LAN WAN PROFESSIONAL

						Prior to my involvement with LAN WAN Professional, I had no true IT experience. I had graduated from college burnt out and directionless. Grad school plans had fallen through and I had to find a career I would like. It seems so obvious in hindsight: I've always felt drawn to computers. With my CCNA little brother, I had been playing with computers and my home network (9 computers and peripherals) for years and troubleshooting my- and my family's computers, though I had never taken a computer course. I had grown up only a few miles from Microsoft's main campus, immersed in Microsoft culture in a Microsoft environment, surrounded by engineer uncles and cousins and friends.
		Profile
		Name:   Location:		Katherine D. Washington
		Background
		Education: Experience:		Bachelor of Arts None
		Placement
		Position: Company:		Net Engineer Microsoft Corp.

They were the people I felt most comfortable with and I did know that I wanted to join them.

I had never been inclined to take computer science courses, let alone a computer science or engineering degree, preferring a degree in Latin and ancient Greek. How could I, with my varied interests and determination not to be like my engineer uncle who knew nothing of Renoir's paintings, and having rejected traditional training actually find a viable way into IT, where—I noticed during my first post-college job—people seemed to have the most freedom and the most fun? The only things in my favor were my quick study ability, my determination to learn and my comfort with computers.

So I started looking for a new job and an affordable training program and found LAN WAN Professional and their offer to train me up in a growing IT field to a mid-level position more quickly and making more money than through a doctorate program. I applied and was confident that if it was right I would make it. I did.

LAN WAN Professional' course, as I experienced it, was refreshingly designed to teach the skills actually used without all the "extras" that one finds in textbooks or classes. The staff at LAN WAN Professional at the camp, in remote support and in communication were helpful and friendly. LAN WAN Professional' service was perfect for someone like me, a college graduate wanting to get into IT but not knowing how due to not having a technical background or training. And it's perfect for people already in a career to learn how to advance, professionally and technically.

The two weeks of camp were an incredible high. I was so high on excitement and adrenaline for two weeks straight that it took me a week afterward to get out of adrenaline withdrawal. I was so excited to be surrounded for the first time in my life by bright minds willing to learn and work really hard, to be surrounded by staff and professionals providing experience and concrete skills in both IT and in career advancement. I was excited to be so stimulated mentally doing something I love: working with computers with people not only willing but glad and eager to help me become a master

Currently, I am well on my way to a career I had only dreamed- working in IT as an engineer at Microsoft, like so many of my friends and relatives.

I am so happy for a way—even with my broad interests and prior lack of formal IT experience—to enter IT at a comfortable starting salary. Now I too, like my cousins and so many of my friends, like I had dreamed, am an engineer at Microsoft.