Candidate Profile | Software Tools Administrator
Candidate Profile: Charley D LeCrone
When I joined PDS, the team I joined was launching an initiative to create a high-availability environment, which was exciting to be a part of. This was an opportunity to learn the software capabilities I had previously used as a Service Administrator, but not as an Application Administrator. In the end, we created an HA Cluster for our application stack, which was and continues to be highly successful.
Moments of Learning
Working with PDS has enabled me to develop new operational and social skills, which I pride myself on. I’m exposed to the client environment, which has allowed me to grow significantly in both skill sets.
A moment that sticks out to me was when my team and I faced a security issue that appeared to require months of work to correct. After I analyzed the issue, I was able to provide an elegant solution that required only a few hours to implement and corrected the issue to the specifications provided.
Getting & Staying Successful
To stay up to date, I have a number of individuals that I follow on LinkedIn in various industries, that I reference to generate topics of research. I like to work on relevant skills that will allow me to leverage new technology and initially follow and understand conversations as they arise. Also, outside of the blogs and various tech sites, Slashdot is still a favorite.
Additionally, to achieve success, do not get complacent (I am definitely not the first to say this). The moment you get comfortable with your skill set that you have always had will be when that skill set becomes obsolete. I always knew I would have a job due to my expertise in AIX and HPUX… and that did not age well.
Lastly, mentorship and networking are critical in accelerating your career. While the industries we work in are vast, the people making decisions are ultimately very small. There is an old adage about who you know, but in the modern career path, it is critical that you have a strong skill set and a wide array of professional contacts, as the latter are often what lands you the interview.
If you want to be a good fit at PDS, you need to be able and willing to adapt to situations and learn from people around you. An important, if not the most important, quality of a PDS candidate is the ability to embrace the dynamic of being part of a team and to work as a cohesive entity towards common goals.
