User:Jwiebmer

Jim Wiebmer

IT Professional & Technologist

Wiebmerworld

Jim is an IT professional currently working in the Telecom Industry for a market leading Packet Optical Transport and SDN provider. He also provides technical services to small businesses in the Sonoma, Napa,and Marin counties of Northern California. Jim’s background is varied and has allowed him to experience almost every aspect of modern business. He began his career, after graduating from college with a BA in Business Administration, as a technical artist and animator working on video games in the mid eighties. From there, his creativity and eye for details took him into the realms of art direction, game design and production. Working for many startups during this period Jim became the technical resource out of necessity. He soon found he had not only a passion for the technical, but an aptitude that quickly became apparent to his colleagues and business associates. Jim made the move to IT in the late 1980’s when companies were only beginning to realize the need for full time in house systems support.

Jim has worked in a number of industries such as, bicycling, software development, financial, and telecommunications. He has worked in both the non-profit and for profit arenas and has gained knowledge and experience in areas like, project management, financial management, manufacturing, import/export, software development, network design, and information technologies. His natural leadership abilities coupled with his technical and management skills make him the perfect operations man. As businesses have grown, so have their technical needs. Jim’s expertise facilitates the integration of technology with existing business processes and allows for efficient, cost effective solutions to new and existing problems.

Background
Jim began his education in Engineering at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He entered the Engineering college in the fall of 1978, pledged a fraternity, Theta Xi, and soon found his new friends to be right out of the movie "Animal House" that was released that same year. After the winter break he was initiated into the fraternity, after an eventful Hell Week, as Brother AB 1084 (Alpha Beta Chapter). He worked hard to maintain his grades but soon found his passion for music far exceeded his interest in mathematics and transferred to Elgin Community College to begin his training in Music Theory and Composition. Jim was looking for a creative outlet that he couldn't find in engineering, at least in his first year as an undergraduate. Jim spent the next two years studying music theory, taking piano and guitar lessons, singing in the JC's Choral group and loving every minute of it. After graduating from ECC with an Associate in Arts Degree Jim went on to Columbia College in Chicago to finish his BA in Business. Columbia College specializes in degrees in the entertainment industry and is well known for preparing young individuals for the unique aspects of business practices in the performing arts field. Jim received his BA in Business from Columbia College in 1983 and also received his certification as a recording engineer.

About this time one of Jim's fraternity brothers contacted him and offered him a job as an artist creating video games in a brand new market. Game consoles like the Atari VCS were New and there were not many games available yet. Jim soon found that working on computers allowed him the creative outlet he wanted and let him dabble in electronic music which was also just emerging. Jim worked for numerous companies and created graphics for games like "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (C64) and, Dark Castle for the Amiga. He also worked on many other titles for the early Nintendo Gameboy like Road Riot and Swamp Thing.

Music
Jim began his love with music at an early age listening to radio and banging out melodies on the family upright piano. It wasn't until his older sister's boyfriend left his electric guitar at the house that Jim truly discovered what would be his first "true love".