IT Career Energizer

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Scott Ambler. Scott works with organisations around the world to help them to improve their software processes. He provides training, coaching and mentoring in disciplined agile and lean strategies at both the project and organisational level. He is also the founder of the Agile Modelling (AM) and Agile Data (AD) methods and co-founder of Disciplined Agile (DA). In this episode, Phil and Scott discuss why Scott got interested in agile and continues to develop it. How he helps large organisations to change the way they work by leveraging the experiences of other organisations. They talk about how to effectively test the architecture of a system, at an early stage, and why it must be done. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (6.41) TOP CAREER TIP Read widely. You need to be constantly consuming information from a wide range of sources. (7.46) WORST CAREER MOMENT Many years ago, Scott ended up working with a strong team who were handicapped by having to use technology that basically did not work. The different parts of the system could not talk to each other and the database could not handle negative numbers. Worse, these fundamental flaws could not be fixed. Months later, it all crashed and burned. The experience taught Scott the benefits of testing early. You have to prove the architecture as soon as possible. (10.59) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Scott really enjoys seeing software and systems he has worked on being used when he walks down the street. He also loves the fact he is still in touch with some of the teams he worked with, in the past. Working with great people has been something he feels has been a highlight of his career. (12.51) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The complexity and variety of the work you do as an IT professional is what helps to make things so interesting. Given the fact that the world is in a constant state of flux, Scott believes there will always be interesting challenges to tackle. (14.15) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – At university, Scott decided to take computer science because he had enjoyed programming since high school. So, a career in IT was a natural progression for him. What's the best career advice you received? – Read often. What's the worst career advice you received? – Focus on one technology. What would you do if you started your career now? – Scott says he would probably follow a similar path. But, he would want to work on a legacy system. He explains why that is, in the podcast. What are your current career objectives? – Scott wants to dive deeper into understanding why certain approaches work and others don't. He wants to be able to answer these fundamental questions. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Being a good writer. How do you keep your own career energized? – Being curious and always striving to learn something new. What do you do away from technology? – Scott loves cycling. He also collects Atari 8 consoles and old computers. (20.22) FINAL CAREER TIP Continually expand your skillset and take every opportunity to learn from others. And always question what you do. Develop several core specialities. But, be sure to look beyond them. Work to understand the challenges of the business you work for and always be willing to pick up new skills. BEST MOMENTS (5.06) – Scott - "Own your own process, choose your way of working." (6.41) – Scott - "Always be trying to learn, always be reading and read widely." (9.59) – Scott - "It is important to test early and prove the architectures working code." (18.14) – Scott - "Being able to communicate, particularly using the written word is still absolutely critical." (21.13) – Scott - "Always be willing to pick up new skills and work with others." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer ABOUT THE GUEST – SCOTT AMBLER Scott Ambler works with organisations around the world to help them to improve their software processes. He provides training, coaching and mentorin

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Diomidis Spinellis. He is a professor in the Department of Management Science and Technology at the Athens University of Economics and Business, and a long-time IT practitioner. He is the author of many open-source software tools, including UMLGraph, CScout, and git-issue. His latest book is "Effective Debugging: 66 Specific Ways to Debug Software and Systems". In this episode, Phil and Diomidis Spinellis discuss how taking the time to develop tools to solve what are sometimes small problems makes you a better programmer and boosts your career. They talk about how to become an effective communicator and quickly understand the root of the problems you are working to solve. Diomidis shares examples of how simple solutions can be used to achieve step changes. He also talks about the maths behind machine learning and the future of the IT industry. