My very first job was digging out basements by hand with a pick and a shovel at 14 years old for $2 an hour in cash and paying my parents rent, and up until July 2020 I had never been without a job for more than a weekend. So 2020 was 'different' in many ways.

I'm an IT person by natural inclination of just understanding technology. I seem to absorb it through osmosis sometimes. However that is not the limit of my curiosity or my hunger for knowledge. When I was very young I thought that a "successful" person was one that could have 1,000 books in their personal library and had read them all. To date, I have read over 50,000 books on every subject under the sun to learn about literally EVERYTHING I can. From the technical functioning of a electrocardiogram machine and how to read and interpret the output, to how the ancient Incas designed their waterways and the best known understanding of ancient stone-working techniques, to the newest research journals and books regarding Quantum Biology.

At 16, I became homeless and did not have the resources to go to college right away. Instead I worked as I could at nights stocking shelves at a grocery store, and managed to graduate both High School and vocational school on-time before joining the military.

For those of you that don't know, the term is "auto-didact" meaning 'self-teaching'. There are many things we have today to be grateful of because of people who have taught themselves. (List of autodidacts) 

Over the decades at various jobs and multiple positions I am proud to have been a help to thousands of others because of my knowledge and skills. I am still asked today for my advice from old colleagues who trust my opinion and lack of ulterior motive. For this I am grateful beyond words; you have actually helped me defeat some of the more depressing aspects of this year. (Thank you all!)

In the past, IT people were drawn to this field (Information Technology,) and have a hunger that cannot be denied. We are driven to absorb information, learn new ways to do things and find methods to adapt to new constraints as we discover them. This, in my opinion, happens at some DNA level currently unknown, but the basic needs of life are the same powerful NEED as this hunger to find the answer to the puzzle.

Since the COVID-19 layoff that changed my job situation, I have started taking a lot of courses online, getting certificates for the knowledge that I already had acquired, or expanding skill sets that had grown unused in my past positions.

I spend a minimum of 1.5 hours a day learning something. Unfortunately Linkedin, and other job search sites or even application systems do not allow most of these new online formats to be selected as "Education" experience. The knowledge comes with me, and it is then available to be put to use in amazing new ways that will help any employer or customer in the future. (NASA using Origami?) 

I can say that I have a long, proven history of pushing myself to do more, adapting and overcoming any obstacles in my path and of loyalty to a company and the mission. 

If this seems like the type of employee you would like to hire, contact me.