Alex E. Parker

Hello,

I'm Alex Parker. I am a graduate non degree student at the University of Colorado Denver (UCD) pursuing the Technical and Professional Writing Certificate. I earned my MBA and MS in Information Systems at UCD. I have a Bachelor's in Political Science from Colorado State University. One of the reasons I entered the Information Technology (IT) field, is that I enjoy the hands-on aspect of testing software, maintaining documentation, and creating documentation.

My career in the IT field included roles as: software engineer, software tester, web developer, data quality analyst, business analyst, and project manager. I would like to start a new chapter in the IT technical writing field. I have written, edited, and co-authored technical documents such as: release notes, test documents, data quality documentation, design documents, and a user manual for internal use on a project. I enjoyed these efforts. I also had a fun experience managing a content library running on Atlassian Confluence. I think this course, and our iFixit project, will dovetail nicely with my previous technical writing experience.

I would like to start a new chapter in my career as a technical writer creating and maintaining IT manuals or user manuals for other technical fields outside of the IT field. I am also interested in content management opportunities in the IT field. I am excited about this course and iFixit. I have not heard about iFixit, and I am glad to have this hands-on learning opportunity to acquire new skills and learn about an interesting segment of the IT field. I think this course, and my certificate, will show prospective employers that I am serious about opening this new career chapter.

Another reason I enrolled in this course, and why I am pursuing this certificate, is that I enjoy working with my hands and getting the satisfaction of completing a task that I started. I enjoy working on my house. Here are photos of some home repairs I've done on my house. I replaced the pump on my furnace; I repaired my leaky kitchen faucet; and I installed these cabinet doors over the water and sprinkler valves in my basement. I purchased old cabinets from Habitat for Humanity. Next, I removed the cabinet doors; repainted the doors; and placed them to cover the valves in my basement.

I can provide my resume, if you're interested. :-) Some of my skills include:

• HTML
• SQL
• Atlassian Jira and the related JQL
• Atlassian Confluence
• Business Analysis
• Software Testing
• Agile software development methodology
• Classic Software Development Lifecycle methodology
• Data mapping
• Business Analysis
• Project Management
• Impact Analysis
• Data Quality

• Eagle Scout with a merit badge in home repairs. This was my favorite merit badge.
• Competent Toastmaster - Toastmasters International
• Competent Leader - Toastmasters International
• Advanced Toastmaster - Toastmasters International

• I speak Portuguese and Spanish.
• I was born in Athens, Greece.
• My favorite hobby is philately.
• Here I am climbing The Incline in Manitou Springs.
  

I am looking forward to this class and this project!

Thanks,

Alex