California Institute of Arts & Technology

Hi. I’m Mark Carpio, I’m a graduate of CIAT’s Associate Degree program for Computer Information Systems with a concentration of networking and cloud.

What is your title and a little bit about the company you are working for?

I’m currently at University of San Diego, where I am an ITS analyst where I provide a service for our multiple users, whether it be faculty, staff or student users in support of software as well as hardware, performing Tier one and Tier two duties at the offices. The University of San Diego is a great company and institution to where they’re very Catholic-oriented institution. They believe wholeheartedly in their mission in terms of serving others as well as their Catholic beliefs. So that’s a company I’m currently working at in terms of providing IT support for all the users here on campus.

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What motivated you to start a career in IT?

So for myself, I always had much of a passion for it. Technology’s ever growing you’re never stagnant in it. I feel like I’m always learning and it’s always exciting to hear what’s new in technology. as well as that convenience factor of learning about that and how it helps everyday users, solve their problems or you know, whatever they’re looking for in terms of convenience that for me in terms of software as well as hardware, it always excites me as to what’s what’s coming next and for me as well.

I’m looking at more of the automation side of things like day to day tasks, like what is being automated there. You know, everything as well that has gone on in the past in terms of like file saving storage are now in the cloud. So that’s an exciting thing to roll out, see, which is what I’m going to bring up next in terms of my goals in terms of networking and cloud. You know, that’s something that is hot at the moment and that’s something that I want to go and pursue. You know, I’ve always had the passion for these evolving, emerging technologies. And for me, that’s where my head is at,

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What was your growth and transition into the IT field like?

So… I first started in diagnostics, doing helpdesk duties there in terms of software and applications and some hardware. I grew a lot of my familiarity with operating systems as well as software, troubleshooting techniques. And for me, the growth as far as that goes in terms of knowledge was expanding, and then from that point, I was able to I felt comfortable enough to go and spend my search and opportunity to other positions. So that’s when I found and signed up for USD. I felt like the growth opportunity and learning opportunity there were going to be missed as far as that goes. So I felt like this institution and company was able to provide me with the tools I needed to be able to elevate myself to that position to where I could learn and go ahead and grow within the company. And perhaps expand my knowledge even more. So that’s where my growth in IT started, as far as that goes. Obviously, it all started with CIAT. You know, letting my A-plus and know, establishing that foundational knowledge there that helped me land the job and where I’m at. So, so I’m very thankful for the opportunity that CIAT has provided me in terms of the knowledge and the experience to be able to pursue this career path.

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What steps did you take to get to where you are today?

So the steps I took, as far as that goes on, I went ahead and on every day was always a learning day for me especially. So going to CIAT first, obviously taking the knowledge I needed to be able to pursue this career path. And the professors there, they were awesome in providing not only the knowledge, but the experience that they provided in terms of wisdom, how to explore the career path and steps on what needs to be taken next. For myself, I was once I landed my foot in the door in terms of landing my first job, I went ahead and shadowed some of leads on my previous job. To be able to learn from them. They need to know, like, hey, I’m here. I’m here to learn, whether it be assisting you with documentation, whether it be troubleshooting, other things in your day to day, responsibilities to be able to have them delegate some of their responsibilities out to me and to build that trust in terms of communication and hopping on to that, I was able to build my soft skills as well, to be able to talk with other users and to be able to build those emphatic and communication styles of, those soft skills for me to be able to do that was a huge growth opportunity to be able to grow in that field. So once I was able to kind of invest myself and grow from there, I was able to expand to the company I am in now. So for me, it was a perfect fit to be able to not only provide software support and hardware support to users, but to be able to communicate with them, to be able to understand where they’re coming from that, with all the growth that I’ve that I’ve experienced so far, I am thankful for the initial journey that started with CIAT. So it’s a great it’s a great experience so far. And I’m looking to expand more.

“And the professors there, they were awesome in providing not only the knowledge, but the experience that they provided in terms of wisdom, how to explore the career path and steps on what needs to be taken next. For myself, I was once I landed my foot in the door in terms of landing my first job, I went ahead and shadowed some of leads on my previous job. To be able to learn from them.”

