It was all sort of an accident, really….

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Thirteen years at the same company is not actually how I had foreseen my future. It started off in the summer in between my Freshman year of college and a Sophomore year that I knew in my head wouldn’t exist. I was young, stubborn, and a little bit too wild and free for a community college.  I was working two summer jobs at the time. During the week I worked for a small party and lawn equipment rental place in my home town. On the weekends, I would sleep in the basement of a small hotel on Cape Cod, and then run the bumper cars at their little amusement room during the day. Life was busy and fun, but both jobs would end in August.

Everyone loves bumper cars
Everyone loves bumper cars

One day I was visiting my grandfather, and my aunt asked if I would be interested in  interviewing for an entry level job at a local company located in Concord. I said sure, why not. It wasn’t  meant to be a career. It would be another job to put money in the bank so I could travel and find myself along the way.

I started in the middle of August and had no idea what the company even did. I went in for the interview, and was hired as a Shipper Receiver at SolidWorks Corp. I learned how to ship, and through the years, worked closely with overseas resellers in customs clearance, and became educated in the job of Export Management. It was all hands-on and learn-as-you-go. It was fun, but it wasn’t fulfilling after a while.

Let’s skip ahead 13 years to today, and a realization I had walking into the cafeteria at our new office in Waltham.  After so much time at the same company, I realized that SolidWorks meant more to me than just my job. It’s a whole group of relationships that have (in a lot of cases) been built up over more than decade. People here have seen the best and the worst of me. Co-workers who I call friends, and who have watched me mature over so many years. It’s more than a company to me. The faces are all familiar and friendly, and people are always willing to help. Everyone in the company focuses on creating better ideas and always innovating a better product. It’s a family born from an idea that if you invest in your employees, they will invest in you.

That's me!
That’s me!

My name is Andrew and after working here for 13 years, I am going to learn SolidWorks. While learning the product, I will be reaching out to many people internally and externally and talking to them about their experiences and what I can do to achieve my goal. As I grow and learn I want to share the experiences I have with you, as SolidWorks has watched me grow and learn over the last 13 years. It’s time for me to evolve, and as someone who has been addicted to design and architecture, this seems like a great step.

Wish me luck, and talk to you soon.

 

 

 

 

Andrew Fontaine

Andrew Fontaine

Andrew works for Dassault Systemes in the Facilities Department. Andrew was single handedly responsible for the creation and on-boarding of the Dino-work force and was able to successfully integrate them into the work environment with little to no bloodshed. In his free time he remains as Superman’s backup when he and Lois get away for a holiday, and is currently in the process of Jedi Training. The Force wasn’t that strong with that one, but he’s learning like a good little Padawan.