Low Voltage and Network Infrastructure-In the Real-World
Jaron Cook had a ring for the woman he planned to marry, but he didn’t want to ask for her parent’s blessing until he had a plan.
What changed everything in 2018 was a phone call from Fieldlink. It came with an opportunity to work as a low-voltage data technician in a small town in Oklahoma. Unlike most people, Jaron had an inkling of the opportunity the work presented; his uncle worked in the low-voltage business. Cook said, “The career path was on my radar.”
The low-voltage cable market size reached $102.5 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $150.7 billion by 2027. Cook said, “I was completely green regarding job experience, but I knew enough about the industry to realize that the job had great career potential.” Long story short, he happily accepted the offer, and two weeks later, his girlfriend accepted his proposal.
Cook made short-order of learning the ropes, advancing from structured cable technician to team lead in only six months. He said, “If you put forth the effort, it’s all there for the taking. I was in my early 20s, running a team at a massive data center. The experience set me not only to learn and grow but also to get married and buy a house.”
When the data center project wound down, Cook was happily rooted in Oklahoma and not interested in relocating for data center builds in other parts of the country. He took on a gig at Amazon and then some local commercial work, but the culture didn’t feel the same as it had with Fieldlink.
Then one day, he got another call from Fieldlink, with an invitation to join the internal team as a recruiter. Cook said that the offer could not have been at a better time and has turned out to be a second life-altering opportunity. Today, he enjoys sharing the benefits of work opportunities with people who seek them. “It’s great to be able to paint a picture for the people I talk with every day. I get to show them what the inside of a data center looks like and share a “day in the life.”
Cook sees himself as a career coach for candidates he places, many of them working on client sites that he’s familiar with. “I keep in touch with everyone and remind them to keep asking questions. If you want an opportunity in this line of work, you can punch your own ticket.”
As a low-voltage network infrastructure recruiter, Cook is part of a tight-knit team. His colleague, David Roberts, has a similar story of how Fieldlink has presented him with opportunities for career growth and other personal benefits.
Like Cook, Roberts first connected with Fieldlink by taking an assignment doing structured cabling. Roberts describes himself as a natural “critical thinker” who can see and anticipate problems easily. As he built a relationship with Matt Russo, a Fieldlink recruiter, they discussed what he needed out of the work opportunities. After a few conversations, he was surprised when he got a call from one of Fieldlink’s managing partners, Joe Rosenfield. Instead of viewing his critiques as complaints, Rosenfield offered to enlist Roberts and bring his ideas to the company.
In early 2021, Roberts joined Fieldlink as a recruiting coordinator. He works behind the scenes to ensure processes are efficient and solutions are quick to market. That could entail job postings, data analytics, client relations, and sourcing candidates in a single day. The role has been a game-changer that took him from a 5 a.m. daily commute to client sites to working from home as part of a close remote-based team that stretches across the coast.
“It’s gratifying to work with people who care about each other, work well together, and want each other to succeed,” Roberts said. “Fieldlink has gone out of its way for my family and me. It speaks to how they do everything to ensure people are taken care of.”