(Series 1, Post 1)
Welcome to the first edition of Take 5, me too really I’m glad you’re reading this because it means you were actually paying attention to the earlier promotion we did for the blog! Or honor your promise to read it after I gave you a few Benjamins. Anyway, congratulations and welcome to Take 5!
I’m Mikie P and now you are here, let’s jump in and start with a conversation I recently had with FORSCOM’s civilian employee, Michael Plott. Michael is the head of the data visualization team. It’s a fancy title that actually means he’s the head of a small group that specializes in IT; (that’s information technology for those of you a little rusty with acronyms.)
Anyway, IT is something that has been around for a while, but there was actually a time in history when IT jobs didn’t really exist like they do today because computers weren’t really a mainstream thing. Sure, computers have been around since the 1940s in some form or fashion, but they’ve come a long way from what they were. Remember that movie “The Imitation Game”, based on a true story where a group of brilliant young mathematicians led by Alan Turing gathered at Bletchley Park in Britain during World War II and used mathematics and a machine created by Turing to create a way to break German Enigma codes? yes It was a computer. Rudimentary, but still a computer.
However, the Internet, or, as we called it, the World Wide Web, was created only in April 1993. So, in order for any information on the Web even get for the masses, you had to have really smart people who knew how to write code.
“I received a four-year college degree in 2002 from Georgia Southern Polytechnic State University,” Plott said. “When I first started writing code, I would draw an image – the coordinates on a color-coded screen, and then the image would appear on the screen and I’d watch my work come to life,” he said. “I really enjoyed writing the code.”
Plott even worked for a time at the now-defunct Circuit City, selling software services. “That else the place had geeks, but at Circuit City we had the “IQ Crew,” said Plott, who sadly admitted he wasn’t good enough to be a geek. I get you, Michael. It’s like being an elementary school football legend (in your own mind) and being picked last. (That may or may not be the true story of Mikie P.)
Okay, back to coding. Let me try to simplify it for you. It’s the process of converting ideas and instructions into language that a computer can understand using binary machine code (think zeros and ones) and it’s how humans talk to computers. It’s a language that creates clear channels of communication between man and machine, and it’s incredibly necessary for Plott and the people who work with and for him because they have a big job.
“My team provides the IT infrastructure necessary to run the application software of the FORSCOM mission. That software helps FORSCOM track, transport and deploy troops and equipment,” Plott said. “It’s hard to explain exactly what we do because we also have security clearances and we can’t tell you everything, but in short, we use software, technology and automation to help the military work more efficiently and with less human error,” Plott said, “and we we no longer write code due to funding constraints, but, if needed, we could,” he said.
Plott’s current position with FORSCOM was somewhat of a gradual recruitment progression. After leaving Circuit City, he worked as a seasonal employee at the IRS and then as a government contractor. He is proof that you can work as a civilian in the civilian sector and then easily transition into a federal employee if you have the right skills and preferably no prison record.
“It’s fun to serve your country and try to help the military,” Plott said. “So if you like working with technology, it’s easy to see the benefit you can provide because the best thing about my job is that I can use my knowledge and skills in software and apply that software to whatever the military needs,” he said. .
Coming up with final thoughts during our conversation? “Embrace all the challenges that are thrown at you in your career and continue to learn all you can,” he said. That’s pretty good advice from someone who had the guts to admit he wasn’t good enough to be a geek, but turned out to be exactly which the FORSCOM data visualization team needed.
Thank you for your service to FORSCOM Michael and to all recent graduates or anyone looking to make a mid-life career change, please consider federal service with US Land Forces Command. For more information on available federal IT jobs, go to USAJOBS – Search and type Information Technology.
To learn more about US Army Forces Command, check out our FORSCOM LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-army-forces-command-forscom/
Join me again next month for another blog interview with a member of the FORSCOM team who loves what they do and encourages you to join the family. Until then, take care and don’t forget to “Take 5.”