Victor Escobar

Current

Consultant at Escobar Enterprises, Inc. (Sole Proprietorship)

Past

Service Desk Analyst (contractor via Modis IT) at Qimonda
System Administrator at New Age Digital
Systems Analyst (contractor via Sapphire Technologies) at Capital One

Help Desk Analyst (contractor via Todays Staffing) at Bell Tech.logix
Web Editor (contractor via Modis IT) at Wachovia Securities
Network Administrator at Berkley Mid-Atlantic Group
Help Desk Analyst (contractor via Modis IT) at Capital One
Deployment Lead (contractor via TekSystems) at Capital One
Help Desk Analyst (contractor via TekSystems) at Capital One
System Administrator at FreedomNet, Inc.
Programming Intern at Hunton & Williams

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8 more...

Education

Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University
John Tyler Community College

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Clover Hill High School

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2 more...

Recommended

5 people have recommended Victor

Connections

237 connections

Industry

Information Technology and Services

Websites

My Website

Victor Escobar’s Summary

I have been working professionally in the IT field since 1993. Currently, I am applying to graduate school, and upon receipt of my MPP (Master of Public Policy) and MBA degrees, I will work hopefully as a policy analyst, management consultant, and entrepreneur. Areas of research interest include: sustainable business development; public choice theory as a means of explaining how political power affects the allocation of scarce resources (i.e., political economy); impact of modern communications and information technologies upon the political process at-large, more specifically statutes/regulations, case-law, and policy; leveraging technology to facilitate participatory democracy; the Digital Divide and how it impacts global judicial, political, and economic progress. I am also interested in the incipient discipline of services science -- a nexus of computer science, sociology, political science, jurisprudence, economics, and other fields; I'd like to conduct original research on the how to formulate law and public policy to take best advantage of developments in this field; I have a lot to contribute by virtue of my experience and education in computer science and information systems (dual-majored in both as an undergraduate). My professional experience has been in the field of IT, but I am shifting towards leveraging my IT background in an applied setting.

Victor Escobar’s Specialties:

Server administration, network administration, desktop support, VoIP support, web development.

Victor Escobar’s Experience

Consultant
Escobar Enterprises, Inc. (Sole Proprietorship)

(Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; Information Technology and Services industry)

January 1997 — Present (12 years 11 months)

• Configured PC’s and peripherals (printers, networking switches, et cetera) for clients.
• Performed needs-based analysis for small businesses and then implemented appropriate solutions (software- and hardware-based).
• Applied business school theory to needs of real-world small businesses, such as an accounting firm, asset brokerage, and a capital asset management firm.
• Administered Windows NT Server 4.0 and Windows 2000 Server in a small- to mid-sized business setting.
• Maintained clients’ systems using antivirus software and other utilities to ensure optimal operation.
Service Desk Analyst (contractor via Modis IT)

Qimonda

(Public Company; QI; Semiconductors industry)

November 2008 — January 2009 (3 months)
System Administrator

New Age Digital

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

January 2007 — July 2007 (7 months)

• Configured PC’s and peripherals (printers, networking switches, et cetera) for clients.
• Performed needs-based analysis for small businesses and then implemented appropriate solutions (software- and hardware-based).
• Applied business school theory to needs of real-world small businesses, such as an accounting firm, asset brokerage, and a capital asset management firm.
• Administered Windows 2000 and 2003 Server in a small- to mid-sized business setting.
• Maintained clients’ systems using antivirus software and other utilities to ensure optimal operation.
• Developed and maintain E-commerce applications using PHP, Perl, ASP.NET, SQL Server, MySQL, DotNetNuke, and Interchange.
Systems Analyst (contractor via Sapphire Technologies)

Capital One

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; COF; Financial Services industry)

August 2006 — September 2006 (2 months)

• Administered Witness database system: adding, deleting, and modifying agent and supervisor accounts and terminal information.
• Used eQuality Balance to trouble-shoot phone and data capture of agents’ calls.
• Acted as a third-level support liaison to a users of Witness and eWFM enterprise-wide.
Help Desk Analyst (contractor via Todays Staffing)

Bell Tech.logix

(Public Company; 201-500 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

October 2005 — April 2006 (7 months)

• Provided support for dozens of internal applications, as well as off-the-shelf ones, to a base of approximately nineteen thousand (19 000) users.
• Acted as a liaison between Deskside Support and various external vendors, as well as between internal associates and higher-tier support personnel.
• Performed user account management using Microsoft Management Console.
• Used Vantive ServiceDesk to provide technical support and devise solutions to common technical problems.
• Provided post-migration support, which consists of resolving issues related to migration, and escalating more serious issues by dispatching Vantive trouble tickets.
• Provided customer service by explaining migration process to company associates and addressing questions and concerns.
• Performed various projects for management such as helping with reporting and ensuring that SLA's are met.
Web Editor (contractor via Modis IT)

Wachovia Securities

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; WB; Financial Services industry)

March 2005 — July 2005 (5 months)

• Helped maintain five intranet sites across distinct business channels using Macromedia Dreamweaver MX.
• Posted daily fund performance updates.
• Posted time-sensitive research alerts and due-diligence reports.
• Performed requested changes to product and marketing web pages.
• Periodically reviewed intranets for usability; identify opportunities for improvement.
• Used Webtrends reports to resolve issues and perform metrics.
• Assisted in adapting templates and library items for a new iteration of InfoMax.
Network Administrator

Berkley Mid-Atlantic Group

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Insurance industry)

