Staff Study: Ben

Ben joined Wanstor in June 2005. He had previously completed a Computer Science degree from Southampton University and had some experience working for a small company as their IT person. He was to find initially quite a steep learning curve at Wanstor, as there were many technologies being used that he hadn’t encountered before.

Since being here he has spent extended periods of time with some of our larger clients, working initially doing first and second line support, and then as his experience and knowledge have increased getting involved with more advanced trouble shooting problems and project work.

Periods “on-site” have generally been interspersed with time working from our office, but you really see the benefits of being able to apply solutions used to good effect at one client to another client's system

Ben has been on several courses since being at Wanstor. He has completed exams for an MCP in Windows 2003, and a CCNA which is he finds a very useful networking exam to have. He has also been on courses relating to Trend’s antivirus products, configuring PIX and ASA firewalls and VMware, for which he hopes to take the VCP exam soon.

But what is really satisfying is actually making use of these newly developed skills particularly when you complete a project or make use of your knowledge to fix a client's problem

He has also learnt there is no substitute for experience, and has been lucky to have some good fellow engineers who have on occasion proved a far more valuable resource than hours of studying or googling.

Even when you are stuck late at night on something it has been reassuring to know you can have a friendly voice on the end of the phone if you really need it

Conversely, these days the advice is often also going the other way, and so he often finds himself helping out the newer people in the company.  

One reason he has stayed with Wanstor is the focus on getting the job done shared by the employees and having been offered opportunities to develop his skill set.

Possibly more importantly, it is working and socialising with friendly work colleagues as it is the people that make the company what it is.