From School IT Intern to Systems Architect with Chris Thomas

About this episode

Chris Thomas shares his journey from a school IT intern to an Endpoint Cloud Systems Architect, discussing the impact of PowerShell and the importance of community in IT.

K-12 IT veteran Chris Thomas joins The PowerShell Podcast to share his 26-year journey in educational technology, from a high school IT internship to becoming an Endpoint Cloud Systems Architect supporting multiple school districts in Michigan. Chris discusses how PowerShell helped him automate identity management, investigate network incidents, and streamline large-scale IT operations across complex school environments.The conversation also dives into mentorship, Don Jones’ influence through Be the Master, the value of community involvement, and the mental health challenges IT professionals face. Chris shares practical lessons on automation, presenting at conferences, overcoming imposter syndrome, and how putting yourself out there can open doors throughout your career. Key Takeaways:• PowerShell fundamentals unlock huge opportunities — learning commands like Get-Command, Get-Help, Get-Member, and Get-Module can help you explore and automate almost anything.• Automation is essential in resource-constrained environments like K-12 IT where staff wear many hats and must support large systems with limited manpower.• Community participation accelerates growth — presenting, attending…

People in this episode

Guest: Chris Thomas

Topics covered

• educational technology
• PowerShell automation
• IT operations
• mentorship
• community involvement
• mental health in IT

Keywords

• PowerShell
• automation
• K-12 IT
• identity management
• network incidents
• imposter syndrome
• community participation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PDQ.com

Places: Michigan, K-12

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