JOHN WARNER
FWP AT WORK
HIGH-TECH TROUBLESHOOTER I’ VE WORKED AT MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS for 22 years, but I didn’t start out in the information technology field. I earned a B.S. in biology at Montana State University and was considering graduate school when I got a job with the Parks Division at the FWP regional office in Bozeman in 1996. Later that year, I transferred to the Billings regional office and worked in the front office, where I began doing some IT support work. As technology became more prevalent in the workplace, I started attending training sessions, and in 2005 I became the department’s Region 5 network systems analyst. I have no plans of retiring any time soon. Like FWP’s other 11 network support staff, I set up new computers and printers, fix hardware problems and software errors, troubleshoot servers, and work on smartphones, tablets, GPS devices,
NATALIE FINNEGAN Network Systems Analyst, Billings
cameras, and all the other new devices and equipment that FWP employees use in the office and the field. All of us also work on cybersecurity issues as they arise, and we help with FWP’s Automated Licensing System in our respective regions. What makes our IT positions so interesting is that we support such a wide range of dedicated FWP employees, from field technicians to senior department managers, all with different IT needs. We might help wardens with their vehicle radios, body cameras, and Toughbook computers, while wildlife or fisheries biologists might need support setting up a system to download GPS coordinates on radio-collared mule deer or tagged sauger. Our phones are constantly ringing from staff needing assistance, and providing them with top-notch customer service is a big part of our job satisfaction.
MONTANA OUTDOORS | 5
