Who am I?

So, my name is Chris Aliprantis. I, as the caption above implies, am an IT guy. I’ve been working in and around technology for about 20 years now (as of this writing). My focus has been primarily with End User Compute – from simple PC repair starting out, to architecting and automating cloud based VDI environments now. I have a knack (and love) for PowerShell, and incorporate it into my everyday.

Education?

I spent a year at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA, after which I transferred to New Jersey Institute of Technology where I finished my Bachelor’s in Computer Science.

Way back in my early years of computer nerdcraft, I was programming in QBasic. While the rest of my class was taking typing lessons in Computer class, I was busy making little games with ASCII characters. It was pretty clear a unhealthy love of video games pushed me in that direction.

After a while, I realize ASCII characters wasn’t going to cut it anymore. I wanted to really get into animation and graphics. My first year in college at Wentworth, my advisor told me that if I wanted to do computer animation, I needed to major in Computer Science at the school. I did as he said, and he was very wrong.

After realizing, for a variety of reasons, that Wentworth wasn’t for me, I transferred to NJIT. Only some of my credits transferred, so I had the pleasure of repeating freshman year all over again. On the bright side, I was able to finally take some animation classes…and quickly realized I’m terrible at art in general!

Overall, my time at NJIT was spent programming. Programming nothing but databases, Javascript, etc. It was a nightmare. Thousands of lines of the most boring stuff you can think of. My focus quickly went to sports, but that’s another story entirely.

When I graduated, I knew I couldn’t be a programmer (aka “developer”), but I didn’t know what to do. At the strong insistence of my parents to get a job, I did what any somewhat nerdy computer-type would do. I got a job at a PC repair shop, and my career took off from there.

Career?

After college, I didn’t get some illustrious post at a conglomerate or super techy company. I started at a big box store in the repairs department. I was there for about six months, building enough “experience” to fill a spot on a resume.

After that, I got my first real career gig as the sole IT guy for a nonprofit in northern NJ. I learned the ropes, blew things up (occasionally), and took my first steps into the IT world.

That lasted about two years until I landed a role in the rite of passage of all IT professionals – helpdesk! I worked for a pharmacovigilance company, again, in northern NJ. While I did not learn a ton technically here, I learned about how to function (and not function) as a team for the first time in my career. It was a very valuable lesson.

After the pharmacovigilance job, I landed a role at Post Foods HQ. This was my first job in a large enterprise, and what I really consider the start of my career. I had my first exposure to Config Manager, VOIP phones, data backup systems, Exchange, and more. While I didn’t have a ton of access – it was more of a look but don’t touch type of exposure – I learned all I could before the HQ location moved to Minnesota and I was effectively out of a job.

This took me into Manhattan for work in a small advertising company. Here, with the nature of a small startup, I had the keys to the kingdom. I had my hands on everything – servers, telecom, ticketing systems, SCCM, etc. Even though I had no real experience managing these environments in the past, it all ran through me anyway. I had to learn on the fly. Eventually, PowerShell and AWS came across my path, and my career hasn’t been the same since.

With the nature of small startups, came downsizing and office closures. I ended up with a stint at a pharma company back in NJ. Hoping to use all I learned in Manhattan, I was eager to get to work. Unfortunately, rather than utilizing me in an engineering capacity, I was relegated to helpdesk work despite not applying for such a role. Needless to say this did not go well, and ultimately ended just shy of a couple years of service.

Since then, I’ve been with an insurance company in NJ. Going on seven years now, I am a lead engineer managing the VMWare and AWS End User Compute environments (VDIs). I write countless PowerShell scripts, deal with occasional user issues, architect new environments, evaluate the latest and greatest tech, etc, etc. It’s a ton of fun, and I get to learn almost every day.

Who knows where I’ll end up tomorrow!

Side Hustle?

So it’s not all nerd craft and coding. Everyone needs to make a little extra money here and there. I make mine doing secret/mystery shopping. Specifically, evaluating upscale dining and hospitality establishments. It’s something I’ve also been doing for 20 or so years. It started as a way to be able to go out and eat/drink when I really didn’t have much to my name. Now, it allows (forces) me to go to restaurants I would never go to otherwise, try new food that I never even knew existed, and more.

All it takes is a good attention to detail, an hour of work on a report, and I get free food and drink at some of the best restaurants in the area – I even get paid on top of it.

Extra Curriculars?

Everyone needs a hobby. I have a few – hockey, fencing, and video games.

Video games are what got me into the career I have today. Fencing is what got me through NJIT. And hockey is my preferred sportsball on TV!