Hi, my name's Jack

Posted on 12th September 2007 by Jack Conway

Hi my name's Jack Conway, I'm a second year student studying multimedia application development at the Waterford Institute of Technology. I've been working at AOL Broadband for nearly 2 years now.

It's a pretty cool place to work and my hours are easy to balance with college. It's proven to be a smart way of subsidising my life at college and as I'm working in Tech Support, it's giving me practical experience that helps out with the practical side of my course.

I suppose my first impressions of AOL Broadband are still my strongest. On my first day, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I thought maybe as I was going to work in tech support, the environment would be pretty serious and frankly boring and that everyone would talk computers 24/7. I'm a big fan of the I.T Crowd, so I had visions of 3 guys in a basement with no contact with the out side world not to mention day light.

As it turned out, I couldn't have been more wrong. When you first walk in the Waterford Centre you're hit by colour. The walls are brightly coloured and covered with loads of cool photos there is even tv's on the walls. It was a bit of a shock, this wasn't the dark basement I expected and there was no mystical red door that you can't go through. Not to mention the place is massive but still really easy to find your way around. It was full of people all busy working and the buzz in the atmosphere was amazing. It felt really vibrant. The place has its own energy and it really hits you the first time you walk in.

Meeting my team was great as they really helped me settle in and find my feet. The people are really supportive and everyone looks out for each other to the extent that one of the guys on my team now shares a house with me. I can't say we don't talk computers a lot, but at least its not all the time and we do have a decent social life in and out of work. Actually the whole place has got a really good social scene and I go out with my team quite a bit. They've become my mates and they're a good crowd. The best thing about working with your friends, is that you want to go that extra mile for them and you all pull together.

So what's my AOL? I suppose you could describe it as big, helpful open and friendly!!