Since I started working with computers at the age of 12 with the Apple II C, I have been fascinated with the way it all works. The command line interface was a little more than I wanted to know at that age, but I definitely wanted to learn how to make these dumb machines do all the cool stuff that I had seen and heard about. After 10-15 years of playing around with DOS and working into Windows 3.1 and eventually 95, I had decided that this is what I wanted to do with my life.

Computer technology became my hobby, but it was not a career. I never even thought it would be. So here we are, 25 years after my first experience with a computer, and I am now a CompTIA certified technician, with my A+ and NET+ certifications and working on my MCSE, MCSA and CCNA. After all these years, I finally made the move. I had been in construction as a career for most of my working years, but I always kept up with the newest computer technology. I like video games, and a gamer has to keep up if he wants to play the new games when they come out. I built my first gaming system in the days of "Quake" and "Duke Nukem." As the graphics got more and more intense for games, I had to get more and more knowledge about the new PC technology.

Another thing that happened around that time was the distribution of viruses had become much more prevalent. I had to learn how to remove them because having friends with computers means that I am automatically the first phone call when a virus strikes. Getting to know them, as well as how to remove them was a chore, but I managed to figure quite a bit of it out for myself. Of course I had to read a lot and ask other people who knew more than I, but most of it I learned with trial and error.

After many years of removing viruses, building systems for myself and a few friends, and after the housing market fell apart a few years ago, I needed a new career path. Construction was dead in the water and my skills were going to waste. I decided to go to school. Now I have a semi-successful career and I am working hard to keep moving forward. I work at Area Office Machines - A A A Toner in Sarasota, FL as a computer tech. The job is great, the pay is too, and the fellas I work with are nuts! So all is good at the moment, and I finally have a career that I love.

Mike Nealon
techmike@aomicomputers.com
http://aomicomputers.com

"The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action." - Lee Jun Fan (Bruce Lee)