Name, Age, and State: Michael Tolosa, 35, Virginia

Job-title: Online Content Manager

Web/blog site URL: www.michaeltolosa.com

Give us your job description in 25 words or less. Maintain the Web presence (website, social media, online video) for a technology company in Washington, DC that creates cool robots and products for the military.

Describe a typical workday. If I’m not traveling across the country to film and photograph one of our new products, I arrive in the office around 10 AM, catch up on my emails, and begin working on one of my high-priority tasks – such as editing a product video, publishing the latest press release on the website, or creating a SharePoint intranet site. Most of my projects are in various stages of completion. While I may be just starting to download new footage from my video camera to my Mac Pro, I may also be sending out a final draft of another video to our lawyers for approval. My day involves juggling a lot of projects and tasks.

What led you to realize that you wanted to do this type of work? In northern Virginia (where I live), tech jobs are abundant and lucrative. Even though I went to college to study filmmaking, I spent my free time learning how to create websites. I became tech savvy on my own, and eventually it was that tech knowledge that landed me a great job after college. I continued to do filmmaking, photography, and writing as a hobby – and eventually my hobbies and profession merged, when I began blogging for several websites and am now both managing Web content and producing online videos. I can’t believe someone pays me to do what I love!

Did you have any heroes or mentors in your industry that you admired? My first mentor, Rich, is the one who got me my first technology job. We attended the same church. One day he asked me if I’d like to join his company by being a software tester. It paid way more than I thought I could get after college, so I naturally said yes. Things have only gotten better for me in the high tech field. I owe it all to Rich – for taking a chance on a recent college graduate with no professional high tech experience.

What type of education or training was required to land your job? What impressed my current employer is my varied expertise in a multitude of skills. Not only could I manage the company’s website, but I also had a strong filmmaking and writing portfolio. I brought more skills to the table than most people in my profession. Most of these skills weren’t learned through formal education. I had a strong desire to learn digital filmmaking on my own several years ago (in college, everything was still analog), so I picked a subject I was very interested in (roller derby), got some basic camera equipment and software, filmed derby bouts, and produced highlight videos in my spare time. Eventually, I did enough of these crappy videos to develop an expertise with the software – enough to do it professionally. Same with writing. I started my own personal blog and wrote in it every day for years. Eventually, I became a good (and fast) enough writer to do it professionally.

What do you love most about your job? I love the traveling involved. I’ve never traveled much before in my life. It was never a priority for me, and I could never justify the expense of it. Since starting my current job 9 months ago, I’ve traveled more than I’ve ever traveled before. My company has sent me to Austin, Seattle, New Orleans, Portland, Boston, and several other places around the U.S. to film and photograph robot demos and their latest products. Again, I can’t believe someone’s actually paying me to travel around the country!

What one part of your job do you wish you could hire someone else to do? I really dislike working on the company’s intranet site. No offense, Microsoft, but SharePoint is really boring to work with. I’m very visual, and any tool devoid of imagery is a snoozefest for me to work with. I wish my team would hire someone to maintain the internal intranet sites.

What advice would you give to teenagers wanting to get into your field of work? Pay your dues by working jobs you don’t necessarily like to build up your resume. You won’t get that amazing job right away. Eventually, you’ll find an opportunity you’ll want to spend the rest of your life doing. Also, your spare time is your sandbox. Use your free time wisely, by exploring and playing around with new hobbies. If you want to eventually be a super-star film director, start making terrible short movies now with your phone camera. Eventually, if filmmaking is something you wish to pursue, you’ll get better and better at the craft – and you’ll get better and better equipment!

How does your job allow you to use your God-given gifts? I believe God has given me the gift of storytelling – whether that’s through film, writing, or speech. He’s given me a talent for communication. I am helping my company communicate internally through the intranet sites, and externally through the website, social media, and online video. I’m communicating their message, just as I communicate the Gospel message through my personal projects and ministries.

Do you have any hobbies or off-hours pursuits that teenagers would find of interest? I’m currently writing my first Christian science-fiction book. It’s a story I’ve wanted to tell since college, but never got around to it. I really want to publish my first novel within a year. After that, I think I’ll produce my first full-length film!