Tech Tuesday: Jennifer Whisenhunt, Support Technician

1. What first got you interested in working in technology?

What got my attention with working in technology was video games and being intrigued with their engineering. Playing with my PC, figuring out its ins and outs, and what made it generate all the knowledge that it holds really pushed me to want to learn more.

2. What AI or machine learning capabilities are you most looking forward to?

Machine learning is remarkable technology and the growth of it within AI has been exciting to watch over the years. How it has been made to work in our day-to-day lives with social media and even opening our cell phones with face recognition still blows my mind today.

From a teenager using a filter on snapchat to medical professionals using speech recognition to determine a medical diagnosis, it’s incredible. I’m excited to see where it goes since it is the future of technology.

3. What was the most challenging aspect of your career and how did you overcome it?

Prior to working at IntelePeer, I was mainly working call center jobs in the tech field – nothing like what I do at IntelePeer. So, I had a long and exciting road in front of me. When I first started at IntelePeer, I was completely new to the industry and how communications platform as a service (CPaaS) worked.

I had to take in and learn all this new knowledge so I could do my job correctly. I overcame my fears of failing, and now I am in my third year of doing this job, still learning new things. However, with a lot of hard work, patience, and the support of my team, I have become very successful at what I do today.

4. Any advice for women who want to join the tech industry?

Don’t be afraid to enjoy a job in a more male-powered environment. Women are smart, capable, and strong-willed beings, and we should feel comfortable in any career path we decide to go down. You got this.

5. What advice would you give your younger self who is just starting in the workforce?

I would just advise my younger self to just go out and do it, as cliché as that sounds.

I started out with networking and troubleshooting for Nintendo at a small-time contact center, and now I have a full-blown career in the tech field. Just go out, put your name out there, and hold on because it will be an interesting, yet fun, ride.