Shawn's work

Yesterday I talked a little about my upcoming schedule, so I thought it was only fitting today to talk a little bit about what Shawn does.

Shawn is a technical support specialist at a company called Intervolve, which is located in the building below. The building is really nice and new. They even have a covered parking garage. And the second picture there is of the side of the building, where they have a nice outdoor eating area.

So what is Intervolve? Intervolve provides a niche software product to the beverage industry. For the most part, their software is used by beer distributors. For example, beer distributors go into a store with a handheld device and survey how many cases of certain types of beer there are, where they are placed, etc. to keep track of inventory. This device uses Intervolve's software.

Shawn then provides support for the software. He really only deals with a small number of people and, therefore, a variety of problems. He is not like the support people at Best Buy or Dell, who likely interact with new customers every time. There are about 15 clients he interacts with. These people are from the IT divisions of the various beer distribution companies. This means the he is always working on different problems (granted--sometimes he gets the same thing, but quite often it is a new problem that he needs to do some investigation in to). This is great for Shawn.

Shawn has always been a problem-solver. He does it with everything. If he can't figure out a certain technology, he looks it up and researches until he understands it. If he has a problem with an engine he is installing, same thing. This job provides him with an opportunity to do that.

The one major downside to his job? The schedule. He works a 1-10 p.m. shift. It isn't ideal, and it's permanent (at least until they start hiring more people and he is able to change).

When he applied and was interviewing we honestly didn't think it would be a big deal. My schedule is really variable with school and so we still get to see each other. It's just not the ideal time. It means he gets home at about 10:30, then he wants to check email, read forums, etc. Sometimes I have him watch one of our TV shows I have recorded. This means we don't go to bed until about midnight. Which then leads to sleeping in. And before you know it he is getting ready to leave for work again.

Hopefully, since the company is doing well, they will hire new people and he will get to change shifts, but until then, this will work. At least he likes his job, the people and the company. That's a pretty good deal!