{"id":19991,"date":"2016-10-11T14:35:59","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T19:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/?p=19991"},"modified":"2021-04-26T10:41:48","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T15:41:48","slug":"barry-odea-customer-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Employee Spotlight: Barry O\u2019Dea, Customer Support"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this blog series, we talk to WP Engine employees to learn more about their roles, what they love about the city they work in, and hear from them what they like most about working at WP Engine. After recently opening an office in Limerick, Ireland, we discuss life in Ireland with the Limerick team and what they hope to bring to WP Engine.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"Employee
“As a child, I took apart clocks and I\u2019ve always had this innate want to know how things work and how to fix them,” \u2013Barry O’Dea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Have you lived in Ireland your whole life?
\n<\/b>I\u2019ve lived in Ireland my whole life.<\/p>\n

Why do you like living in Limerick?
\n<\/b>It always was the job opportunities and the people I\u2019ve met along the way. I want to say two years in I met Jamie Ryan (fellow Customer Support Team employee) \u2014 just a really good group of people. It is sort of a techy city, so I felt right at home there.<\/p>\n

How did you discover this job opening?
\n<\/b>My darling fiancee, Melissa, we\u2019ve been living together for three years now and Jaime had been living with us for a small while and he was unemployed. I was working in kind of a dead-end job and she was trying to find us new jobs.<\/p>\n

She was like, \u2018you have to apply for a new job every week. If you don\u2019t apply, you\u2019re not getting dinner\u2019. So I started using LinkedIn to browse through relevant IT jobs. At the time before it was announced [the job posting for Customer Support] was still kind of vague.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, I got on a Skype with Roxanne (Molina) and I just started chatting about my background. I worked for telesales for a moment, worked in bars, a lot of hospitality background, and I worked in tech as well. You know not deep Linux, but I kind of had the mindset for it. She asked if I knew anyone else and I kind of elbowed Jamie behind me and said \u2018Turn around, I got you an interview. Come on.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you think is the tech mindset?
\n<\/b>It\u2019s like saying, \u2018what\u2019s it like breathing air?\u2019 It\u2019s what I\u2019m used to. As a child, I took apart clocks and I\u2019ve always had this innate want to know how things work and how to fix\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

That to me is the foundation of a tech mindset and it builds if you have a willingness to learn and a capacity to take it on. You\u2019re not doing something because that\u2019s how it\u2019s done, but how can we improve it. Like, my computer\u2019s running slow and I don\u2019t want to buy a new one \u2014 I want to make it better.<\/p>\n

Did the recession in Ireland affect you in any way?
\n<\/b>When the recession hit, the company I was with shifted away from a customer focus. I was ringing these elderly people on legacy plans and trying to force them on newer plans that would cost them more money and I hated it. That\u2019s why I left that. There wasn\u2019t a lot of well-paying jobs. In Ireland, the welfare is nearly equivalent to the minimum wage. It just didn\u2019t work for me.<\/p>\n

How are you enjoying your visit to Austin so far?
\n<\/b>I\u2019m overwhelmed just by the welcome and openness of this place. There was a big banner waiting for us and everyone was wearing these hay hats and free hugs all around and the big introduction. It feels like a family.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no one doing things because they have to. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve seen someone look at a watch when we\u2019re hanging out. People are just getting along and enjoying their time. I have to say, the recruitment is just so good in that they\u2019re looking for a culture fit above all<\/p>\n

Is this your first time in America?
\n<\/b>This is my second time in America, the first time in Texas. Last time I was here, I was in Vegas. TSA told me I shouldn\u2019t really talk anymore about Vegas…apparently what happens there, stays there.<\/p>\n

Have you experienced anything that\u2019s contrary to what you heard about Texas?
\n<\/b>Well, I haven\u2019t seen anyone with Stetsons and cowboy boots firing six shooters off into the air. I haven\u2019t seen any cattle yet.<\/p>\n

How has WP Engine helped you move forward in your career?
\n<\/b>Right now it\u2019s given me a career because previously there was no movement where I was. Here I got Jason (Jaynes) saying \u2018just show us where you want to go, we\u2019ll lay the tracks down.\u2019 I absolutely love that so it\u2019s actually given me a career, and I\u2019m forever grateful for that, especially with twins on the way!<\/p>\n

