Introduction
On this page you’ll be able to find out a bit more about me. Let’s start with the basics. My name is Brad Ireland. I was born in Sydney some years ago but have lived most of my life in the western suburbs of Sydney. I’m approaching the age where I’m told life begins, which makes me wonder what I’ve been up until now, practicing maybe? I have a family and relatives here there and everywhere.
Career
Using computers started off as a hobby, but it within a couple of years became my profession. I’ve now been an information technology (IT) professional for 20 years. I started off working for the commonwealth/federal government department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET). I worked on the Help Desk providing phone and email based support and service to departmental staff in the state and regional offices as well as around 120 Commonwealth Employment Service offices. After the government of the day decided to privatise all of government IT I needed to find a new job.
I started working for the NSW government department of education and training (DET), working at TAFE Sydney Institute. I established and coordinated the day to day activities of the Help Desk, now providing support and service to TAFE staff at the 8 colleges that make up Sydney Institute. I was well regarded and respected by the people I worked with and those I provided support to. As a result of this I was presented with 3 Customer Service awards. Software is my speciality and I’ve used and supported various versions of Microsoft Windows and Office as well as many other programs, applications and games. In 2009 I left Sydney Institute to accept a promotion to what’s called the ITD Service Desk. This is still part of DET but Instead of supporting TAFE staff I was now supporting primary and high school teachers, other staff working at schools and DET Corporate staff.
There are many processes and procedures that need to be followed when providing technical and customer support. The quality of such processes and procedures affects the effectiveness of the service delivered. During 2009 a new Service Delivery team was established where I was now working and I applied for and won one of the positions on the team. So in 2010 after answering around 30,000 phone calls and emails I will change my role to develop and maintain support processes and procedures and work on things related to service delivery. It’s an exciting and interesting time in my career.
Interests
I have a variety of interests; I’ve given each of my major interests a section on my website. SO if you want more information I suggest checking out the corresponding section on the website.
I’ve already mentioned computers. I’m fascinated about all things computers and IT and am continuing learning new things and going into different aspects of computing. My current areas of interest with computers include Virtualisation, Windows 7, Web Publishing and SharePoint server.... oh and something called Facebook, I don’t know if you’d have heard about that it only has 300,000000 users and is only the 4th most popular site on the Internet.
Music has been an important part of my life from a very young age. I listen to lots of different types of music. My favourites to listen to in no particular order are the Beatles (together and alone), Genesis, Phil Collins, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Neil/Tim Finn (Split Enz/Crowded House), Fleetwood Mac, Sting/Police, The Cure and Supertramp. There are many others I like to listen to as well. For instance in recent years I’ve started to discover and like the music of the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
I fancy myself as being a writer. During high school I wrote several stories and also a soap opera that went for about 50 episodes. IT was at this time I thought about becoming a journalist. Apart from doing a week’s work experience at a local paper I didn’t do anything about it. However over the years I’ve kept writing. I’ve written journals, short and long stories, various technical / user documentation about computers. Previously on my website I published a newspaper called ‘Brad’s Internet Tribune’. This year I plan to start blogging on a regular basis after many false starts. I may even consider writing a novel.
I’ve read books sporadically throughout my life, but in the last 12 months have really got into reading (listening to audio books) quite a lot. I have read 38 or so books during the past 12 months and plan to read a lot more in the future. My favourite book series of all time is Harry Potter.
I’m also interested in TV Shows and Movies and other related entrainment maters. TV Shows I like include Star Trek, Stargate, Babylon 5, Twin Peaks, Quantum Leap, X Files and many others. Favourite movies include The SHawshank Redemption, Brakfast Club, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Chocolat, Ground Hog Day and James Bond.
Last but not least I’m interested in public speaking, communication and presentation skills. To assist me in this endeavour I am a member of a Toastmasters public speaking club called National Toastmasters. Check out the club website for more information about what Toastmasters is and about the club itself. I’ve learnt a lot and made many good friends.
Well now after reading all of this you should know all about Brad.
