What Have I Been Up to for the Last Fifteen Odd Years?
Since my last round of posts, life has been a bit of an unexpected side quest. For the past several years, I worked at a major auto manufacturer’s California proving ground tucked out in the Mojave Desert — a place that feels equal parts Mad Max and Silicon Valley, depending on the day.
When I joined in 2012, I was the first and only IT person on site, five years after the facility opened. Picture it like spawning into a fresh server with no party members, no map, and a long list of NPCs who need help immediately. I handled desktop and application support for about 35 users, but I also ran point on both the WAN (the “internet‑to‑the‑world” side) and the LAN (the “please‑don’t‑let‑this‑switch‑die” side). It was a one‑person tech ops campaign, and I loved it.
Over time, I dove deep into the Cisco ecosystem. I got hands‑on with Cisco Unified Call Manager and Cisco Unity — our VoIP phone and voicemail systems — and eventually became the phone admin for every U.S. facility. Ten years of managing dial plans, call flows, and the occasional “Why doesn’t my phone ring?” mystery definitely sharpened my troubleshooting instincts.
But the real treasure chest was learning to administer the full Microsoft 365 stack: Exchange, O365, Teams, SharePoint, Entra ID, and Azure. That’s where I really found my stride. I built up a strong foundation in compliance, governance, and IAM best practices — securing proprietary data with Entra ID and Azure like a digital paladin guarding the realm.
Now I’m in a new chapter: job hunting while grinding through certifications like they’re achievements in an RPG. I recently earned Azure Essentials and Copilot Essentials, and today I’m kicking off ITIL 4 training. After that, the plan is to tackle the M365 Associate certifications across Azure, Entra ID, Compliance & Governance, and AI Integration.
Time to pour a fresh cup of coffee, open the ITIL manual, and start the next quest.
Wish me luck — Steve
