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Alumni Career Feature – Vernon Poplaski

We feature alumni with interesting careers from a variety of career areas. To find out more about the alumnus profession contact them via the e-mail provided. Or if you are interested in being featured, e-mail us at alumni@pct.edu.

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Vernon Poplaski

• A.A.S., Computer Information Systems, 1982
• CIBER, Inc.
• vpoplaski@comcast.net

Vernon Poplaski intended to be an archeologist, but ended up being a computer programmer—thanks to a recommendation by his uncle, a fellow computer programmer. When Vern first explored that career path, he was interested in the computer aspect, but unsure about the math courses required in the major. He decided to try a computer programming course to see if it was for him. After receiving an A in the course, Vern was hooked.

Career Beginnings

Immediately after graduating in 1982 from the former Williamsport Area Community College, Vern started working as a programmer for the Book of the Month Club (BOMC) in Mechanicsburg, PA. During the summer of 1984, some of his co-workers at BOMC moved on to Electronic Data Systems (EDS), seeking to further their careers at the Information Technology giant that was founded by the once presidential candidate, H. Ross Perot. Shortly after their move, they convinced Vern to come on board as a programmer and systems engineer.

Electronic Data Systems

EDS gave Vern opportunities to work on a variety of contracts, many for the state and federal governments. During his sixteen year career (1984 -2000) Vern experienced numerous challenges and had exceptional career growth.

At the beginning of his EDS career, Vern worked on several contracts relating to the U.S. Department of Defense. He helped the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps create inventory control programs that supported naval base logistic commands. He helped Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Welfare create an optical character recognition solution that aided the Medicaid claims processing program. Vern finished his time at EDS working on a contract with MCI and WorldCom, helping to improve the company’s data processing efficiency.

Vern also had a unique opportunity to work in Argentina on a large due diligence effort. In 1999 the country’s telephone services had just shifted from being government controlled to being privately owned by two companies. Vern helped one of the companies determine what their current information technology processes were doing well and how to improve others so the company would work more efficiently and effectively. Not long after returning from Argentina, Vern decided it was time for a new challenge.

CIBER, Inc.

CIBER, Inc. provided the challenge Vern was looking for, moving away from programming and into project management. He was asked to work with the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program to create a Web-based database application. Many people criticized Vern and his team, saying the application would never work due to geographical, technical, and financial limitations. Vern’s team proved them wrong. WIC liked the application and now five more states plan to use the application. Today many companies are creating similar, cost-effective Web-based applications.

Advice

Vern has learned a lot through his 23-year career in the technology industry. He would like students to remember that technology is always evolving and that information technology professionals need to stay in touch with current trends. An added benefit to a career in IT, according to Vern, is the ability to create something that can be used to help others. He also stresses the importance of having respect for your employers and fellow employees. He feels that if you are going to give, give it all.