Name: Amy McKeown
Company: VC3
Job Title: Director, Service Delivery
What are some of your personal hobbies and/or interests? CrossFit, Cooking, Photography, Gardening
What does your company do? We provide a wide range of technology services such as Cloud Services, Consulting, Disaster Recovery, E-Government, Hosting, Unified Communications, Custom Application Development, Web Design, Education Software to the public and private sector across the Southeast and beyond.
Yes, but what do you actually do? At a high level, I get paid to learn and have fun. On a day to day basis, I am a Sr. Project Manager and responsible for delivery of our technical projects to our customers.
On a macro level, I pull information from engineers’ brains to create project plans, I schedule engineers and coordinate with our customers’ schedules, I rework project plans and reschedule, I create status reports, I adjust the schedule again and continue to keep us all on the same page, I talk to customers about how we can better service them and I adjust the schedule again accordingly. J
Where did you go to college? What is your degree in? University of SC, Art ,Graphic Design
Did you always want to work in IT? While in college, I really didn’t think of IT as a job. I had mapped out a career as a Graphic Designer. I kind of fell into IT at my first “real” job at Renaissance Interactive. I started building templated websites, then supporting the customers, then training the customers, then managing the customers….
What is your favorite part of the job? We are literally always evolving. Technology is ever changing and we are consistently trying to find the right technical solution for our customers.
Describe the work environment at your company. Fast paced. High quality. Focused. Customer-centric. Accountable. Open environment. Foosball table. Flat organization. Super smart. Miniature Golf. Competitive. Fun.
What qualities do you need to have to do your job? Humor, patience, solid communication skills, enthusiasm, empathy, accountability, problem-solving, creativity, commitment, intuition, flexibility and versatility, big-picture while also paying attention to the details, be willing to dig the trenches with the team and finally, did I mention that a sense of humor will go a long way during the stressful moments?
What is (in your opinion) the biggest misconception about working in technology/IT? I think there is a perception that everyone in IT is a big nerd who sits alone in a server room with no interaction with others and/or the opportunity to be collaborative or creative. That’s simply not the case. (ok, it may be the case for some individuals but certainly not us.) We are constantly brainstorming, thinking outside the box and working together as a team, as well as with our customers, to provide the best technical solutions for their business needs.
Any advice for students or professionals going into your field? Find the company that is the right “fit”. Be passionate about your job. Never stop learning. Have a sense of humor.