Here's a more formal resume, if you want to see one. I'm presently working a contract that started April 2003 and is slated to run through October 2003.
CompuServe, Inc (8/1989-10/1991), Telos Systems Group (11/1991-11/1992), Trident Data Systems (11/1992-11/1998), UUNET Technologies (10/1998-10/1999), TKC Solutions (10/1999-3/2000), Self-employed (4/2000-Present).
CompuServe: My first "real" job (ie. after college) was working for CompuServe, Inc in Reston, VA, starting in August 1989. I was horribly overworked, but as a result got to do some pretty neat stuff (for a first job). I developed, maintained, and supported various products and services that CompuServe provided for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Marriott Corporation, HCFA (Health Care Finance Administration), and the FDIC, among others. Most of these projects were "solo", meaning that I did all the work on them. This was all several years before America Online bought CompuServe.
After two years of putting in 60-70 hour weeks for pitiful pay and very little appreciation from management, I left CompuServe and went to work for Telos Systems Group in October 1991, where I was lead software engineer for their internal MIS project.
Telos: Although a decent company, Telos was going through "re-org and acquisition hell" when I started - a process that continued until after I left (after about a year): Telos was bought by Contel. Contel merged with GTE. GTE sold Telos to an investment group that wanted to merge them with a faltering company called "C-3"...this is the point where I resigned (after a year with Telos). From what I've seen, though, they've recovered and are doing well now.
Trident Data Systems: From Telos I went in November 1992 to Trident Data Systems (TDS), a security-oriented company with a strong foot in classified government consulting. Over the course of six years I worked on about 6 to 8 different projects or contracts for TDS, including Unix Systems Administration, NeXTStep Software Development, Oracle DB Development, Network Installation, Systems Analysis, etc, etc...
I also did "on-the-side" consulting for them where I developed and taught
"night classes" for other employees. I probably taught 30 or more such classes
for them, including Intro Unix, Intermediate Unix, Intermediate Cisco Router, and Basic
Networking. I actually enjoyed teaching the classes (much more than developing the
material!!
Eventually I reached a point where TDS wasn't providing the career growth opportunities that I needed, and I started to feel like I was starting to fall behind in current technology. After changing positions and contracts three times within a year, I decided that it was time to move on. I still have a lot of friends from TDS, and hope to continue to keep in touch with many of them.
UUNET: In October 1998 I took a position with UUNET Technologies as "Internet Systems Engineer" (that's the generic title...really it was a software engineer position). Unfortunately, the team I was on suffered from a lack of leadership and direction, and I made a decision to pursue opportunities in the consulting arena.
TKC Solutions: Shortly after I decided to go into consulting (something I'd thought of doing for quite some time), I was at a wedding for one of my best friends from college, and met his business partner. To make a long story short, I joined them in their company, with the possibility of becoming a full partner. Things went very well overall, but after a six months I decided that my interests and goals would be better-served by being independent (and eventually starting my own company).
In the six months with TKC Solutions, I worked contracts for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, MCI WorldCom, and EDS (on a contract for General Motors). The work involved was primarily High-Availability/Clustering SysAdmin, but also included some Y2K upgrades, and general SysAdmin as well.
Independent: I "officially" became an independent consultant on March 31, 2000. I landed my first contract shortly thereafter, working for Wang (now Getronics) Government Services, on a contract for the FAA. That contract involved a bit of everything: Unix SysAdmin (Solaris), C++, Oracle PL/SQL development, Oracle DB Admin, Tcl/Tk, and Configuration Management, among others. My contract with Getronics was extended twice, and finally ended in March 2001 (when their contract with MCI ended).
In April 2001 (after the FAA work ended), I started a contract with PlanetGov, Inc (based in Chantilly) working on their contract with US STRATCOM at Offutt Air Force Base (in Omaha, NE). Fortunately, most of the work is done out of their Chantilly, VA office, but a couple of 1-2 week trips to Omaha have been required. The contract was extended twice, and finally ended in May 2002.
Next, I worked on a contract for a company called "Sevenspace." The end customer was Comcast High-Speed Internet Services, and I provided engineering support for their server infrastructure, including email, web services, and LDAP directory services.