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.03) TOP CAREER TIP The first skill you need to develop is communication. This is because everything you do involves humans. The work that you do is generally connected to larger systems. If you want your technology to truly help and be widely adopted you need to be able to see the wider picture. You have to be able to effectively present your ideas to your colleagues, customers and the wider world. (5.43) WORST CAREER MOMENT In the 80s, Diomidis was charged with installing a powerful processor to sit alongside an existing one. Unfortunately, when Diomidis did the installation, it literally went up in smoke. He explains why in the podcast. At the time, this equipment was crazy expensive and you had to wait months to get hold of it. So, his error was a major one. Fortunately, the company took the view that mistakes were learning opportunities. That experience taught Diomidis to be extra careful when actions can have irreversible consequences. (9.23) CAREER HIGHLIGHT While serving the Greek government as the Secretary General for Information Systems he was asked to consolidate the payment authority system for its civil servants. Basically, he had to centralize the payment authorization process. It was to be a herculean task that could have cost a huge amount and taken at least 5 years to roll out. Fortunately, an old hand in the administration came up with what most people thought of as a crazy idea. In the podcast, Diomidis explains how he was able to take that idea and very quickly develop a solution. (11.54) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Every year, we are blessed with better algorithms, new technology and more powerful computers. So, issues we could not solve yesterday can be solved today. (13.36) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The chance to acquire the necessary skills to be able to control computers. What's the best career advice you received? – Listen to other people, so you can understand their problems properly. Also, listen to and consider any advice you are offered. What's the worst career advice you received? – To learn the 4GL 4th generation programming language, advice he did not follow. Over the years, Diomidis has learned not to invest too deeply in proprietary technologies. What would you do if you started your career now? – Diomidis would become a machine learning expert. He would go as far as gaining a deep understanding of the underlying mathematics. What are your current career objectives? – Working collaboratively with people from across the world. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Writing. In the podcast, he explains how he developed this skill and uses it today, in his work. How do you keep your own career energized? – Diomidis has got into the habit of periodically evaluating what he is doing in his career, which gives him direction. Looking for and solving new problems also keeps him energized. What do you do away from technology? – Diomidis enjoys hacking gadgets. But, when he wants a complete break from tech, it is the natural world that he turns to. He also likes to run. (20.03) FINAL CAREER TIP Constantly learn new things- new programming languages, tools and ways of working. Doing this keeps things fresh, helps you to find more solutions and keeps things relevant. BEST MOMENTS (4.23) – Diomidis - "Learn to communicate with your colleagues and customers. To present your ideas effectively." (8.23) – Diomidis - "When mistakes are made that is how we learn." (8.36) – Diomidis - "Be extra careful when your actions can have irreversible consequences." (18.43) – Diomidis - "Using technology as a lever can make you 10 times more productive." (20.08) – Diomidis - "Constantly learn new things." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organizations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to h

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Noelle LaCharite. She is an advocate for women in technology, and passionate about mindful Leadership, work-life harmony and helping people achieve more through the use of AI. She has spent many years as a trainer, solutions architect and evangelist for IBM, RedHat, EMC, Amazon and Microsoft. Noelle has delivered keynotes, workshops and conferences around the world. In this episode, Phil and Noelle LaCharite discuss the opportunities AI offers and how to embrace the technology so you can take advantage of them. As well as why every developer needs to get involved in AI, as soon as possible. She also explains how she has used mindfulness and other mental exercises to improve her focus and she shares several other productivity tips. Phil and Noelle also talk about how to recognise and tap into your natural strengths to find your ideal place within the IT industry. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (3.26) TOP CAREER TIP Build good mental discipline. Over the years, using various methods, Noelle has trained herself to stay truly focused on one thing. As a result, she has become far more productive. In the podcast, Noelle explains some of the things she has done to develop laser-like focus. A level of focus that enables her to stay present and calm, even when working on stressful projects that move along at a crazy pace. (5.00) WORST CAREER MOMENT At one point in her career, Noelle was pushed out of a company that she knew she was serving well. But, the leadership were not fans of her. They could not sack her because of her productivity or work. Instead, they just spoke to her colleagues about her in a negative way. In time, this very subtle drip-drip assault on her reputation had an effect and Noelle ended up having to leave. (6.52) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Not so long ago, Noelle appeared on NBC as a representative of Microsoft. She was asked to speak about a project she worked on with data scientists from MIT and curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During the interview, she was also able to speak about AI and the role it is playing in improving accessibility. A subject Noelle is particularly passionate about because her son has Down syndrome. (8.30) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The endless opportunities IT offers and the fact that it is getting easier and easier to achieve remarkable things is something that Noelle finds exciting. For example, in under a year, Noelle went from knowing nothing about natural-language or AI to building skills on Amazon and Alexa. Some of which