Career Technical Education (CTE) provides students of all ages with the academic and technical skills, knowledge and training necessary to succeed in future careers. Our thanks to Matt Vollmar, Chief Executive Officer of Newmind Group, Inc., Kalamazoo, for taking the time to let us know more about his career in technology.

What are your job responsibilities?

I manage our Growth Team, and our Admin Team. I also act as our pseudo-Chief Financial Officer and oversee all our company’s financials. Besides all that, I do the usual CEO stuff: people management, leadership, and managing the direction of the company. 

What are some current issues and trends in your field?

Security has been a huge trend in general, but phishing and scams in particular are very significant right now in technology. 

How did you begin your career?

I went to WMU to study computer science, and I became more interested in IT side of things, rather than a focus on programming. The rest grew from there: I worked for a web development company in Kalamazoo, developing websites at first, and later moved on to advanced things like database structures. Eventually, I took over for the IT administrator who had left the company, and I just kept running with IT after that.  

What steps and/or skills would you recommend for students who want to work in your field?

Take advantage of the current training that’s available out there. There are low-cost training courses and certifications online, like Grow with Google. Try building your own PC. Find a way to join an IT helpdesk as an intern. Besides all that, I recommend studying and learning people skills.

What do you like most about your work? 

I enjoy leading people and helping them grow. On a larger scale, I like helping our company and other companies grow too. 

If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself, or if you would, is there anything you'd do differently?

I think I'd choose the same path again. It gave me a broad set of skills which help me in my day-to-day job leading a small and growing company.