What was your first reaction when you found out you\u2019d be one of the first members of the Limerick office?
\n<\/b>It\u2019s probably embarrassing, but I couldn\u2019t stop laughing. It was just a relief laugh.<\/p>\n

Is there anything in the U.S. you haven\u2019t tried yet that you want to?
\n<\/b>First of all, we\u2019re going tubing on the river, so I\u2019m excited for that. But, being in Ireland, we\u2019re very anti-guns so I want to go to a shooting range. I\u2019m really looking forward to that just to see what it\u2019s like, to see if I get the bug.<\/p>\n

Is there anything you\u2019d like to add?
\n<\/b>Breakfast tacos. If anything, just the breakfast tacos. Oh my god, they\u2019re amazing. Portion sizes \u2014 do not feel like you have to eat everything on your plate. It\u2019s not a challenge.<\/p>\n

WP Engine is currently hiring for positions in Limerick, Ireland<\/a>! See here for the full range of careers we’re hiring for across the globe: wpengine-careers.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this blog series, we talk to WP Engine employees to learn more about their roles, what they love about the city they work in, and hear from them what they like most about working at WP Engine. After recently opening an office in Limerick, Ireland, we discuss life in Ireland with the Limerick team…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":19997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,122],"tags":[445],"class_list":["post-19991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company","category-culture","tag-employee-spotlight"],"yoast_head":"\nWP Engine Employee Spotlight: Barry O'Dea, Customer Support<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After recently opening an office in Limerick, Ireland, we discuss life in Ireland with Barry O'Dea and what he hopes to bring to WP Engine.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WP Engine Employee Spotlight: Barry O'Dea, Customer Support\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After recently opening an office in Limerick, Ireland, we discuss life in Ireland with Barry O'Dea and what he hopes to bring to WP Engine.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WP Engine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wpengine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-11T19:35:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-26T15:41:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/barry-odea-limerick-facebook.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jack Riewe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/barry-odea-twitter.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@wpengine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@wpengine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jack Riewe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/\",\"name\":\"WP Engine Employee Spotlight: Barry O'Dea, Customer Support\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-11T19:35:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-26T15:41:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/efbffe89340325e7f387c74a7f3cff5f\"},\"description\":\"After recently opening an office in Limerick, Ireland, we discuss life in Ireland with Barry O'Dea and what he hopes to bring to WP Engine.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Employee Spotlight: Barry O\u2019Dea, Customer Support\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/\",\"name\":\"WP Engine\",\"description\":\"Managed Hosting for WordPress\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/efbffe89340325e7f387c74a7f3cff5f\",\"name\":\"Jack Riewe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/babbe8944f95176b4849865d57f74c4f587450adfdd95485cc256c27b3ce83af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/babbe8944f95176b4849865d57f74c4f587450adfdd95485cc256c27b3ce83af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jack Riewe\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"WP Engine Employee Spotlight: Barry O'Dea, Customer Support","description":"After recently opening an office in Limerick, Ireland, we discuss life in Ireland with Barry O'Dea and what he hopes to bring to WP Engine.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"WP Engine Employee Spotlight: Barry O'Dea, Customer Support","og_description":"After recently opening an office in Limerick, Ireland, we discuss life in Ireland with Barry O'Dea and what he hopes to bring to WP Engine.","og_url":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/","og_site_name":"WP Engine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wpengine","article_published_time":"2016-10-11T19:35:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-26T15:41:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/barry-odea-limerick-facebook.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jack Riewe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/barry-odea-twitter.jpg","twitter_creator":"@wpengine","twitter_site":"@wpengine","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jack Riewe","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/","url":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/","name":"WP Engine Employee Spotlight: Barry O'Dea, Customer Support","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-10-11T19:35:59+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-26T15:41:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/efbffe89340325e7f387c74a7f3cff5f"},"description":"After recently opening an office in Limerick, Ireland, we discuss life in Ireland with Barry O'Dea and what he hopes to bring to WP Engine.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/barry-odea-customer-support\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Employee Spotlight: Barry O\u2019Dea, Customer Support"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/","name":"WP Engine","description":"Managed Hosting for WordPress","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/efbffe89340325e7f387c74a7f3cff5f","name":"Jack Riewe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/babbe8944f95176b4849865d57f74c4f587450adfdd95485cc256c27b3ce83af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/babbe8944f95176b4849865d57f74c4f587450adfdd95485cc256c27b3ce83af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jack Riewe"}}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}