From College to Cloud
Growing up a mile from campus, Parker didn’t expect to attend Northwestern—until he realized the variety of people there. Nor did Parker expect to start his post-college career working on cloud infrastructure. But for a year on his own he studied for an Amazon Web Services (AWS) certification, which led to an internship at his current employer.
As a cloud devops engineer at KBR, what does your work entail?
I maintain and improve the cloud infrastructure that runs our projects’ applications and processes. These projects include operations and maintenance support for the Landsat archive. The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of earth. KBR is a global company of around 34,000 employees. I work for a branch called the Technical Support Services Contract (TSSC) that serves the Landsat program. My TSSC team processes all the Landsat data into the cloud so the public may retrieve it efficiently.
What do you enjoy about your role?
I enjoy knowing I’m a small part of a 50-year-old project with 10 million images. The data we provide to the public is very popular and widely used. It’s a good feeling to know the work I put in each day is utilized by others, hopefully for the good of this world. An example of data we manage is earthexplorer.usgs.gov. My team and I do not manage the website; we manage and provide the Landsat data that can be downloaded.
How well did your Northwestern education prepare you for your job?
When I run into technologies I learned at Northwestern, I am well-equipped and confident in tackling those. I’m very grateful for the knowledge I received from Northwestern, including the need to be persistent in solving new challenges. The faculty were creative when coming up with assignments in which there weren’t many answers online, and I had to find answers on my own. It was frustrating at times, but in the end, it helped tremendously with learning. Also, I was taught that the industry I was stepping into is ever-changing, so I need to be able to quickly adapt to stay relevant. This was an extreme help to me in my current role.
What do you appreciate most about your Northwestern education?
I had many opportunities to help me stand out in the job market and as a person. Two examples are the coding competition and tutoring. I participated in a coding competition during my sophomore year and am very glad I did. I was hesitant, but I learned how to quickly prepare for something you don’t feel prepared for, and how to be confident in saying yes, even if you don’t feel qualified. Tutoring was such a great experience, helping me learn the value of being a good teacher for my students and myself. One must understand the material on a deep level to be able to explain it to someone else. This really boosted my education, and I would recommend being a tutor to anyone who gets the opportunity.
What are some of your favorite memories about your time at NWC?
All the athletic competitions I was part of during my time playing soccer and esports, as well as the relationships I gained in both sports. The people at Northwestern were the biggest factor in my decision to attend, and it would be my biggest recommendation for why others should look forward to attending Northwestern.
Directory summary/slide caption: Parker didn’t see himself working in cloud infrastructure but quickly acclimated, partly because of the forward-looking assignments and challenges from Northwestern’s computer science faculty.
