Job Profile

Daniel

IT Manager (Asia)

What does your job involve?

I work for an international architectural company and I manage almost anything electronically powered like computers, printers, fax machines. HOK has offices around the world and a lot of people access the same computer drives and information. I make sure computers are networked (connected) properly and things like the Internet, email, systems and databases perform well. I also answer any technical questions. I keep up to date with the latest trends in technology and advise on the right IT equipment and accessories to buy to give the company the best results in their work.

What do you like most about your job?

It keeps you on your toes. I can honestly say I’m never bored. There is always something to do. It’s rewarding to bring satisfaction to people by providing a system that works.

What are the perks of your job?

The company is very rewarding. They give recognition by having awards nights for employees. Recognition of your work is often more important than pay, because it brings greater satisfaction. Also, the people are great. Plus, everyone is relatively young so they are accepting of new ideas.

Also, working for an architectural firm means there is a lot of variation in my job. My firm designs sporting venues and stadiums; they designed Stadium Australia for the Olympics, so seeing those ideas become reality is pretty cool.

What inspired you to choose a career in this area?

It’s fun - computers are a hobby.

How did you get to where you are now?

I began by studying Engineering. In first year I was involved in a robotics project that I really enjoyed, but in second year found that there was more theory than practice involved. I changed to Cognitive Science, but this study would have lead to research development. This type of work is research based and involves a lot of lab work, which I didn’t want to be doing, so I changed to Bachelor of Science majoring in Computer Science. I worked through uni in the IT field and managed to get this job after I finished.

Who or what has been an inspiration to you?

There are two schools of thought in IT. The first is the closed sector, which exists in business. People of this school of thought don’t share knowledge – it’s all kept in-house. I’m inspired by the second school of thought, the open source. With this school of thought everything is made available – it’s the idea of shared knowledge and it creates a sense of community within IT. You can work on other projects and have input to other peoples work, like adding a bit of code, etc. I get satisfaction from this.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

My dad told me “make sure you always have fun. The day your job stops being enjoyable, quit”. There are always bad days of course, but it’s important to enjoy your job.

What training/qualifications do you have/need?

Bachelor of Science majoring in Computer Science, University of Queensland.

What subjects did you study at school?

Maths C, Maths B, Physics, Chemistry, English and Graphics.

What are your career goals/plans for the future?

To stay where I am for now and progress with the company. The company is growing really quickly, so there will be a lot of opportunities, including positions or projects overseas. I would love to work in the United States. The US are so far ahead in the industry and it would be interesting to see things on a larger scale.

In the long term future I would like to do consultancy work. As a consultant you get to create something, build it, and leave it. It means you can see the grand scheme more often. But you have to have a lot of connections in the industry and a lot of know how and that takes time – probably ten years.

What career opportunities are there for people in your field?

IT graduates can do a lot of things: write programs; create and manage databases; or they can do more specific jobs like firewalls and networking. They can work in-house, for IT companies or as consultants.



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