Speaker: Eric Pocatko, Technical Instructor
Introduce yourself! What is your role and how long have you been with ACI Learning?
Eric Pocatko: Hello, everybody. My name is Eric Pocatko and I have been an Instructor/Mentor for about a year with ACI Learning, and before that, I was a student here and I graduated from the Computer User Support Specialist track.
Tell us about your professional journey.
Eric Pocatko: So to tell you all about my professional journey, I've been interested in IT since a child when I was introduced to video games. I had access to a Gateway desktop that had Windows 3.1 and I would run commands in MS-DOS to launch my favorite games. The first paycheck I earned was to build a custom PC I designed. Life took me a different direction for a few years. I spent some time in the United States Marine Corps as an infantryman and got to see the world. I was also able to obtain education benefits from my time in the Marine Corps. Once I was out of the military, I enrolled in college and earned an Associates of Science and Engineering at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL. Instead of transferring to finish my bachelor's, I took some courses in cybersecurity and obtained my CompTIA A+ certification. Then I became employed on the Bank of America service desk, where I worked full-time for about a year and a half. During that time I learned about ACI Learning, this paved the way towards my certification in ITILv4 Foundation and ITIL Direct, Plan, and Improve (DPI) certification. For CompTIA, I obtained Network+ and Security+. After working closely with my career service advisor, I was offered a position to teach courses for the certifications that I had obtained. I'm honored and so grateful to have the opportunity to impact people's lives the way ACI had impacted mine.
What is your favorite thing about the IT industry?
Eric Pocatko: My favorite thing about the IT industry is being a part of something so critical in modern society. I think of IT as the glue that holds our society together. From being able to provide virtualized services to collecting data on those services for things like targeted advertising, connecting people around the world, or being a critical component of health care services. IT brings numerous benefits to the world we live in and I get to help people be a part of that.
What has been the most valuable lesson you have learned from your education?
Eric Pocatko: The most valuable lesson that I have learned from my education is how important personal empowerment is. My education has taught me how to develop tools to train myself and how to better express myself. My educational journey has really helped me understand the kind of person that I am.
What's something you want students to know about you?
Eric Pocatko: Something I feel that my students should know about me is that I am passionate about IT from health specifications on hardware components to understanding how protocols interact with various networks. I genuinely love the IT industry because it makes so many things possible.
What advice would you give to students starting out in the IT industry?
Eric Pocatko: My advice for students starting out in the IT industry is to take things one step at a time. It is a huge industry and there is so much to learn about it, which can seem overwhelming at times. Keep making progress at a steady pace and you will eventually reach a milestone. Stay determined and that finish line will get closer every day.