became the most popular in the world. Right now, the opportunities in the AI field are endless. There is no barrier to entry. So, anyone can get involved. (10.09) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – As a single parent, Noelle needed a job that paid well. A career in IT was an excellent way to earn the money she needed to look after her family. What's the best career advice you received? – A friend gave her the highly personalised advice, to avoid the politics of a company. To know who her friends were and stay close to them while growing her career. What's the worst career advice you received? – Sit down and be quiet. For Noelle personally, that was very bad advice. What would you do if you started your career now? – Noelle would work to leverage her natural skills while developing her career. Working with your strengths makes it much easier to progress quickly. What are your current career objectives? – Right now, Noelle is exploring Mindful Management and how she can put it to use. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Being a good storyteller. In the podcast, Noelle explains how she has been able to use that skill to become a better conference speaker. How do you keep your own career energized? – In the podcast, how she taps into books to keep her coding skills fresh becomes better informed than many others and uses Github to showcase what she has learned. CHANGED What do you do away from technology? – Noelle owns a 17-acre farm in the mountains. She finds that farming enables her to mentally and physically disconnect from technology. (18.42) FINAL CAREER TIP Right now, AI is like cloud computing was 10 years ago. We know that every business is going to start using AI, at some point. So, now is the time to get involved in the AI field. When you do you will be in far better shape career-wise. Both now and moving forward. BEST MOMENTS (3.48) – Noelle - "Train yourself to be able to truly focus on one thing at a time." (8.41) – Noelle - "In the IT industry, with the right focus, you can achieve a huge amount very quickly." (9.04) – Noelle - "Right now, anyone can enter the IT field. They just need desire, aptitude and passion." (16.13) – Noelle - "Read the tech books you buy from cover to cover. Then freshen up your skills by writing the code you learned." (19.02) – Noelle - "Get involved in AI now. Soon, every business will be using it. So, everyone needs some

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Lyndsey Padget. Lyndsey is the founder of Longplay Software and a full stack developer, having worked at both mega-corporations and start-ups. She enjoys sharing her knowledge on topics including git & release management, test-driven development, agile and Kanban, and many more. And she believes that the difference between a good software engineer and a great one often has little to do with code. In this episode, Phil and Lyndsey Padget discuss effective ways to end negative cycles and habits so that you can finally grow your career. They discuss how not being afraid to ask the right questions, at the right stage, enables you to succeed. Lyndsey shares her take on where the biggest breakthroughs in AI are likely to come from. She also talks through the wisdom of being both a mentor and a mentoree. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (5.30) TOP CAREER TIP When growing your career you need to take act offensively rather than defensively. In the podcast, Lyndsey explains what she means by this using a real-life example and sharing numerous actionable tips with the audience. She explains how to stop wasting time and energy seeking out opportunities. Lyndsey shows you how to go from having to take whatever comes along to finding work that you actually enjoy. Roles that enable you to achieve your goals, instead of leaving you working to help others to achieve their goals. (9.53) WORST CAREER MOMENT A few years ago, Lyndsey got hired to lead a backend development team. Yet, when she actually started she was told she was leading a frontend team. Two very different things and Lyndsey had not really worked on the frontend before. But, despite this, she was able to make a success of that situation. She explains how she did this and how you can do so too, if necessary, in the podcast. (15.25) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Speaking at the Norwegian Developers Conference (NDC) in Oslo was a highlight. It was the first time Lyndsey had spoken internationally. Lyndsey explains how to be successful as an international speaker by knowing your audience and adapting what you deliver to better fit in with their cultural experiences. (20.00) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Lyndsey is fascinated by the possibilities of AI. For example, getting natural language processing right is already changing the way we communicate. She also shares why she believes that the sex industry could be the source of some of the biggest breakthroughs in AI and the way it is used. (22.11) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – When she was 13 she was invited to join a programme at a local software company. From that moment, she was hooked on IT. What's the best career advice you received? – A good manager absorbs heat and radiates sunshine. In other words, she needed to protect her team from negativity and be more positive. What's the worst career advice you received? – Take every speaking engagement you are offered. If you do that you just end up overcommitted and exhausted. What would you do if you started your career now? – Not be afraid to ask questions and seek help. When Lyndsey started out, she made the classic mistake of trying to figure everything out by herself. What are your current career objectives? – Lyndsey is keen to work on larger projects. So, she is currently figuring out how to make that happen. