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January 11, 2003
Why I Work at UEN
As I've thought about "What Should I Do With My Life?", I have thought a lot about my current job, and why I work at UEN.
I've been associated with UEN since the early '90's, when I bought Internet service from WestNet while at DSW. In 1996, UEN joined the Utah REP, a regional exchange point I co-founded with another Utah ISP. The next year, UEN became the sponsor for the REP, and I continued to work with UEN as part of that project even after I left the ISP community. Through knowing UEN, and particularly knowing that they have the closest thing to a big, complex network in Utah, I jumped at the chance to take a 30% paycut to work for UEN in 2001.
I'm close to my two-year anniversary. In spite of the market, which makes it easy to stay at a good job, my thoughts of leaving for a new job are at an all-time low. In spite of a challenging political and usually beaurocratic environment, I've found plenty to like about what I do:
- The Kids: never have I worked at a job that had such a good reason for existing. I've worked for plenty of companies that were self-deluded into thinking that somehow they made a difference and would change the world. We do change the world of tens of thousands of people in the most meaningful way, by providing educational opportunities to people who otherwise wouldn't get them.
- The Customers: for many companies, customer interaction is strictly a tool to close sales. Post-sales customer interaction is a cost of doing business, to be kept as low as possible. UEN is one of only a few places where I've gotten to explore and develop strong relationships with customers, and found how important and beneficial those relationships are to a successful organization.
- The Technology: in spite of tight dollars, the things we get to do with technology, and how we use techology, are incredibly interesting and challenging.
- The Environment: having worked only in the private sector, I'm still adjusting to the public sector. There are advantages and disadvantages to either, and I imagine it's equally frustrating to change from one to the other. The academic/research environment at the UofU and other customers supports an attitude of exploration and experimentation.
- The Opportunities: I've found that my entrepreneurial urges are just as satisfied in the public sector as they were in the private sector. The leverage of Education, the State of Utah, and other partners we work with is much more significant than any company I've worked with. I've been able to participate in or start initiatives such as Utah National Internet Exchange, Intermountain GigaPOP, Utah Network Research Center, Community Internet Exchange, and Utah Valley Community Network.
- The Education: I have learned a lot in the two years I've been at UEN. Inevitably, one has to learn patience and politics to get things done. I've learned a lot more about how people work together and what motivates people to change. And I've definitely learned a lot about what it takes organizationally and technically to engineer and operate a growing, complex network.
I look forward to the next year at UEN. We have accomplished a lot of things, and the next year will be even more interesting.
Posted by pete at January 11, 2003 4:37 PM