As a loyal Coloradan, Ross Baldwin is devoted to everything Boulder and the surrounding areas have to offer. Whether he is making an off-site visit to one of our many Business IT clients or enjoying the weather in the mountains or using his tech-y skills to work on his car, Ross is constantly on the move. He is a people person, always ready to chat with a smile and knack for rapid problem solving.
iSU and Career Thus Far
Describe your responsibilities here at iSU? I am the network and server tech along with Stanley. We do business IT services and we handle everything from phones to desktops to servers to applications. Pretty much everything PCs and Macs, as well as complicated network setups.
Why did you choose to work at iSU? I was working a lot of hours in Denver and didn’t like the commute working a lot of overtime hours that I didn’t feel were appreciated. I was looking for a different job and liked the vibe here at iSU. I like everybody who works here and the working environment. I also really enjoy working in Boulder and that I can get here in ten minutes.
How would you describe the culture of iSU? I feel like we are professional but laid back. It’s a self motivated kind of place because no one is going to hold your hand and make you work.
What has surprised you most about working with iSU? We have a store front. I’ve had jobs like this for a long time and I’ve never worked at a business that had a storefront and that also did this many different things. Usually these business are more isolated to just business IT services. They don’t have computer repair and they also don’t have web development. I think that we roll all of those fields together and do a pretty workable business model which I thought was unique.
Tell me about your career prior to coming to iSU? The first actual tech job I had was at Jefferson County School District. I got that right out of college I was doing what I do now, server network and desktop technician. I was more of a network job. I was responsible for about 25 schools so thousands of computers. I spent about half my time driving. Then I went back to school and almost finished a computer science degree but ended up getting another job working at Live Consulting down in Denver, doing the same thing. Then I left to come work at iSupportU.
Beyond the Office
What is the best thing about Boulder? I really like the city itself. Pretty neat and clean. That means a lot to me. I like the natural beauty of it that the philosophy that everybody here in Boulder seems to share.
When you are not at work, where can we find you? Definitely either working on my house or skiing. I go up to Summit County almost every weekend. We have a condo up there so we go up there all the time in Keystone. During the summer I do the sailboat racing in Lake Dillon.
How would your fellow coworkers describe working with you? Well, this job position is fairly independent so I’m not normally working with other people when I’m off-site. But probably motivated and good with clients and enjoyable to be around.
What three things do you always have in your refrigerator? Milk, coffee in the freezer, yogurt.
Describe your perfect meal. Well my favorite kind of food is definitely Mexican food and green chile so probably a big plate of homemade green chile with some tortillas and rice and beans.
What is the most recent concert you’ve been to? Phish with my friend John at Dicks Sporting Goods Arena and it was hilarious because it was all people in their 30s or older who used to party really hard but are professionals now. I was a lot tamer than I thought it was going to be because I had always heard stories about the crazy Phish concerts at Red Rocks. So it was surprisingly really calm.
Any embarrassing bad habits you’d like to share? I chew my nails. I really try not to do it but I still do it sometimes. I’ll be working on a computer and find myself doing it.
In A Nutshell
What is the most challenging aspect of your job? Producing something when somebody is watching you. And producing something on the spot in a small time frame when you have never done it before. Most of this job is walking into situations when you have no idea what’s going on and you probably have never seen it before. That is why this job is tough. You have to be able to solve problems yourself and be able to figure out what the problem is, research it, and solve it all by yourself.
What is the most fun aspect of your job? I really like going to new places and meeting new clients in new environments. So i don’t get bored with what I’m doing. If I sat in the same desk every day I would probably get bored.
Sum up working at iSU in 3 words. I love Boulder.