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Communication. It is the key to everything, listening makes you a better collaborator as well as ensuring you deliver what the client actually needs. How do you keep your own career energized? – Lyndsey rarely spends more than a year doing the same thing. At which point, she likes to pick up the pace and change things up. What do you do away from technology? – Lyndsey is acutely aware of the fact that she needs to use her downtime to recharge. So, she blocks off time to be with her kids, cook, sew and do DIY. (35.39) FINAL CAREER TIP Become a mentor and a mentoree. The industry does a good job of teaching people to code. But, it is not so good at making sure that newcomers succeed in their new career. Going from being someone who can code to landing and succeeding in your first roles is something a lot of people need help with. The more mentors step forward the better it will be for the industry, as a whole. If you want to continually improve, finding your own mentor will prove very beneficial. Being mentored does not stop you from mentoring others. BEST MOMENTS (9.32) – Lyndsey - "Get out of planning mode and into doing mode. You have to take action to move your career forward." (12.06) – Lyndsey - "Nothing good comes of an environment where people are afraid to ask questions." (24.54) – Lyndsey - "If you are a manager, protect your team from unnecessary negativity and stay positive." (28.01) – Lyndsey - "Time is money. So, don't be afraid to ask questions, it will help move things along." (37.25) – Lyndsey - "You should be both giving and recei

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Ed Finkler. Ed is a software developer at DelMar Software Development. He is also co-host of the Development Hell podcast and he is currently raising mental health awareness in the tech community with his Open Sourcing Mental Illness speaking campaign. In this episode, Phil and Ed Finkler begin by talking about how mental illness impacts tech professionals and why awareness of the issue needs to increase. They also talk about how Ed has successfully managed his own mental illness issues. Ed and Phil discuss the future of IT and the need to simplify both the creative process and what we build. They also cover the need to use dependable tech. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (7.38) TOP CAREER TIP You need to develop your non-technical as well as your technical skills. These so-called soft skills are actually vital to success. Being a good communicator, the ability to work well in a team and having empathy are all essential. (11.56) WORST CAREER MOMENT For Ed, that was being let go from a start-up position. At the time, he was working hard and felt that he was fully fulfilling the brief. It was hard for Ed to accept this change, especially because he had difficulties in other areas of his life. That was when his anxiety and depression really took hold and negatively impact everything. In the podcast, he explains how he managed to come out the other side. (22.05) CAREER HIGHLIGHT At one stage, Ed's mental illness completely destroyed his confidence. So, being able to gradually come back from that and once again become a fully-functioning developer was understandably a career highlight for Ed. But, perhaps even more so is what came out of that struggle. He is really proud of founding Open Sourcing Mental Illness and the fact that it has now gained momentum and taken on a life of its own. It is nice to know that it will be there and continue to help others for many years to come. (26.41) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Ed hopes to see the focus shifting from web development to creating tools that make things easier and more straightforward for developers. He feels that "complexity is the enemy" and believes that the more complex things are the more likely they are to screw up. Ed is excited about the fact that the community and open source are being embraced. He explains why in the podcast. (34.45) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Ed has always loved computers. He kind of drifted into his IT career because he wanted to be able to build certain things. What's the best career advice you received? – Don't have a loyalty to a specific technology, brand or company. Reserve your loyalty for people. What's the worst career advice you received? – It is a good idea to apply new and unproven technologies in production. It is not a good idea. This kind of fashion-driven development is extremely risky. What would you do if you started your career now? – Ed would start by learning Python. What are your current career objectives? – Being happy in his day to day life and at peace. Once you achieve that everything else, including work, becomes a lot easier. What's your number one non-technical skill? – The ability to speak in front of people and enjoy doing it. How do you keep your own career energized? – Mixing things up, working in different languages on a range of projects. What do you do away from technology? – Ed loves music production. He has released an album and is about to release a 6 track EP. (54.29) FINAL CAREER TIP Focus on the things that make you happy. You need to ensure that the things that make you feel satisfied are a part of the work that you do. In the podcast, Ed provides examples. He also explains that this does not necessarily mean working things that you find exciting. BEST MOMENTS (9.46) – Ed - "How you communicate and interact with people and how empathetic you are will impact your success." (29.24) – Ed - "The more complex things are, the more things are likely to screw up. We need to simplify things." (35.15) – Ed - "We have to remember how lucky we are to work in the industry." (40.04) – Ed - "Being focused on constantly learning new technologies can be actively detrimental to your career." (41.53) – Ed - "You should make conservative technology choices when building things. End-users need dependable and proven tech." (54.41) – Ed - "Seek out work that makes you feel satisfied and happy." