In my last post in this series, I mentioned that things were going pretty well installing cable modems.
We had moved from covering just two cities to now doing installs in close to 10 different areas. We also had expanded to doing installs on Saturdays and Sundays too.

As I said though, that was all about to change. In fact, many changes were happening in my life. I had recently finished college and moved out from my parents house. My good friend and I were renting a house together in town.

I had to learn very quickly to adapt to my newfound independence and responsibilities.

Work was going well and they were even starting to trust me with more responsibilites. I remember being called in to work one weekend because a hospital who contracted their services had been hit with the Sircam or NIMDA virus. We had to go around to each computer in the hospital and run a scan to make sure it was not infected. I really see that weekend as my transition away from the cable modem part of the business and looking back now I am thankful it happend.

Apparently, our local Charter(cable company) office was under pressure from their corporate office to reduce costs. They were being asked to go out to bid for a "one truck" style service where a single person would do the entire install including the cabling and the modem.

Servcom chose to bid on the project which meant if they were awarded we would all need to be trained in how to run and terminate cable. None of us workers were overly enthused about this prospect, especially me. I am not a fan of heights, so the thought of being up on a ladder working on a cable connection at the pole is not my idea of fun.

Thankfully, the company must have determined it was easier to train people to install cable modems than to train them to install cable. We didn't win the bid and within a couple of weeks all of the employees they had hired for cable modem installs were laid off or let go. I have a feeling most of them would have left anyway if they had been expected to install cable lines.

We still got called every now and then by Charter to go in and clean up somone's computer that the company who won the bid had made a mess of. Being one of the first into the company had its privileges and I was still employeed with them along with the other two techs that were there when I started.

They started having the two other techs go around to bigger jobs with the other senior level techs. I would often stay back at the office and take care of odds and ends that needed to be done.

They had me do some bench work on machines that people would bring in to be fixed or scanned. Benchwork was really hard for me though I tend to do it quite a bit with my current job. At Servcom though everything was evaluated based on a dollar amount. If I spent three hours working on a machine, but two of those hours were spent watching it run a virus scan, I had a hard time billing the customer for three hours. In their opinion though, three hours of your time is three hours of your time whether you are in front of the machine or not... That is one of the reasons I really enjoy working for a non-profit these days.

After a short time, they started having me do remote installs and support for one of our other clients. It happened to be a large checmical corporation that has locations all over the globe. Many of these people would require dial up connections to be able to work from their home. It would be my job to help them get those setup. I had an office at the chemical plant that I would visit a couple of times a week to check my email and voicemail for new support tickets. It was a pretty good gig looking back now. Actually, pretty similar to a lot of what I do today.

Right before I left Servcom, the chemical company started buying up other companies. I then became part of a team that would be flown to different locations to convert their computer systems over to the new system. This basically meant we installed a new desktop and then moved all of their email, contacts, favorites, and files over to the new machine. I was now working alongside the people who used to come into Radio Shack and see how much merchandise they could put on their corporate card. I can remember one meal at an Outback Steakhouse where the total bill came to over $300 and the guy from the company didn't even flinch as he handed over his corporate credit card.

I got to fly out to Jersey for one job and for another one we were sent out to California. I had never been that far West before and flying into San Francisco was really cool. We got to spend a little bit of time along Fisherman's Warf before we had to head inland to the job site. It was a really great experience that I am glad I was able to be a part of.

Right towards the end of my time with Servcom the chemical company was looking to buy another company in China and Indonesia. I went through all of the steps to get my passport and we were nervously/excitedly anticipating the call that we had to fly out.

Around that same time, an opening became available at the public school district I had attended for an Network Administrator. I didn't have a ton of experience, but I thought I would throw my hat in the ring. Being young and full of potential as well as a former graduate, I wondered if I might have a shot. To my surprise, they liked what they saw and I was soon hired as the Network Administrator.

I always kind of regret not being able to travel to China and Indonesia for that job, but from what I hear, no one ever did, so I am not sure if the plans to purhcase the company fell through or what. Servcom still exists though they have been purchased by several other companies through the years. The one tech I worked with still works for them and I talk to him every now and then. One of the senior techs went on to get his college degree and has worked for some pretty influential places doing Network Security. The others, I am sure I could find them if I looked hard enough, but like most things in life, we move on and lose touch.

That closes out my time with Servcom. I am really grateful for the opportunity they gave me. I was able to learn a lot from my time working there and had things worked out differently I am sure I could have spent a good deal of time making a career there.

Though my time as a Network Administrator didn't last as long as I had planned, that job brought me to my current job where I have now been working close to 15 years, the place where I would meet @mrsbozz and my life would be changed forever.

Thanks for reading!

I've really enjoyed sharing my story with you.

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