March 2004 — December 2004 (10 months)

•Migrated 200 desktops and 15 servers to a consolidated Active Directory domain.
•Designed robust security policy implemented via Active Directory GPO's.
•Helped plan and perform a server room move to newer, larger facilities.
•Administered 200 desktops and 15 servers on a regular basis.
•Performed detailed user account management using Microsoft Management Console.
•Assisted business intelligence team in maintaining SQL Server data warehouse.
•Maintained corporate intranet using Dreamweaver MX.
•Performed nightly server backups using Veritas NetBackup.
•Administered Avaya VoIP phone switch and Intuity Audix voicemail system.
•Authored and helped implement company-wide IT Acceptable Use Policy.
•Performed detailed hardware and software inventories and asset use planning.
•Acted as a liaison between end users and external vendors and subject matter experts.
•Provided support for dozens of applications specific to the insurance industry.
Help Desk Analyst (contractor via Modis IT)

Capital One

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; COF; Financial Services industry)

March 2003 — March 2004 (1 year 1 month)

• Provided support for dozens of internal applications, as well as off-the-shelf ones, to a base of approximately twenty-five thousand (25 000) users.
• Acted as a liaison between End User Support and various external vendors, as well as between internal associates and higher-tier support personnel.
• Performed user account management using Microsoft Management Console and Novell ConsoleOne.
• Used Clarify ClearSupport to provide technical support and devise solutions to common technical problems.
• Assisted in performing regression testing to ensure that enterprise applications work with XP.
• Provided post-deployment support, which consists of resolving issues related to migration, and escalating more serious issues by dispatching Clarify trouble tickets.
• Provided customer service by explaining migration process to company associates and addressing questions and concerns.
Deployment Lead (contractor via TekSystems)

Capital One

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; COF; Financial Services industry)

November 2002 — February 2003 (4 months)

• Performed the XP migration process using a combination of off-the-shelf (e.g., Microsoft System Preparation Tool) and proprietary tools.
• Used a proprietary methodology to validate whether systems are eligible for Windows XP upgrade.
• Performed hardware upgrades (BIOS flashing, adding larger hard drives, adding RAM) to facilitate migration.
• Assisted in performing regression testing to ensure that enterprise applications work with XP.
• Provided post-deployment support, which consists of resolving issues related to migration, and escalating more serious issues by dispatching Clarify trouble tickets.
• Provided customer service by explaining migration process to company associates and addressing questions and concerns.
Help Desk Analyst (contractor via TekSystems)

Capital One

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; COF; Financial Services industry)

May 1996 — December 1996 (8 months)

• Provided 1st-level support for help desk analysts and desktop support technicians. Later promoted to a 3rd-level position where I mentored 1st- and 2nd-level (desktop) associates.
• Monitored a variety of systems and platforms as part of a network engineering team, using IBM Sysmon, HP Openview, Novell Admin and other tools.
• Administered Network Services Intranet using RoboHelp.
• Used Clarify ClearSupport to maintain dozens of WIP bins and provide technical support.
• Piloted Clarify ClearSupport test releases.
• Acted as a liaison between Network Services and various IT vendors, as well as between internal customers and higher-tier support personnel.
• Provided post-deployment support during Windows 3.1 to 95 and Novell 3.12 to 4.01 migrations.
• Used Novell Admin to add and delete users, modify rights, et cetera.
• Assisted associates in the use of various business applications. Resolved any user issues that occurred.
System Administrator

FreedomNet, Inc.

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)

September 1995 — December 1995 (4 months)

• Provided technical support for dial-up customers of a local Internet Service Provider and Systems Integrator.
• Managed network infrastructure (several BSD/OS servers, Livingston router/RADIUS server, 3com hubs, and Adtran CSU/DSU).
• Evaluated various software solutions and had a hand in the final decision of what software was implemented.
Programming Intern

Hunton & Williams

(Partnership; 1001-5000 employees; Law Practice industry)

June 1993 — August 1993 (3 months)

• Documented firm-wide accounting system (written in C, JCL, Pick BASIC and Clipper dBASE Summer ’87).
• Assisted programmers with application support.

Victor Escobar’s Education

Virginia Commonwealth University

preparation for graduate course-work , Post-baccalaureate courses in Computer Science, Political Science, and Economics , 2002 — 2007
Virginia Commonwealth University

B.S. , Information Systems (major), Computer Science (minor) , 1999 — 2001

Activities and Societies:

Association for Computing Machinery, Association of Information Technology Professionals
John Tyler Community College

none , Arts & Sciences Transfer , 1996 — 1999
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

none , Computer Science , 1993 — 1994
Clover Hill High School

Advanced Studies diploma w/ Governor's Seal for completing one or more Advanced Placement courses , 1989 — 1993

Activities and Societies:

NHS, NLHS, Science Club, Computer Club, Ecology Club

Additional Information

Victor Escobar’s Websites:

My Website

Victor Escobar’s Interests:

Reading, writing poetry and music, playing guitar, video games (especially World of Warcraft), movies, theology (practising Roman Catholic), philosophy, literature and other artistic idioms, politics (both theory and activism), economics, going out with friends, playing pool.

Victor Escobar’s Groups:

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP), Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Various activism and advocacy groups such as: American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org); Americans for Fair Taxation (www.fairtax.org); Center for Democracy and Technology (www.cdt.org); DownsizeDC (www.downsizedc.org); Electronic Frontiers Foundation (www.eff.org); GrassFire (www.grassfire.org).