Matthew Bruening is currently employed by AT&T. He works in Network Planning and is responsible for Ethernet, Broadband (U-verse and ADSL), Mobility backhaul, Microwave, and ATM/FR networks. He has been employed by AT&T for 18 years, with a break in the middle to work for Cisco for four years. Prior to his current position he built a small team to assess options to better serve business customers and improve consumer capabilities in non-U-verse areas. The recommendations of this team drove new Ethernet and IP based ADSL2+ network deployments. He was asked to lead the team to implement these recommendations along with some related networks.
Matthew says that CICS instilled a “Curious George” attitude of wanting to understand how technology works and why. The program also helped to improve his writing and presentation skills which are fundamental and indispensable to any impactful career.
Matthew is familiar with Ethernet transport and IP traffic. He suggests that CICS candidates not only understand how to build a network, but also how to plan for future network scale and expansion. Cost modeling is also important because there are invariably multiple alternatives and cost is a key decision point. Matthew suggests, “Be confident, but a bit humble as you enter your first job. Be quick to listen and ask questions and a bit slower to offer your opinion; there is a wealth of knowledge in most work places and folks generally like to share what they know.” Matthew says it is important to find informal mentors in the work place to ask advice periodically on key questions. Matthew also adds to maintain a balance between your spiritual, family, career, and physical health.
Matthew has been married for 16 years to Suzette Bruening. They have a 12-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son. Matthew says he would be willing to talk with students periodically and try to answer questions regarding industry trends, and his perspective on the program and job hunting.