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Luke Kanies. He is a design and strategy-oriented advisor, speaker, writer and the founder of Puppet, a company helping to define the future of software. He has a number of interests, including software productivity, business strategy and the inclusion of more people in the software revolution. In this episode, Phil and Luke Kanies discuss how and why he created Puppet. Luke goes into detail about his journey through founding, funding and finally leaving the company he formed. Luke also talks about how being a bit of a maverick thinker and risk-taker has helped him to have such a successful career. They also speak about a huge software development market that is still virtually untapped and how users having more control of their data will change things, moving forward. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (10.09) TOP CAREER TIP Getting fired is incredibly valuable. It has happened to Luke several times. After a while, he worked out that not being afraid of being fired freed him up to pursue the things he really cared about and be honest. He became braver and took more risks, an approach that really paid off for him. Provided you do not go too mad, taking a few risks can be good for your career. (12.40) WORST CAREER MOMENT Luke has had a few bad career moments. But, it is the collateral damage that comes from running a growth company that has been the worst thing about his career. Luke discusses the mistake he made of hiring a friend. Unfortunately, working in a high-growth environment put an incredible strain on their relationship and caused a lot of damage. In the podcast, Luke goes through some of the issues he had with setting up and running Puppet. He talks about challenges like financing, pulling together an executive team, scaling and leaving the company behind. All of which created difficulties for Luke. (16.03) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Making Puppet, it feels great when someone comes up to him and thanks him for creating Puppet. Luke explains that people tell him that Puppet made their lives so much easier. DevOps pros regularly tell him that they now enjoy better pay and a good work/life balance because of what Puppet did for them. (17.40) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Luke thinks that the practice of surveillance capitalism is coming to an end. He is also excited by the movement to decentralise the web and give the power back to the people. Smartphones and cloud platforms have opened up the chance to build products that literally billions of people can use. You can now build truly specialised software tools to help people to do their jobs better. (22.20) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The fact IT was a good fit for him and he was able to get paid well. Before he took on an IT role he was fired from every previous position he held. What's the best career advice you received? – Reserve the right to wake up smarter tomorrow. In other words, if new information comes along, don't be afraid to change your point of view. What's the worst career advice you received? – There is no chance that you can succeed with Puppet. They were definitely wrong about that. What would you do if you started your career now? – Luke would look at what everyone else is doing and look to fill the white space. Luke likes to do something different. What are your current career objectives? – Luke is focusing on building tools to automate tedious tasks, so you are freed up to do more interesting, better paid and fulfilling work. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Luke sees writing as his superpower. He uses writing to work through his problems and ideas. How do you keep your own career energized? – Handling multiple projects and pushing forward on 3 or 4 parts of his career at the same time. What do you do away from technology? – Luke enjoys spending a lot of time with his family. He is a keen cyclist, enjoys mountain biking, video games and photography. (31.57) FINAL CAREER TIP Find your own convictions. Don't always follow the crowd. Look for common assumptions and opinions that you believe may be wrong or no longer valid. Study them and see if they are correct. If they are not, challenge them. This is a great way to discover new things, stretch your mind and change things up. BEST MOMENTS (10.52) – Luke - "Being prepared to take considered risks will take your career in interesting directions." (20.11) – Luke - "Building software for specific professions is a huge market just waiting to be tapped." (28.44) – Luke - "Use writing to work through your problems and ideas. Writing things down clarifies everything." (32.18) – Luke - "Explore your unconventional opinions in-depth. Doing so enables you to come up with ideas no one else has thought of yet." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an int

