Working from home can often have its advantages. The commute time is the 30 second walk to one’s computer. For Sean Dougherty, a network engineer for Verizon, working from home means flexibility in his schedule and being involved in his 2 ½-year-old daughter’s toddlerhood.
His daughter spent around 33 days in the NICU after being born seven weeks premature, prompting both Dougherty and his wife to take leave sporadically and rely on help from their parents while Dougherty worked from home. Afterward, his wife decided to become a stay-at-home mom — allowing both parents to be present at home.
Today, Dougherty still works from home in Owings Mills where he lives with his wife, Casi, and their daughter, Mckenna (2).
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
What led you to become a network engineer?
When I was growing up, I played soccer my whole life, and then while I was at Mount Saint Joseph High School, I decided maybe I should give kicking a try for the football team. Then, I went to college in North Carolina to kick, but it just turned out to be more involved than what I wanted it to be as an 18-year-old. So, I came back home and at that point my mom gave me the choice of ‘You can go to work or just go to college.’ I wasn’t a big fan of school my whole life. After working a couple jobs, I then worked for a company that was a main contractor for Comcast, and then there were openings to go into Verizon as an engineering assistant; and then from there, I moved up to a few different positions within the company and I am where I am now.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
I have an office in our basement. Unless I’m in meetings or very involved with something, I’m pretty free to be involved in whatever’s going on. As long as [my wife and daughter are] at home, they’re often out and about. It’s definitely more hectic now. [Mckenna] can now open the child gates, and so I’ll be in a meeting talking to somebody and then all of a sudden, they hear a little girl’s voice because she let herself in the office.
How do you plan to stay involved in her life as she grows up?
I’m one of four [children]. So, we’re either hanging out with people in my family or friends of ours that also have kids. We have eight nieces and nephews, so they’re all playing together, but I feel very involved in a lot of the nieces’ and nephews’ lives, and they’re all playing sports and everything. I want to, in the future, be involved in those things, whatever she wants to do. I, of course, have my own hobbies, but I don’t want to force anything on her. She can do whatever she wants to do. I want her to know that growing up, too.
Do you have any hobbies?
I have lots of hobbies. Road racing, motorcycles, I golf a lot. I used to collect bourbon, but I’ve kind of given that up because it got pricey. Road Racing was something that I took pretty seriously when I was younger. I was the national champion in 2015 in a semi-pro series. There’s a few tracks that we go to up and down the East Coast.
Family Favorites
Food: Crab
Local Spot: My brother’s farm
Vacation Spot: Eastern Shore
Activity: Hang out with family
Book: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”
