Joe Kowalik
“Every Single Class I’ve Had Has Made a Material Difference in My Day-to-Day Work Within IT,” Says MSCIS Student Joe Kowalik
Joe Kowalik
Lead Client Support Specialist, Boston University
MS in Computer Information Systems, Concentration in Security
What compelled you to return to school and pursue a graduate education? What is your long-term objective?
The choice to go back to school was a combination of a few things. I see myself working within information technology throughout my career, and having a graduate-level education within the field could be a differentiating factor in competitive roles. In addition to this (and prior to applying to the program), I found myself in a new role here at Boston University, maintaining a portion of our virtualized environment and recognizing that there were networking concepts that I still needed to learn. Last, but certainly not least, my wife is a firm believer in the idea of lifelong learning (as she completes her medical residency now, she talks about an MBA or MPH next) and I saw this program as a great way to fulfill that ambition in a field I am truly passionate about.
Why did you choose BU MET for your graduate studies? What set BU MET apart from other programs you were considering?
BU MET is the perfect option for those looking to strike a balance between work and education, and as an employee of Boston University there were significant benefits, both financial and logistical, in choosing the program. While the work-life balance is commonly achieved via purely online education, I knew that a program centered on in-person education would be a better fit for my particular learning style. That said, there’s flexibility afforded by MET’s Live Classroom implementation that has assisted in the few instances where work or family have kept me away from the classroom. Flexibility is a recurring theme throughout the program (and one that I’m truly thankful for) as faculty have always been helpful when that work/life balance temporarily tips towards work. Simply put, the faculty are here to educate you, and they understand the factors in balancing education with outside commitments.
Is there a particular faculty member from your courses who has enhanced your experience at BU MET? Who and why?
I will start by saying that I have benefited from excellent faculty and instructors throughout my time in MET. If I were to highlight a single faculty member, it would be none other than Professor Scott Arena.
My first experience with Professor Arena was in a required class, Business Data Communication and Networks (MET CS 625). I had heard from my peers that the class involved a fair amount of work on a weekly basis, but I was eager to begin based on the applicability of the coursework to my professional life. Professor Arena kept the class engaged through humor, stories of professional life, and what I can only describe as the most eclectic power point slides I have ever seen. While Professor Arena required weekly deliverables, they were always applicable—not assignments for the sake of assignments. If I were to give one piece of advice for anyone taking his class this semester, or in the future, it would be choose the ‘custom’ option for your final project! You will thank me later.
Based on my experience in his networking course, I took a second course this summer with Professor Arena: Digital Forensics and Investigations (MET CS 693). While I do not envision myself going into eDiscovery, or law enforcement, the class itself was really interesting, and gave me an appreciation for an area of IT I was previously oblivious to.
I also highly encourage anyone in the program to make an effort to meet their fellow students in the classroom—while the faculty have industry experience, so do your peers. Learn from your peers and make connections.
How do you apply concepts you are learning in your courses at BU MET in your current job?
Here’s where things really hit the pavement: every single class I’ve had has made a material difference in my day-to-day work within IT. I will often catch myself seeing something—on a slide in class, an assignment, or a textbook passage—that leads to a “lightbulb-style” realization for something I’ve previously encountered at work. In approaching the question, I thought of some tangible examples I can point to:
- Information Structures with Python (MET CS 521)—My final project automated a tedious and manual data cleanup process we used multiple times a day at work. The end result was faster and more accurate than using Excel and the text-editor regex we previously relied upon.
- Information Systems Analysis and Design (MET CS 682)—In evaluating a tool that we had not yet licensed, the class prepared me for both presenting as-is and to-be functionality to leadership, and the steps required to actually perform that analysis. A vendor will always tell you what you want to hear; you need to be able to understand the real benefits a system will bring.
- Business Data Communication and Networks (MET CS 625)—This improved my understanding when and where subnetting should be implemented, and overall network design.
And the list goes on—these are just a few of the concepts I’ve used in practice since being introduced to them in the classroom.