Tyler Krueger followed his older brother into the telecommunications industry and to Mitchell Tech.
And initially Krueger thought he’d follow his brother into the installation area of telecommunications, too, but that’s where their paths differed thanks to on-the-job experiences. When he was in school, students were required to have an internship between the first and second years of the program. Krueger interned for two years at Santel Communications, an SDN Communications member company located in his hometown of Woonsocket. During the school year he also worked at another telecommunications company in Mitchell.
“Having the internship and getting hands-on opportunities to put coursework to work was definitely beneficial,” Krueger said.
He spent much of his time in installation, like his brother — “it was good experience but a bit of a repetition every day,” Krueger said.
Program Director Michael Benjamin talked Krueger into looking at more telecommunications work, he said, which pointed him toward SDN Communications and its member companies across the state.
After graduating in 2016, Krueger began his career at SDN Communications in Sioux Falls. He started in a flex position, rotating between network operations and installation, as well as a few other areas. Network operations was a good fit, Krueger said, and he’s never left.
“There are challenges every day, it’s always something different,” he said. “You have to adapt and learn new technologies and standards, ever-revolving knowledge to keep learning.”
Krueger is a Voice Services Network Engineer, which at a high level is maintaining and building out SDN’s voice network for members and customers. While he spent six years working in Sioux Falls, in 2022 he and his family moved back to Woonsocket and Krueger works remotely about 80% of the time.
The transition to remote was seamless, Krueger said, thanks to technology and the support from his supervisor and the leadership team. Between Microsoft Teams and calls and meetings , Krueger said he talks to everyone on his team multiple times a day.
Krueger’s degree is in Telecommunications, which is now Wi-Fi & Broadband Technologies at Mitchell Tech. The program name may have changed but the experience and the opportunities continue to grow, he said.
“There’s so many different ways you can go with broadband knowledge. There are so many places to take that degree. I would 100 percent recommend someone going into it,” Krueger said.
