Speaker: Lee Hughes, Technical Instructor
Introduce yourself! What is your role and how long have you been with ACI Learning?
Lee Hughes: Hi, I'm Lee Hughes. I've been with ACI Learning about 3.5 years and my role is Lead Technical Instructor II.
Tell us about your professional journey.
Lee Hughes: A little bit about my technical background and my journey to get to where I am. I have a degree in education, was a middle school English teacher many, many moons ago and I've been teaching classes of this nature for 18 years. A little over 18 years now. I started off with the office products and I've been teaching Network+ and Security+ for about 10 years, I guess. I taught all the graphics products, all the web development stuff, project management, CCNA, A+, Net+, Sec+, CASP, Linux+, a variety of different things.
What is your favorite thing about the IT industry?
Lee Hughes: I guess my favorite thing about the IT industry is that I love to study, but I will say from the teaching side of it, I love to help people. I love to help people figure out things like this, make changes to their lives. Give them an opportunity to, you know, improve their situation and I like to be a part of that. If I see somebody working hard, you can bet on me helping you out.
What has been the most valuable lesson you have learned from your education?
Lee Hughes: Most valuable lesson from my education, I suppose is that things are in a constant state of flux. Everything is always changing. You'll have to stay on top of what's going on in the industry. You got to keep up with the articles, blogs, and news stories about things. It's an ever-changing environment and it takes a lot of passion to keep up with it all and I think that's it.
What's something you want students to know about you?
Lee Hughes: What I think you should know about all of the ACI Learning people is that we're very committed to your success here. If you put the effort in, you will be successful, you will find a lot of support to help you get there. If there's a topic you're not understanding, reach out to one of us. If there's a thing that you're dealing with, reach out to one of us. We are very, very committed to that. You know, there's a lot of information ahead of you it'll be a little bit overwhelming at times but you're not on your own because as I say, every single one of us is very dedicated to helping you get there.
What advice would you give to students starting out in the IT industry?
Lee Hughes: Starting out in IT I would say, you don't have to start at the bottom but a lot of people will, a lot of people will work their way up. What I would say is, despise not the day of small beginnings. Is it exactly where you envision yourself starting? No, but it's not anything but a stepping stone. If it's not where you want it to be, then there must be something ahead of you because you're not done yet.
