This month, we're celebrating Ian Schuler's 9th anniversary at ICON! Ian has been our amazing IT Specialist since 2016. His responsibilities include providing technical assistance in person, over the phone, and electronically, diagnosing and resolving technical hardware and software issues, tracking and routing problems and requests while documenting resolutions, and staying up to date with system information, changes, and updates.
We're so lucky to have him on our team! Check out his Q&A below to get to know him better.
What's your name, and what do you do here at ICON?
Ian Schuler, Vice Admiral of IT - I grease the network machinery, write weird emails, and fix computers by looking at them.
What’s your favorite part of working at ICON?
I love the learning side of what I do - that and problem solving for a bunch of weirdos. (The good kind of weirdos, obviously.) I never know what kind of oddball issue will come up.
How do you stay motivated and keep a positive attitude at work?
I actually really enjoy coming into the office - I had a taste of remote work during 2021 and realized it drove me stir crazy. There’s something about team activity and knowing I’m not the only one at work in the area that helps keep me busy.
Tell us something unique or fun about yourself that most people don't know.
I’m a big fan of experimenting with food, and it runs in the family! My wife will tell you that unless it absolutely requires following some kind of rules - like being baked or canned-recipes go out the window. We enjoy gardening and all the benefits of that; (plants are great - you never have to reboot them or patch security issues) I fermented hot sauce for the first time last summer and the sauce was a big hit with a few people we know.
What’s your go-to productivity hack or work routine?
I’m not sure what a routine is when it comes to work! Most days I stay busy making sure the rest of the crew is able to do what they need to do. If it’s a quieter day and things are running smoothly the field of IT tends to move and develop fast enough that there’s always something to do or learn.
What’s one of your proudest achievements here at ICON?
Hearing appreciation from the people who haven’t had great experiences with IT in the past. I know I’m not perfect, and a lot of times when I show up it’s because things aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do, but it’s always great to find out that I made something better.
Who or what inspires you, both inside and outside of work?
Chances to learn, grow, and watch people applying their skills, probably. Not necessarily just with IT either - it’s fun to watch people who are good at what they do, whether that’s design or drafting or workplace diplomacy, or just being creative.
What’s your favorite team tradition or work moment?
Tidy Fridays are nice for those of us with too much stuff don’t judge me.
If you could describe your work style in three words, what would they be?
Make things better.
What's one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out in your role?
Step one - learn and be willing to learn. There are countless opportunities to learn, and recognizing “You don’t know what you don’t know” is a good way to develop a teachable mindset. (Step zero would be to be practice and develop your IT aura - there comes a point where things will fix themselves just because you show up and it’s helpful to take advantage of that.)
