IT Success                                               

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Jill works for the Anoka-Hennepin School District, the largest public school district in Minnesota. Jill and her technology staff of 11 assist the school techs in overseeing approximately 15,000 computers in 40 schools and 10 remote locations in 13 metro cities. Network staff manage the data networks at all schools/locations while providing support for local and wide area networks. In addition, they offer support for file and print services, 60 Novell NetWare servers, and over 40 Microsoft servers, which includes data connections and all Cisco network electronics, firewall, internet filtering, and wireless networks. The desktop team helps the schools replace anti-virus software on all desktops, issues automated/controlled software updates, and installs computer software/hardware upgrades. But Jill’s IT career didn’t start with those responsibilities.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse where Jill received a B.S. in Computer Science, she started working her way up the tech ladder by selling windows/Macintosh computers and other technology peripherals at a local computer store. Her introduction to her true career path began when she accepted a job as an IT Help Desk software support specialist for US General Accounting. While working the help desk, she earned a NetWare Engineer certificate in computer networking. This added knowledge led to a job as a Network Administrator, where she acquired real hands-on networking experience which prepared her to eventually accept a position as the Local Area Network Coordinator for Anoka-Hennepin. Four years later she rose into her current supervisor position. She has since earned a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) degree.

“IT help desk is a way to begin a job that pays a decent wage, but more importantly, can be the start of a career with many paths to choose, but that all lead to success,” said Jill.

Certainly her story supports her words.