Charter Communications
2 Digital Place
Simpsonville, SC. 29681
www.spectrum.net
1-203-905-7801
All employment information is available through contacting the human resources department or viewing their career listings on their website.
Charter Communications is one of the leading broadband connectivity companies in the United States. Marketing their products by use of the Spectrum brand, the company offers a comprehensive line of residential and business networking services ranging from home entertainment television, digital phone and internet access, to commercial class internet and VOIP solutions.
Charter Communications had humble beginnings when it was founded in 1993 by three former executives at Cencom Cable Television in St. Louis, MO, Barry Babcock, Jerald Kent, and Howard Wood (Companies History.com, 2021). It was only a couple of years after the formation of the company that Charter began an aggressive strategy towards purchasing controlling interest in several different cable companies across the United States. The ultimate acquisition was the 2014 absorption of 1.4 million Comcast / Time Warner Cable customers, thus bringing their subscriber base to over 5 million customers, making Charter the second largest operator in the country (Companies History.com, 2021).
In researching Charter Communications, I was pleased to learn that they employ over 96,000 employees as of the present date (Charter By the Numbers, 2021). The company maintains over 750,000 miles of network infrastructure and is constantly incorporating new technologies into their network to better serve their customers needs (Charter By the Numbers, 2021). To learn that the company maintains such a large infrastructure and employs so many people across the nation only serves to heighten my interest in employment. I see the potential for years of growth and career stability for my future, as well as an outlet for my professional skills to be fully utilized by a stable and forward moving organization.
I was further pleased to learn the company offers one of the best payment packages in the industry, with a generous retirement plan of up to a 9% employer match to an IRA and retirement accumulation play, and full medical and dental services (Pay & benefits by the number, 2021).
I would have some additional questions to see where I would fit in the company and what directions I could grew in. The questions are as follows:
What brand of equipment do you employ on your current network?
Do you offer manufacturer sponsored training to allow me to become proficient on the new equipment and present equipment your network?
What are the different opportunities available for placement in the topology of IT and where may I direction may I grow to become a more productive employee?
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
2650 Lou Menk Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76131
www.bnsf.com
1-800-533-2673
No one on one contacts are available. All information and interactions must be made at jobs.bnsf.com.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, hereafter BNSF, is one of the leading class one railways in the United States. BNSF came to be in the 1990s with the merger of two power house railroads, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, and the Burlington Northern Railway (itself being the product of the merging of several class one railroads of the past).
I would like to first interject that I have always been a ‘train nut’. I have been watching, modeling, acquiring knowledge, and telling stories about railroads since I was a child of five years. It only seemed fitting that I should take an interest in pursuing a career in my chosen field of technology in the railroad industry.
In researching BNSF’s IT and technology services, I learned that the railroad manages one of the largest private telecommunications networks tasked with the efficient operations of all trains on the system (IT / Technology Services, 2021). The system is geared towards keeping all transportation running smoothly while keeping all customers well informed of all cargo movements. BNSF offers a competitive employment package with good retirement package consisting of 401(k) opportunities and the Railroad Retirement System (BNSF Offers Great Benefits, 2021). While the prospect of again in the transportation industry appeals to me, and working with one of the largest telecommunications networks instills a sense of job security and utilization of my skills, my interest decreased when I learned that there are currently no positions available in the IT division anywhere on the system. Still, should openings come available, I could see myself becoming a member this dynamic system.
If granted an audience, I would have some additional questions to see if and where I would fit into the system and to satisfy my curiosities.
What is the Railroad Retirement System and how does it differ from Social Security?
What are the software needs of the railroad network tracking system and what kind of hardware support does it require?
What are the different networking positions available across the network and what are the potentials for advancement in those fields?
Texas Parks and Wildlife
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, TX 78744
tpwd.texas.gov
1-512-389-4545
No one on one contacts are available. All information and interactions must be made through the jobs and careers link on their webpage.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is a state government agency responsible the management and protection of state parks and wildlife in the State of Texas. Having been created back in 1963 through the merger of other state wildlife agencies, they are responsible for issuing and managing licenses for various recreational sporting activities, such as boating registration, fishing licenses, and hunting licenses (TPWD Activities and History, 2021). In addition to licensing, they offer various outreach publications on their website to inform and educate the people wanting to get involved in outdoor wildlife activities.
In doing my initial research with the TPWD, my first inclination was motivated by the fact that this is a government job, by definition a job with a high degree of employment security. Upon doing my research into the agency, I quickly learned that they have an IT department division that is responsible for tech support and networking services for all regional and satellite offices in the state (Information Technology, 2021). My interest was further peaked when I learned of the other divisions available in the IT department, analysts and specialists (Information Technology, 2021). With this knowledge I am confident that there is a future for promotion within the agency leading to better compensation and benefits, and a more challenging use of my talents to better the organizations goals and services. They offer a reasonable compensation package and a generous benefits package consisting of inclusion in the state employee retirement system and 9.5% matching contribution by the employer to the Employees Retirement System (TPWD Benefits, 2021).
I would have some additional questions to ask if I were granted and interview.
Since this is a state law enforcement agency, would I be required to undergo law enforcement training and carry a badge?
Would I be homed in one office or be required to travel extensively?
What hardware platform does the state use for its current network infrastructure?
Union Pacific Railroad
1400 Douglas Street
Omaha, NE 68179
www.up.com
1-888-870-8777
No one on one contacts are available. All information and interactions must be made through the careers link on their webpage.
