Allow me to briefly introduce myself and ask a couple of questions.

My name is Keith Hileman.

I presently live in the north Atlanta metro area.

I am a law school graduate (1990), but have never practiced and have
no desire to do so.

I am currently enrolled in a distance learning masters program from
the Florida State College of Information.  My concentration is
Information Technology Management.

I have just completed my first semester in a fellowship program that
will take a couple of years to complete - I'm in no real hurry since
someone else is paying for it...<smile>

Unfortunately, from what I'm told, the records management class there
has not been taught in several years and there are no plans to teach
it in the future.  The course seems to be just a marker in the
curriculum from what I can determine.

I just joined ARMA as a student member and have signed up for the RIM
101 class.  The text just arrived a couple of days ago, but I haven't
actually sat down to work on the project just yet.

My questions are just to get a general feel from the list subscribers
with no definitive answers being sought.

1)  I'm contemplating a computer system upgrade.  Should I fork over
the requisite cash to get a laptop or should I get a super desktop for
a fraction of the price?

My employment situation at the moment is that of a temp working to
organize a corporate legal department doing file maintenance and
imaging.

I want to specialize in legal records because of my background, but
wondered if I should have my own personal laptop now or worry about
that down the road.

2)  Getting a "foot" in the door - would it behoove me to trade on the
library aspect to get into a firm or should I approach the records
manager directly?

My perception is that most firms have a records manager/conflict
function that is not associated with the library and research.  Is
that a correct perception?

3)  Finally (for the moment), should I attempt to find a class in
imaging technology at the moment or be patient and see what develops
in the library curriculum?

Thanks for any input...

Keith Hileman

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