Position description:
I work in the central information technology group at UT, where I lead the team that is responsible for the University of Texas at Austin home page, the UT Direct framework, and a number of other Web development systems and services for campus.
Undergrad Degree: English
Favorite Class in College: Genre Films Seminar
Changing Majors: In graduate school, I focused on the Digital Literacies and Literatures area in the English department. But I was English all the way.
Graduate Degree: Ph.D. in Digital Literacies and Literatures
College To Career: My first jobs after graduation were waiting tables and working for a popular mail-order clothing company, and it was tough at that time to understand how my degree might pay off for me. Over time, though, I learned that the skills I developed in understanding novels, theatre and poetry could be translated to understanding lots of other things: films, video games, business software, even culture. In addition, I had developed the ability to clearly and skillfully communicate in writing, which is a big plus in any job.
Career Influences: I moved into information technology in the 1990s at the same time I was in graduate school, mostly because I thought computing was fun and I was excited by the growth at that time of the World Wide Web. Some close colleagues and friends were very important in helping me grow from a graduate student in English to a software developer.
- Sellout: A resource for PhDs considering careers ( Website )