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Which certifications have you earned?

So certifications, I’ve earned, was the A+. I’m currently working on my Network +, trying to go down the networking route as far as it goes. So right now, I just want to understand my ultimate goal is to go to land in the cloud. And I want to go ahead and understand what’s under the hood first before I go ahead and pursue the opportunity to go in the cloud. So, I’m trying to expand my knowledge into the network area of IT so that when I go ahead and pursue the cloud opportunities, hopefully I’ll be able to understand what the operations behind it, how to possibly troubleshoot it, and to be able to go through those processes and, and hopefully gain some skills along the way while I’m going and pursuing these.

So as far as that goes, A+ was the first thing that landed me the job you know, not getting the foot in the door as far as it goes and then went from there. So right now. Right. It’s ever changing, obviously, in your you’re not stagnant. You know, you’re still constantly learning about these things and you’re wanting to learn more.

So as long as you establish that path and you pick your own journey, you kind of know where to go, where to go from there in terms of certification. So that’s where we’re currently at right now in terms of where I’m what I want to study and what sort of certifications I want to land.

What was the experience like working with our Career Services team?

When I first was a student at CIAT, I went ahead and inquired about the career services in terms of knowing how to interview, building your resumé, as well as establishing that profile online to where recruiters are able to look at your profile and understanding like how to go about perfecting that method in terms of your profile and how to communicate and establish what you want on the job. I mean, I learned it early on. You know, it was great in terms of the class they provided, whereas it’s just like a relationship, you’re interviewing them and you get what you want in terms of a job.

So that’s a confidence that was instilled in me in terms of practicing all those interviews and the career services team they’re awesome. And that’s how I got to learn how to interview. That’s how I generated that confidence to be able to interview without having to be nervous. You know, because when they’re interviewing you, at the same time you’re interviewing them to see if it’s best fit for you.

“So that’s a confidence that was instilled in me in terms of practicing all those interviews and the career services team they’re awesome. And that’s how I got to learn how to interview. That’s how I generated that confidence to be able to interview without having to be nervous. ”

So for me, the career services team at CIAT was awesome. So that’s a great place to start in terms of learning how to job search, job hunt…. So I would advise approaching the career services team in terms of support in that area.

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Are there any other career goals next on your list?

Yeah. So in terms of career goals, obviously I want to focus on what I’m want to where I’m at right now. In terms of my position to be able to learn because I still just recently started, but to be able to learn and expand my knowledge there – I mean, all to my ultimate goal is cloud & networking. So just building that foundation and knowledge first and then working my way up up the chain.

So not only study but also demonstrate the knowledge that I’ve learned to be able to let my management team know that I’m here and to use me as well in terms of the skillsets I’m generating. So every day is a learning process when it comes to it in this career path in IT, so you know, for me it’s just wanting to generate the knowledge in terms of learning those certifications as well as the Network+ and CCNA – that’s where my head is at terms of networking.

Then you know, later on AWS in terms of cloud variability, I just want to go ahead and learn more about the Amazon Web Services, Azure as well as cloud and Google Cloud. So those type of vendors nowadays I’m just hearing and picking the brain of the current software engineers. We have to wear many hard hats in order to understand how the cloud works.

So for me to be able to pursue that, that’s my ultimate goal, to be able to be the jack of all trades in terms of cloud.

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What was your overall experience like at CIAT?

Amazing. So, my experience, at CIAT, starting from my first class, Professor Stengel, shout out to you, it’s having that foundational knowledge in terms of the IT foundation, A+ and then moving on to like the servers as well as networking, all the professors there were very knowledgeable and they had a lot of experience in the industry.

There would be times where I would be able to pick their brain and in terms of career path and goals, and what needs to be done to be, to have my foot in the door in the industry such as this. So, shout out to all the professors that I’ve had in the past to be able to explore this career path.

It’s just an amazing feeling that I’ve come so far not only just come this far, but I want to go out and expand even further. So I’m very thankful for my experience at CIAT, very thankful for all the staff and faculty members there to be where I’m at right now. So I couldn’t have done it without them.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face this past year?

