2021-02 IT in AV
So Much To Love About AV
There is a line from a movie that I always tell people when they ask me about my job. The line is from the movie SWAT and it goes 'if anyone knew what we did then we failed'. I know this isn't true in our line of work but I like to look at it this way, the only way my users know I work with AV is when there is an issue. This leads me to another saying but this one comes from IT. The saying goes working in IT is like being in a marriage, when things are going well no one notices but when things go wrong you are in the dog house! With this month's theme being 'For the Love of AV' I didn't know what to write to show you guys why I love AV, mainly with those two statements running around in my head but here it goes.
Fruit of our labor:
In higher education not only do we deal with new constructions but we also deal with upgrades and retrofits. This allows us to use our full set of skills as we tackle each project. 
We do have our standard designs but as we know our standard designs need to be flexible to adjust to changing times. This allows us to keep up with newer technology as we make sure to provide the best educational environment for our students. During the winter/summer breaks we are rolling out upgrades with new equipment/technology/ designs. During the semesters we are in a break/fix mode of making sure that our classrooms are at their best. Making sure that the classrooms are running at their best allows us to enjoy the fruit of our labor because then we see that all the hard work we put in gets used.
Wear Many Hats:
I never wanted a job where I would be doing the same thing day in and day out. With us being in-house integrators, we get to wear different hats that fall into different roles such as designer, end-user, installer, programmer, troubleshooter, manager, and even the subject matter expert. The hat we wear depending on who we are talking to or what situation we are in and can even switch multiple times during a working day. With us wearing different hats we are bound to deal with users who both love AV and hate AV depending on the situation. For example, we might be dealing with faculty members when they encounter a problem and need help. While another time we might be dealing with the same faculty member but this time we are getting their input in a classroom retrofit.
The Connections:
Even though I have been working in higher education for about 12 years I have been focusing on the AV side for about half of that time; the first half of my career I was on the IT side. Those that know me and follow me on Twitter know that I believe AV is IT but I have found one major difference. Folks working in IT don't always like to share their knowledge. Now, this is not the case for everyone in IT but I have come across many who do not like to share their knowledge. Dealing with folks in the AV has been completely different. In my experience, AV folks have been very open and willing to share their knowledge. I have also found that the AV community is a close-knit community that will help each other in any way they can. Since connecting with folks, on social media platforms, my connections have grown, and there are many folks who I can reach out to for advice.
Diversity:
The last aspect of AV that I want to talk about is how diverse we are. I will admit we can do better but there is a change going on as there are more younger folks, more women, and more people of color making waves in this field. Also, more folks are not accepting behaviors that degrade, diminish, or even attack someone in one of those groups. Having a diverse set of people in the AV world allows all of us to grow and learn from people with different views and thinking. Also being a diverse group helps bring more people into the field as they can see themselves doing the job. Besides the people, we also get to deal with a diverse set of equipment. As integrators, we take equipment from different manufacturers and build a system that our end-users can use and they don't care that it’s not all from the same manufacturer. It’s a joy being able to take all of these different devices and bring them together as one system. It doesn't matter where these devices come from but in the end, they all work seamlessly together in a cohesive system.
The above examples are just a small subset of why I love AV and working with technology. How we can take a blank slate and make a system that will help educate our students. How we can have a conversation with a wide range of knowledgeable people. How we can come together and share with others in our field. Those are just some of the reasons why I love the AV field and wonder how someone could not love the AV field?
Meet the author: James King
James King graduated from Stockton University in 2008 with a Bachelor's of Science in Information Systems and a Minor in Business Studies. After graduation, he started working full time for Stockton's IT department and in 2012 was assigned to support the classrooms' AV equipment. Since joining the AV team, he has continued his education by getting AV certifications as well as working on getting his MBA. Besides working at Stockton, he is also a member of the AVIXA Technology Managers Council, manager of the HETMA award-winning Higher Ed AV/IT Slack workgroup, the current president for Pinelands Soccer Association soccer league, co-coach of a travel soccer team, and a goalkeeper trainer.
