{"id":17382,"date":"2026-10-08T10:42:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dream.press\/news\/?post_type=announcement&p=17382"},"modified":"2026-10-08T10:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:42:07","slug":"christopher-pedron-didnt-mean-to-apply-to-dreamhost","status":"publish","type":"announcement","link":"https:\/\/news.dream.press\/news\/announcements\/christopher-pedron-didnt-mean-to-apply-to-dreamhost\/","title":{"rendered":"Christopher Pedron Didn\u2019t Mean to Apply to DreamHost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Christopher Pedron learned one of his first lessons in computer networking by making his friend\u2019s computer nearly unusable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In high school, he signed up for a computer class with one assignment for the year: build a working computer. Pedron and most of his classmates finished within the first week. Naturally, they spent the extra time playing video games like Doom and Unreal Tournament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pedron figured out how to play a game installed on a friend\u2019s computer over the school network, using his friend\u2019s computer resources in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI could hear him scream from across the room every time his computer started lagging,\u201d Pedron remembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking back, Pedron realized they had stumbled into an early lesson in networking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s networking,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what we do with our servers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, as a Systems Administrator on DreamHost\u2019s Data Center Operations team, Pedron is often the person figuring out why a machine is having problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was me,\u201d he says of those high school days. \u201cI caused that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The tech career he tried to avoid<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pedron had been building computers for most of his life but wasn\u2019t convinced he wanted to do it for a living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor most of my youth, I tried to actually avoid getting into it,\u201d he says. \u201cI figured when I was younger that if I had to do it as work, I wouldn\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A partner, a child, and a mortgage eventually made him reconsider. That led him to a data center job at the same facility where DreamHost operates infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few years later, while looking for a new job, Pedron accidentally applied to DreamHost. He was reading a job posting on his phone when the button to expand the listing overlapped the button to apply. He tapped the wrong one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DreamHost contacted him a week later, and nearly four years later, he\u2019s still here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learning to read<\/strong> The Matrix<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pedron\u2019s team handles the physical side of DreamHost\u2019s infrastructure, such as replacing failed drives and memory, deploying and cabling servers, installing Linux, and troubleshooting hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before joining DreamHost, Pedron had never worked with Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you hear people talking about Linux, you\u2019re probably imagining like the green letters in The Matrix<\/em> just kind of trickling down,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd you\u2019re like, \u2018How do people read that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pedron now knows how to read it. Much of his work happens through commands and lines of text that tell him whether a server powered on correctly, connected to the network, found its storage, or ran into trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pedron describes working in Data Center Operations as a horror movie. \u201cEverything\u2019s fine until it\u2019s not,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd if there\u2019s any survivors, they\u2019re going to be in the sequel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s gotten the 3 a.m. calls, and being the person someone calls when something breaks has become a point of pride. Pedron also likes having a plan, so much that he says he\u2019ll \u201cpre-plan\u201d for situations where he might have to go with the flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That extends beyond DreamHost. Pedron\u2019s sister took over his old data center job and quickly became a supervisor, but she still calls him when she runs into something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pedron likes being a source of knowledge, although \u201cnot getting paid for it kind of sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Coffee, computers, and staying close to home<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou cannot get enough caffeine in me,\u201d Pedron says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His usual order is a cold, blended espresso drink from Dutch Bros that he nurses from around 9 a.m. until mid-afternoon, even when there\u2019s snow on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Away from work, Pedron is usually at home, spending time with his partner and daughter or back in front of his computer. He\u2019s spent thousands of hours playing Fallout and Baldur\u2019s Gate, and about 20 years playing World of Warcraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His preference for staying close to home may have something to do with a trip to the Oregon coast when he was around 19 or 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pedron and his best friend drove a car on a highway along the ocean. They eventually ran out of beach to drive on, tried to turn around, and got stuck in the sand. Then the tide came in as they scrambled up a bluff and watched the car float away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wearing jeans and skate shoes, the two walked for six hours before Pedron called his mom to come get them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like really going that much further than I can walk home,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Reluctant is fine. Avoidance isn\u2019t.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pedron has a rule he follows at work and at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can be reluctant, but you can\u2019t be avoidant,\u201d he says. \u201cIf something needs to be done, you have to take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He knows the difference. A 3 a.m. call isn\u2019t something he looks forward to. A broken dishwasher once sat for a few days before he pulled it out, found a seized motor, and smacked it with a screwdriver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pedron spent years resisting the idea of turning computers into a career. These days, when something breaks, he\u2019s often the person people call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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