So obviously where I’m at right now, there’s challenges every day and learning opportunities so starting off with where I’m at my current job, being that I’m recently hired – I’m new, obviously you have to go up the chain here in terms of learning every day and learning the responsibilities and how to go about it. You know, learning the politics that go behind it as well. And that’s something that that’s always not going to change for for everybody that’s trying to come up in any career path. So you’re always going to learn something new every day. You’re always going to be experiencing something unique and difficult, which will require unique and creative solutions.

So, as far as that goes, that is a challenge. Experiences such as this where you’re just coming up new and you’re having to prove yourself again, that’s always going to be a challenge. But as long as you have the will, the want to, then you’re able to overcome in and obviously display what you want to when you want to be as long as you – so that you are, I don’t know how you say this. Right now. it’s like the end of the day at this time. But for me, like to be able to demonstrate your knowledge, to be able to prove that you’re worth it is is worthwhile as far as like having to climb up the chain to be able to be successful in that aspect.

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What is one piece of advice for new students who want to build a career in tech?

In building a tech career, obviously having the passion for it. You know, if you have a passion for tech, then having to explore all the technologies available, kind of seeing where you want to go in terms of tech. So I would say for me, when I first started, I just wanted to go ahead – because I didn’t know what I wanted initially, whether it be networks, cloud, servers know stuff like that.

So once I took the IT career path, at CIAT, I was able to kind of see what excites me. You know, I took the A+, that’s more of a general consensus of like everything IT. So once I took the exam, I was like, oh, this is fascinating, networking the command line… Like, I feel like I’m a wizard, so for me, that felt very very exciting.

You know, I kinda felt that so much so that I wanted to pursue that career path. Not only that, but labbing, kind of applying yourself every day, having that willpower, that want to, to be able to explore those technologies so that way, and also you know, once I picked the path that I’ve chosen right now, I’m just working hard to prove myself that I made the right decision as well.

So I know like for IT, you can branch out any other way, but as long as you kind of find what excites you, then, know, having that willpower that want to to meet that halfway, to go halfway. Well, that’ll take you places. And so that’s the advice I would give to like all those students starting out to be able to lab every day, you know, explore every day and see and pick of whatever technology excites you.

“So once I took the IT career path, at CIAT, I was able to kind of see what excites me. You know, I took the A+, that’s more of a general consensus of like everything IT.”

Summary – Tips Any Student Can Walk Away With:

Every student’s career journey is unique. Here are a few key takeaways of what you can learn from Marc – whether you’re just starting out, coming back to the workforce after a break, making a career change, or advancing in your current position.

• Use every opportunity to work on your soft skills – Establishing relationships with your instructors, fellow students and staff will give you a major leg up when it comes to your interview & workplace interpersonal communication skills. Practicing verbalizing what you’ve learned in the classroom will help you to be able to communicate better with employers, bosses, customers, and fellow work colleagues alike, and helps you build confidence in your soft skills. 

• Take advantage of the Career Services staff & practice interviews – Speaking of soft skills, an employer will look for prospective employees that have good communication skills. When it comes time for the interview, being able to speak candidly about what you’re seeking from a job, and asking what an employer is seeking from you happens naturally when you’ve put some time and energy into practicing interviewing. After all, just like in a relationship, you’re interviewing them as well! 

• Take advantage of CIAT’s unlimited certification policy – We invest in our students’ success. One of the many ways we do this is through our unique unlimited certification exam attempt policy. We are so confident on your ability to transition into the workforce with the hard-earned certifications on your resume, that we’ll stop at nothing to help you succeed. Students spend thousands of dollars out of their own pocket taking and retaking exams. Many will quit after the first attempt or procrastinate and never take their first attempt at all too afraid to fail.

• Find out what excites you – When it comes to an education, starting is often the hardest part – you’re new, and things can feel overwhelming. But once you get your foundation, begin to explore which areas you enjoy the most. Nurture your passion and curiosity, and discover what excites you (t’s something you learn on your own). Pursuing your passions will not only help you be more successful in the workplace, but it plays a big role in your overall happiness and quality of life.