First of all, thanks for caring. The following is a short auto-biographical piece based on one originally written for a job application cv website.
Studying electronics and computer science at the Federal Secondary College of Engineering Mödling have equipped me with a logical and process-oriented frame of mind and modus operandi that helps me perform and succeed in a variety of fields, technical and otherwise. Even so, my creative instincts and talents (I started writing short stories at the age of twelve) were suppressed during those years. In order to counter this effect, I decided to combine my writing ambitions and my fascination for films and, after some practical experience as production assistant, successfully applied for the directing and writing program at Vienna Film School. Even though I learned a lot there initially, I was soon disappointed by the lack of quality of both content and lecturers. Faced with a promising job offer from LION.cc Libro Online Inc., I left the school during the first year.
The following ten months at LION.cc are among my best and most valuable professional experiences. Fuelled by the surge of the “new economy”, I could in my position as site manager for dvd and video participate and influence with all my strength and creative energy the “dot-com bubble”. But, since I was still intrigued by writing (especially screenplays) and film I decided to once again try my luck — this time abroad though — and applied for the screenwriting program at Vancouver Film School in Canada. A few months later I found myself on the Pacific coast in the New World.In Vancouver I could, for the first time, immerse myself fully in a purely creative atmosphere. Surrounded by fellow screenwriters in the third largest North American film production city, my creative energy flowed like never before. Even though it was a wonderful time in which I learned a lot — not only about screenwriting, but especially about the different cultures of my international colleagues — I somehow knew that writing would stay a pastime love for me. I never was made for the life of an artist.Back in Austria I faced a time of uncertainty. Having returned to a world were everyone had stayed the same while I felt like an entirely new person, I was directionless. I tried for four months to find a job which would satisfy both my technical knowledge and abilities and my creative ambitions. Approaching the end of my financial resources, I accepted a job as technical support in a call center for UTA Telekom Inc. By the end of the first month I pulled the emergency break and quit. A little later I found a job as IT support at Österreichische Galerie Belvedere.
At the Belvedere I learned how linux system administration works and also had the opportunity to practise my project management skills by planning a new server room and a terabyte network attached storage solution. Experiencing a new-found motivation and fascination for information technolody, I was nevertheless aware that I wanted to advance intellectually as well. After a while I found what I thought was the ideal university program for me — a combination of film and technology: Digital Television and Interactive Services at the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg.
Unfortunately, as had been the case with Vienna Film School, I quite soon had to acknowledge the substandard quality of education offered by the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. Disappointed by the lack of a big-picture concept and faced with incompetence by most of the lecturers, I felt set back to zero. I had declined a good offer as head of IT at the Galerie Belvedere and had moved to Salzburg, only to be let down once again. All I knew was that I wanted a university degree.
One result of my stay in Canada and the 11 September 2001 terror attacks was a new fascination with the USA. Being aware of a lack of general education (due to the technical focus at college) I started looking for a way to get a Bachelor’s degree within the anglo-saxon territory, but with a limited budget. I found it at the University of Hull, which has recently been called a secret of the UK unversity system by the Sunday Times.
Therefore, I spent 2004 to 2006 mainly in England, where once again I learned not only through the curriculum, but through the diverse cultures of the international students at Hull University. In order not to stay away from the business world completely, I volunteered as News Editor and Online Editor for the student newspaper “Hullfire” and enrolled in a one-year management course at the university’s business department. In the course of that seminar I learned a lot about management, particularly project management, which fascinated me. This prompted my decision to enroll in a part-time Master’s course in New Media Management, beginning Fall 2006.
As you can see, my life has so far been anything but “normal”. I hold a college degree in computer science, a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies, and have both management knowledge and experience. Gaining even more insight into management is my next (part-time) educational goal. Furthermore, I was able, through my experiences abroad, to develop an international network of contacts which spans not only Europe, but includes the US, Canada, and Japan. Enthusiasm for and complete dedication to a project are part of my very being, and I commit myself fully to every engagement. As I am sure you have garnered by reading these paragraphs about myself, new challenges and assignments are not only a matter of course to me — I practically need them. I thrive through challenges and hope to find and master a lot of those in the future. Who knows, maybe our paths will cross some day.
Since June 2006 I am a project manager with Teletrader, an Austrian software company focusing on stock exchange information systems.
