Career insights from Joe Russo

There’s no better feeling than knowing what you do matters. As leader of Verizon’s Network Operations team, Joe Russo knows that the opportunities to make an impact are boundless. As he reflects on his journey, Joe shares how culture, technology, and opportunities have given him the power to go beyond and excel on his technology career path.

From intern to technology leader.

From his beginnings as a summer intern, Joe quickly understood the benefits of a career at Verizon. That’s why he never left! As a college student, Joe completed an internship in Richmond, VA, in one of Bell Atlantic’s service centers. His computer skills enabled him to help the team with some basic automation, and once he graduated, Joe was offered a full-time position in the Data Services Network Operations center as a supervisor. From there, Joe’s career evolved as he advanced into many different roles around the company. Joe’s advice for those seeking a successful and meaningful career is this: “Be approachable, curious, look for ways to add value and help others.” Taking his own advice, Joe found ways to add value to some of Verizon’s biggest technology introductions. 

“The combination of working with new technology, the great people, and the amazing benefits at Verizon led me to take that first supervisor position. My career path has lead me all the way to 5G; it’s been a cool journey and I can’t wait to see what’s ahead.” 
- Joe Russo

Taking pride in innovation.

When your career takes you on an amazing journey, it can be tough to highlight the best part. For Joe, he points to his part in the launch of Verizon Fios as a career milestone and defining moment. “My days working on the design and implementation of Fios are what I take the most pride in.  We reinvented our consumer internet business from the ground up and created a product that our customers love. I also met some of the most talented people during that process, many of whom I still work with today.” The chance to work with the best creators and innovators in the business helped shape Joe’s career path as well.

Better. Faster. Stronger.

With every success comes the inevitable question. What’s next? For Joe, the opportunity was 5G. “5G is a transformative technology.  It will create jobs and allow people to do things that we never thought possible. New employees either directly or indirectly will be part of something special.  Something that one day they will look back on and talk about how they were part of it.” When asked what qualities he looks for in his team, Joe says he always seeks “problem solvers, lovers of technology, and people who bring a positive energy to the workplace.” Providing the best, most reliable and secure networks to our customers starts with bringing the best talent to our team.

Learn more about your technology career path at Verizon and how you can find opportunities to contribute in different areas like technology, finance and corporate. Explore more career insights with the Verizon Works Blog.