Q&A with Eric Andriesen

In the interview summary below, Eric discusses how he went from Alaska Crab fishing to a career in information technology.

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D: What made you want to pursue a career in information technology? EA: I began my career in IT partly due to my late father. He had purchased one of the first Commodore 64 PC’s back in the late ’80s. We would play with it and create our programs written in Basic, so I had an early exposure to the beginning of the computer explosion. And so, after high school, I went to Alaska and started fishing crab (before Deadliest Catch came on tv! lol). After a couple of brutal seasons, it was clear to me that I would not be able to do that for the rest of my life. I had to rethink where I was going to go. Since I had prior computer experience, it made sense that I would go to college for computers. I went, and the rest is history! I have been in IT for almost 30 years now, and I am very glad I made that decision years ago.

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D: What do you enjoy the most about your current role? EA: My current role working with the CSO and SSVM FirstNet team at AT&T is fantastic. I work with some of the most talented engineers I’ve ever worked with in my career. The AT&T FirstNet security team, all provided by Diversant, has turned out to be awesome. We all work great together, supporting a very large-scale project in a very complex environment. I can’t say enough about the team Evan Chamblee and Lisa Wible at Diversant put together nationwide!

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D: What is one fun fact about yourself? EA: I’m a huge ocean lover, fisherman, off-roader, and dog lover. My daughter and I just brought home “Duke,” our Bernese Mountain Dog and the newest addition to the family, after months and months on the waiting list from the breeder.

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D: What is your favorite motivational quote, and why? EA: One of the most influential quotes came from my 11th grade English teacher. He said, “Information is not what you know, but where to look.” It’s not a unique or new quote, but it taught me early that I didn’t have to know all the answers. I just needed to know where to find them. That has served me very very well in my career in IT.

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D: Share one statement about your experience at DIVERSANT.

EA: My experience with Diversant has been fantastic. I have worked with a few contracting companies over the years. By far, Diversant was able to offer the right opportunity, the right business relationship. The right team for a successful large-scale project like the one at AT&T. Diversant makes the onboarding process painless and completely seamless and constantly makes sure that we, the contractors, are well taken care of. I am super impressed with Diversant and would recommend them to any of my IT colleagues and friends.