Gary Knowles


Position:

Vice-President

Employer:

Enhanced Systems Consulting

Job description:

Duties include the sales, design, programming, and implementation of manufacturing computer systems.

Salary range:

$70,000-$80,000

Job satisfaction:

I am very satisfied with my job. I work for a 15 member computer consulting company, that provides computer systems and support for Fortune 500 manufacturing clients. Probably the best aspect of my job is the ability to directly influence the direction and profitability of our company. I enjoy the feeling of ownership and accomplishment associated with working for a small company where individuals do matter. I have worked for very large orginazitations where you are lost in the crowd and find the smaller company to be much more enjoyable. While our company is very stable I guess the only bad point I can think of is the potential for instability that is associated with a smaller company, although I am not sure how much stability exsists in today's down-sizing business world.

Employment history:

1983 - 1985 Riegel Textile Corp.
1985 - 1989 New Technology, Inc.
1989 - 1990 Fluor Daniel, Inc.
1990 - 1992 Computer Knowledge
1992- Present Enhanced Systems Consulting

Suggestions for students:

Do not be afraid to consider starting your career in a smaller company. Your experience in problem solving provided by your Mathematics education can be very valuable in solving the day to day business problems in the manufacturing world. This does not mean that you must work for a large manufacuring company, you can provide valuable services to these companies while working for a smaller consulting type company. Even though we work in the computer industry, we do not usually look for computer degrees. Many companies like ours look for good people skills and work ethic. It is much less important to us how much your currently know, than your attitudes and ability to learn new skills. The computer industry is in a constant state of change. You will be forced to upgrade you skill set continually, so be prepared to work hard and gain the needed skills.

Advisor/Student relationship:

While I do not use any advanced mathematics in my day to day job, I do find the problem solving abilities presented during my days at UGA to be of great benefit. Try to stress those benefits to students during the advising phase of their educations.

Miscellaneous comments:

I feel that I received an excellent education in the Mathematics Dept. at UGA. I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to every member of the department and keep up the good work! You provided me the opportunity to acheive the success I now enjoy. The days at UGA were hard work, but well worth the effort.

E-mail Gary

Date of last update: Jan. 22, 1997

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