Dating back to 1862, the Union Pacific came into existence when President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act into law (History, 2021). This railroad has a long and distinguished history, including being one of the two railroads to link the first transcontinental railroad line at the Golden Spike Ceremony in Utah. It may be interesting to note that the other railroad in the ceremony was the Central Pacific Railroad, which in turn became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad in the early 1900s (“Central Pacific Railroad,” n.d.). The Southern Pacific Railroad was acquired by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1995. Today, at over 150 years later, the Union Pacific Railroad is one of the largest railroads in the United States, and is the oldest railroad west of the Mississippi River to maintain its original name (Post Construction, 2021).
In researching the Union Pacific Railroad, I learned much the same information as that of the BNSF. UP maintains a large, highly sophisticated telecommunications network responsible for the efficient tracking and conveyance of trains across the system (Information Technologies, 2021). This system is also responsible for providing real time information to all customers involved in the freight movement, both on the shipping side and the receiving side of rails. While UP does offer similar benefits to the BNSF, they do offer the option of PPO medical as an alternative to HDHP medical benefits (Management Benefits, 2021). The advantage to PPO is less of a deductible, meaning less out of pocket expenses. In keeping with the competition, UP also offers a retirement plan with a 401(k) match of up to 6%, plus an additional 3% salary match, totaling a possible 9% employer match, in addition to the customary Railroad Retirement Program (Management Benefits, 2021).
If I were granted an interview with the UP, I would have the same group of questions as I do for the other prospective railroad employer.
What is the Railroad Retirement System and how does it differ from Social Security?
What are the software needs of the railroad network tracking system and what kind of hardware support does it require?
What are the different networking positions available across the network and what are the potentials for advancement in those fields?
References
BNSF. (2021). IT / Technology Services. Retrieved from https://jobs.bnsf.com/go/ITTechnology-Services/400906/
BNSF. (2021). BNSF Offers Great Benefits. Retrieved from http://www.bnsf.com/careers/benefits/exempt-benefits/ExemptHighlights.pdf
Central Pacific Railroad. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad
Charter. (2021). Charter By the Numbers. Retrieved from https://corporate.charter.com/about-charter
Charter. (2021). Pay & benefits by the numbers. Retrieved from https://jobs.spectrum.com/compensation-and-benefits/
Companies History.com. (2021). Charter Communications, Inc. history, profile, and corporate video. Retrieved from https://www.companieshistory.com/charter-communications/
TPWD. (2021). TPWD Employment Benefits. Retrieved from https://tpwd.texas.gov/jobs/benefits.phtml
TPWD. (2021). TPWD Activities and History. Retrieved from https://tpwd.texas.gov/about/history
TPWD. (2021). Information Technology. Retrieved from https://tpwd.texas.gov/jobs/information_technology/
Union Pacific. (2021). History. Retrieved from https://www.up.com/heritage/history/
Union Pacific. (2021). Information Technologies. Retrieved from https://up.jobs/careers/professional/it/index.htm
Union Pacific, (2021). Management Benefits. Retrieved from https://up.jobs/why/benefits/management/index.htm
Union Pacific. (2021). Post Construction. Retrieved from https://www.up.com/heritage/history/overview/post-construction/index.htm
Charter Communications sounds like an interesting job and that’s nice that they employ so many people. My only question to that is because they employ so many people do a lot of people leave/quit? What would your position be at the job?
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department also sounds nice as well. Having an IT department at the Parks & Department location would be very interesting. Would you have to deal with keeping record of the species? Or would it just have to do with computers? Since it’s a job at a Wildlife Department I think it should have something to do with species and have some involvement with them.
There are so many positions available that I could qualify for at Charter Communications with the degree I am pursuing. I suppose it would be more a matter of what is open at the time I apply and whether I feel it would be a good fit for me to pursue (and I would be quite flexible in order to get in the door). I did not read anything in my research to indicate that they have any more of a turnover than any other business in the industry, but I am sure that they do have their share of it. People retire, move on to better positions elsewhere, and some do quit because the fit just was not right.
From my research on the Texas Parks and Wildlife, the position in IT I am interested in would be directed towards maintaining the network infrastructure and the health of the computers on the network. There are two other divisions of the IT department that deal with being a programmer (the analyst position) and being a database and web admin (the specialist position). Given the nature of those two positions there may be some involvement in species records, though it does not specifically indicate it in the career descriptions. It may be that species records resides solely in the domain of the rangers themselves and I am sure that a lateral move could be made into such a position once employment is gained. You know what they say, it is always better to get you foot in the door so that you can move forward.
BNSF is a good choice. I had an opportunity to tour a BNSF datacenter that also leases space to Evergy (Westar at the time). The amount of equipment and complexity of their infrastructure is impressive.
I’m going to have to add them to a list of companies to look into as well.
The Burlington Northern job sounds remarkably interesting to me, I have always lived close to railroad tracks and enjoyed the sound of the big steam engines coming through. I am curious on what your actual job title. Would it be just the IT department or something else? If they do not have any offers that must mean their salary pay is well. If you do something you have a love for, you will never work a day in your life as they say. An interview question I thought of was what is work-life balance to this company? I always am curious if they will overwork you and then push you out the door when you are at an end. I do wish you the best of luck pursuing this job in the future. You being a big fan of trains will help the learning curve a lot.
Christopher, you have a nice selection of prospective employers. I like that you included Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway because you are fascinated by trains. The Texas Parks and Wildlife pick I found interesting, as I was recently looking at government jobs in the state of Kansas. They looked rather low paying considering the desired qualifications. I hope that isn’t the case in Texas. Your Union Pacific section had nice questions.
I found your selection of employers interesting. They were ones I wouldn’t have considered.
Christopher,
I liked your selection of employers. It would be a hard choice between the 9% match for retirement and a government job. However, I think whichever job would have more opportunities and different parts of the job that you are qualified for, would be more worth your time and utilization of your skills.