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Twenty years ago, Christopher Torres worked as a messenger for a publishing company in New York City. Each day, he departed from the firm’s 42nd Street headquarters and navigated the nearly five hundred miles of roads that form Manhattan’s grid system.
The fast-paced job was stressful, but Torres quickly settled in and got to work. After all, he grew up in the Brooklyn of the late ’70s and early ’80s, watching his parents do all they could to make ends meet. They were so focused on raising the family out of poverty that they once chastised Torres for losing a part-time position at age eighteen. He remembers hearing he would never find a better job.
“I set out to prove my dad wrong,” Torres says before correcting himself. “Actually, it wasn’t about proving him wrong. It was about proving myself right.”
Torres knew he could find a way to transcend his environment. The messenger job opened the door for Torres to fill a similar role in a law firm. Later, he became the supply room manager for Ernst & Young’s supply room, where the former NYC messenger discovered a message meant just for him.
“You can go anywhere you want as long as you put in the work.”
Christopher Torres
Each day, Torres encountered notes that an E&Y network engineer by the name of Adam Senyeun—who had noticed Torres’s hustle and potential—left for him. Some were articles about employment numbers. Most were highlighted job listings from The New York Times. Torres read them all with interest. “Wanted: system administrator to automate Windows 95 installations at call center.” “Urgently hiring: Computer technician for a financial services firm. Must be familiar with Novell and SunOS.”
Torres was making about $30,000 a year. The tech jobs from the New York Times and the tech job boards of DICE and Monster.com paid between $60,000 and $80,000. Still, the positions seemed out of reach for him, the product of New York City public schools who grew up in a New York City Housing Authority development.
Soon, however, Torres realized that the IT industry is open to nontraditional career paths. If he could find a mentor and earn some certifications, he could get his foot in the door. It was springtime, and Torres knew he had a tax refund coming his way. He used his $3,000 check to finance a networking course where he could learn the basics of technical support and systems administration.
Fast-forward two decades, and Torres is the director of information technology for Supreme Fitness (SF). When Torres joined in 2013, the early Planet Fitness franchisee had just thirty-three club locations in New York. It now has ninety locations across New York, Massachusetts, California, and Hawaii. As Supreme Fitness’s first in-house IT professional, Torres built the teams, systems, and networks that have powered the company’s rapid growth.
Implementing and upgrading all parts of the SF tech infrastructure and moving multiple departments to cloud-based solutions required Torres to master hands-on project management while staying current with the unending updates in his field. His team standardized tech features all locations while addressing privacy and security concerns and providing uninterrupted support. Now they are processing mandatory upgrades for firewall and Wi-Fi systems at all SF locations nationwide.
Before finding his way to Supreme Fitness in 2013, Torres spent nearly five years at Porter Novelli, followed by seven at eScholar LLC. There, he helped the data warehousing management company enhance its IT plan with a focus on network technologies and high availability. Leaving the global PR firm of Porter Novelli for a much smaller organization helped Torres develop the full set of hands-on skills he relies on today.
“If you want to work and you want to work now, you can find a job in tech. You may or may not have a college degree, but nobody actually cares as long as you can get the job done.”
Christopher Torres
Torres managed to find his way to a top leadership position in tech without pursuing a college degree. The success, he says, came through a combination of working hard, finding opportunity, and staying connected to people who were willing to invest in him. “You can go anywhere you want as long as you put in the work,” he says.
That’s the message Torres imparts to each member of his team today. While some have college degrees, others don’t. All that’s required is an interest in technology coupled with the willingness to learn. “If you want to work and you want to work now, you can find a job in tech,” says Torres. “You may or may not have a college degree, but nobody actually cares as long as you can get the job done.”
TechComm Solution Services LLC is a Network, Telecommunications, and Security service company providing dependable and innovative solutions to individuals and small to large size businesses. From system design, engineering, and installation to managing existing systems, TechComm offers a full range of services to our clients. We work with your budget to design a system to fit your needs. We work proactively to build a strong relationship and keep your company running as smooth as possible. Our mission is to provide high quality service while ensuring customer satisfaction at a competitive price.
We provide telecommunications equipment from leading manufacturers rather than proprietary systems because we believe the independence to choose the right system and the right service partner leads to a better, simpler service experience. At TechComm, we pride ourselves in our timely execution of work and follow up with our customers. We strive to deliver exceptional service with prompt and straightforward responses, so you know that your people and assets are protected. Relationships matter, so we listen and work with you to implement smart telecommunications and security solutions that will last.
