What's your background in the industry?

[PhoneSlayer]

Hi everyone, I joined Mitel Forums yesterday.

I'm a 29 year-old convergence systems engineer in Chicago. I started my career in the industry 9 years ago helping a friend place phones at larger installs for MCD customers (mostly schools and villages) during my summer breaks from college. As time progressed I started getting actual paychecks and working more on the programming side of things. I earned my certification on MCD within the first year of being full-time. At the end of my time with that company, I was working the call center assisting customers with SX-200, SX-2000, MCD, MAS/NuPoint, and a variety of 3rd party applications and voicemails.

About a year ago was laid off, and was snatched up by a local competitor so fast that I never even got to fill out the unemployment forms. The new company is great; my peers are a lot closer in age (even through I'm still the youngest,) and the culture really promotes training and collecting certifications. They are a PBX vendor as well as a full-service MSP. Since starting there, I've picked up skills in Avaya IP Office, Oaisys, and a whole lot of Mitel 5000/MiVO250. More technical work like implementations, upgrades, and networking. Certified in Avaya Aura (ACIS), and SIP (SSCA). And this year I will be adding certifications in IP Office, MiVoice Office 250, and CompTIA Network+.

I've had some amazing role models along the way, and look forward to helping others as well as learning from others here on this forum.

Cheers!

[sarond]

Welcome to the forums.

Sounds like you have a lot to offer.

Happy to have you here.

[johnp]

Been in the industry about the same amount of years as your age :-) Welcome to the forum

[ralph]

Welcome.  As JohnP said, some of us have been around a while.   

Ralph

[Tech Electronics]

PhoneSlayer,

It sounds as though you are the right path now and that you are having fun!! Of all the people that I know on here most have been in the industry for 20+ years, but I am sure you will fit in just fine.

Good Luck,

TE

[irongladiator]

Hey All!
I got myself in the industry back in 1995, pulling commercial Low Voltage cable (CAT3, CAT5 CAT5e, CAT 6 and Single and Multimode Fiber), around 2000 I wanted to learn why I pulled all that cable and found a company and got into phone systems Installing Panasonics, Toshibas and NEC. Most recently got into Mitel (3300 & 5000). I presently hold these Mitel Certs:



I'm presently working on my Mitel MBG cert and after that will be going after the NuPoint. I also hold these non-Mitel certs:
1) The SIP School - SSCA
2) CompTIA - Network +
3) CompTIA - Security +
4) Cisco's - CCNA (Routing and Switching)

I found this place a couple years ago and use it as a primary source of information for Mitel stuff as well as to assist others! My present role has me as a "Voice Engineer" doing remote work for our customers nationwide. It was strange going from a Field Tech to someone who is in an office nearly 95% of the time. But I've adjusted and love the work just as much as I did being in the field!

Thanks,
-Iron

[acejavelin]

I got into telephony in 1990 or so, installing Mitel Smart-1 dialers for a long distance reseller that used about 10 Mitel SX-200 Digitial PBX's as their long distance reseller switches. Eventually moved on to maintaining the switches for a while, then going to school on the 200. Was hired by the local telco to work in their commercial service area on key systems and PBX's, which was then acquired but a larger co-op that was Mitel and Nortel dealer for some time and in the early 2000's moved to Rochester, MN, where I worked for a dealer that serviced south eastern MN, including the Minneapolis Twin Cities area, for several years, then back to a coop, and with a vendor in the Minneapolis area again.

I can't really list everything I have worked on over the years, it would take to long... everything from 1A2 key systems to modern virtualized VoIP systems, going from a time when we carried toolbelts and not laptops (we had one that the entire 12 person department could share), to now when tools are nearly obsolete.

I have been trained and certified in Nortel, Avaya, Comdial, Inter-tel, ESI, Digium, Broadsoft, and Mitel products (I have like 120+ certs with Mitel and 30-40 Nortel certs). On the data side I have my CTP certification, and a bunch of webinar and non-certification training, but most of it was learned on my own or forced "as needed". Not to mention nurse call systems, the company I work for now does custom software integration between Mitel and Asterisk based systems and nurse call systems using SIP application servers and iPhone and Android apps, besides the normal Mitel installs.

Oh, and it runs in the family... My father was with a telephone coop for 35 years before he retired, started as a mechanic moved into the field doing construction, then combination tech, key systems, networking, mobile phones, and eventually retired with a cushy area combination tech job that was mostly a lake resort area.

[x-man]

Joined Post office telecoms in 1979 as an installer, did a bit of frame work then back to installing for a short while before being moved onto subs app and line which then included small business systems. 11 years with PTO/BT then left and started my own business installing and maintaining anything from domestic stuff up to small systems. Was in on the ground floor for the iMAGINATION system and installed one of the first ones when then were still Phillips. Followed on to TSC and them Mitel and thus into MN3100 and then of course into 3300's. certified on all them but was also installing other systems at the same time. Certified on most of them. Never kept the certification up with the Mitel as we only ever installed small systems and basic ones with the occasional MBG here and there. We were only ever a two man company and much of the later years were taken up with data installation (Hubbell cert) and other systems including upgrades etc. We don't install Mitel anymore but we still give first line support to all our customers until they move on or die as a business. I gave up and retired a couple of years ago but still give the occasional tech support to my son who now has the business.

[Aussie Pete]

Although this is an old post, I am a new member so thought I should reply
I have been in Telecoms since 1984/5 When the Post Office became British telecom in the UK.
At that Time many small companies popped up doing the same systems as BT but for less money :-)
I am talking about London Telephone systems, GPT interline Philips KBX and Blick, some of these were programmed with a Wire hook on / Off 
The company I worked for got ISO 9000 for installation maintenance and PCI (Pre Connection inspections -usually carried out by BT at COST)
and we moved onto Panasonic, Toshiba, Onyx, and others, The Company also acquired the Philips Base for the UK which trebled the size of the company overnight almost.
I ended up as the Nation Service manager, but left to work for Telecoms Equipment distribution company, there I was Seconded to TSC (Formerly Philips) to train installers and maintainers of the new TSC systems.
Then Came Siemens and the Enterprise sized Hicom / Hipath range, which included maintenance visits for the British Embassy's world wide. A transfer to Siemens AUS followed, and an Acquisition of the field service staff by Commander (becoming Commander Enterprise)
12 years ago I Left Commander (just before they went bump) and moved to Tasmania, where I now Reside with ShoreTel and Avaya as my only systems we work on,
Mainly ShoreTel in which I am certified for UC / ECC / and as a Solutions Architect. However a new chapter is opening with Mitel 400 and the ATAS link as we are looking to integrate with our software for Nursecall messaging
In short I have worked on to much for tool long