is make a human resources person happy, most of the offers I get are generally from someone who has worked with me. If I were to do it again I’d skip the degree and get some industry certifications.

[channelmaster23]

Tom

I can't agree more. It's who you know not what you know(unless you are a complete boob and sometimes they win out).

Fortunately I haven't burned any bridges and have a pretty good rep(I think) with all of my VTC brothers.

I was searching around for jobs today and found a VTC job right here in Atlanta with a defense contractor that I know I could walk in the door right now and do.

Problem is I still have my last months of military commitment remaining.

What scares the hell out of me is that I see all of these jobs coming down the pike now. Will they be there in October? I hope so.

[cdneill]

Check also with AGT in Kennesaw. Heavily into government contracts.

[crashin]

I spent four years in the Marines and went to video school at Ft. Meade in '96-'97. I am just now getting into VTC technology, but I've been splitting my time between imaging technology and computer technology since I started with the Corps. I did mostly tech support since I got out or the service in 2000. I have worked in the private sector and governement contractors. The contractors tend to favor veterans like a typical government job which is a plus but the contracts become unstable every two years or so and you can find yourself out of a job for no reason at the end of a contracts. I would recommend getting your Government forms completed to use your veterans preference for government employment and there are jobs all over the country with different agencies most of which use VTC technology. I have personal experience with the EPA Region VII office and I know they had a AV guy who was a GS employee.

[channelmaster23]

cdneill

AGT is good. I have some contacts with them. They installed all of 3rd Army's equipment and are a growing company.

crashin

I just missed you at Meade. I was there in 94-95. You are right about contract jobs in the government. They can be good and bad. I am trying to have all the vet preference forms ready to go for when the time comes.

I guess it just boils down to making a career change after 20 years. There will be something good out there.

One thing about the government is with all the "transformation" going on in DoD there should be more jobs coming down the pipe.