About 15 months ago I continued my IT career at ITQ. During these months I had amazing experiences with customers and coworkers even when the pandemic was hitting the world hard and in-person events were limited. As I just evaluated the first full year at ITQ my coworker Johan van Amersfoort wrote an article about IT dream jobs that triggered some thoughts about my own travels to my dream job.
I started my career in 2004 at a small IT firm with about 12 employees and did mostly system administration at small companies. You know probably the kind of environments, 1 Small Business Server with all authentications, mail, and file services combined. I was very lucky to have a visionary CEO who recognized the possibilities with VMware and was able to land some deals at some bigger customers. Although those were still small environments with 2 or 3 hosts, this sparked my first passion for virtualization. Since then, the environments grew, the customers expanded and the possibilities with virtualization rocketed. My passion for technology made it very difficult to stay on one track so I loved learning new technologies. During these years, I learned my heart lies within the data center.
As the years went by, I grew from implementation engineer to consultant, from consultant to field manager just because it felt like a normal path to evolve away from technique but somehow I couldn’t get my heart behind leaving it really behind so I just did and grew in both directions and gave it all.
After some time, I noticed that without the focus on one direction, my progress didn’t keep up with what I wanted. With the VMware portfolio expanding and seeing the possibilities for customers, I knew it was time to join a company that had the ability to act, the vision to adapt, and the passion to share. During VMworld 2019 I met a lot of people at ITQ as they were with a huge group present. Because I met Francisco in 2015 and had a couple of former coworkers in the ranks of ITQ, the connection was made quickly, and I noticed the way they spent their time on VMworld and the way they acted as a group but also to outsiders. This gave me a pretty good feeling that the company could be a great way to travel further during my career.
When I started at ITQ in November 2020 with COVID-19 fully holding the world in a headlock, I thought it would be hard to find my way within the company. Thanks to the buddy program in which a coworker is asked to support a new employee and the many introduction calls from coworkers, it felt like home from the first day. The whole #ITQlife feeling was magnified with the arrival of the ITQ swag bag and the many great swag that kept my postman busy all year. And it’s not only to swag that binds me at ITQ but also the messages that come along to celebrate the successes and progress of the whole company including the new German business unit.
Thanks to the amazing partnership with VMware, I was able to go on a fast track to learn new technologies and deepen the existing knowledge through training and projects. Over the last year, I was able to (re)certify for about 8 certifications and I haven’t found where the end of the possibilities is. This learning process is not pushed by ITQ management but is mostly fed by the ITQ community to excel in any way we can. This way my travels continue along the great seas of this world with ITQ as a sailing boat with the most amazing crew I know. We can sail through storms with all hands-on deck but also have time to enjoy the sun or the water with a scuba dive.
Am I sure I want to stay the technical guy for the next years? I couldn’t say but I have learned it’s best to follow your heart as you can only be good in things if you do it with passion. So I will see how the travel with ITQ goes. The common island we travel to gives us enough opportunities along the way and thanks to the way we work also plenty possibilities to learn. If consultants can become Managing Directors of the Dutch business unit or team managers can become technologists without the need to leave the company, I think it’s a company to keep in my heart for a lot of years.
As ITQ we often like to say we play in the Champions League of the IT world. As this is really the case with the customers and projects we support, it also scares away a lot of people who are afraid that they can’t match the level. This was also for me the reason I waited probably too long to join. Was I the VMware Guru that ITQ always wanted to steal from their competitor? No definitely not but they recognized my passion and will to win but most important the fit with the team. So, even when you have experience in one solution, or in small environments or at the beginning of your travels there can be a place for you at ITQ.
Do you want to join me on my travels and find your IT(Q) Dream job? Have a look at our job offerings or just message me for a warm introduction within ITQ. Our coffee is always good and the door to our orange company is always open for a talk about your travel experiences and dreams.