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Paul Boag. He is a leader in digital transformation and user experience design thinking. Through consultancy and training, he helps organisations make better use of technologies. He is also author of five books including "Digital Adaptation" and "User Experience Revolution" as well as being a speaker on user experience design and digital transformation. In this episode, Phil and Paul Boag discuss the importance of taking a multi-disciplinary approach to what you do. Paul repeatedly provides examples of how to do this and demonstrates the positive impact it can have on your career. They also talk about the evolution of machine learning and AI. Paul explains how soft skills, being a good salesperson and staying flexible have helped his career. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (5.17) TOP CAREER TIP Broaden your horizons; think outside of your immediate discipline. When you familiarise yourself with other tech and areas of business, communicating and working collaboratively becomes easier. You end up with the knowledge and vocabulary you need to understand and be understood better by others. In the podcast, Paul and Phil discuss how to do this without becoming overwhelmed. Being a generalist is not a bad thing. For example, Paul specialises in UX, but can still write code. This enables him to understand the principles used to create the systems he is working on. (8.43) WORST CAREER MOMENT During the 90s Paul worked at a .com. When it looked like it was about to go bust, the senior management decided to turn it into an agency. They came up with a list of people to offer jobs to. But, they did this without consulting the staff. That clandestine approach caused a tremendous amount of hurt. Surprisingly, even for those that got a job out of that process. This negative experience taught Paul the importance of being open and transparent with his staff. He is now a far more empathetic person. (12.10) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Paul's career highlight was helping a frozen ready meals firm grow their e-commerce sales by several thousand percentage points. They specialised in delivering these meals to elderly customers. Paul provides several examples of why this project turned out to be so exciting and interesting to work on. During this section, he clearly demonstrates why you need to think beyond your discipline if you want to become a truly successful IT professional (16.38) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Paul loves the way you get hired to do one thing, only to find that a couple of weeks later the job changes and you are doing something completely different. It is very exciting especially for the creative people who work in IT. (19.29) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Nothing, because Paul does not actually see himself as an IT professional. You can find out why by listening to the podcast. What's the best career advice you received? – Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. What's the worst career advice you received? – Don't stop working, never stop hustling. Paul explains how this advice led to his burning out, during the .com boom. What would you do if you started your career now? – Paul would focus on developing smart devices. He is particularly interested in enabling users to interface invisibly with the technology. What are your current career objectives? – Paul wants to build longer-term relationships with some of his clients. What's your number one non-technical skill? – The ability to sell, being able to sell ideas, himself and his vision. How do you keep your own career energized? – Interacting with other people. Learning from and teaching them. What do you do away from technology? – Paul likes to travel. (26.12) FINAL CAREER TIP Stay flexible. You never know where new technology will take your career. BEST MOMENTS (5.19) – Paul - "Think outside of your immediate discipline, this will turn you into a better collaborator." (10.06) – Paul - "Be honest and transparent with your staff. The clandestine approach always causes untold damage." (21.29) – Paul - "Get the work-life balance right, if you don't you will soon burn out." (27.09) – Paul - "Stay flexible. Careers never go in the direction you expect, so you need to be prepared to adapt." (27.18) – Paul - "Focus on those soft skills as much as possible. Your collaborative and business skills are the ones that stand the test of time. " ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted

EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Nicolas Frankel. Nicolas is a developer advocate who has consulted for customers in a wide range of industry sectors including telecoms, banking and insurance. He usually works on Java and Spring technologies with a focus on rich internet applications, testing, continuous integration, continuous development and DevOps. As well as a frequent conference speaker, he is also author of three books including "Learning Vaadin" and"Integration Testing from the Trenches". In this episode, Phil and Nicolas Frankel discuss why you need to ask plenty of questions and not be afraid of failure. They also talk about how teaching and mentoring others helps you to grow as an IT professional. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (3.15) TOP CAREER TIP Do not be afraid to ask questions especially when you are a junior. People won't think you are stupid when you ask how and why. In fact, this is the sign of a good developer. During the podcast, Nicolas provides several examples of how asking questions has helped him to get to the root of why something needs to be done a certain way. Being informed like this makes it far more likely that the code you write will fully meet the end-users needs. (6.04) WORST CAREER MOMENT Early on in his career, Nicolas managed to take down a production server. He was trying to automatically delete a specific set of files. Unfortunately, he ended up deleting them all. Nicolas explains exactly what happened during his discussion with Phil. It was a tough way to learn to never write anything in production. (9.09) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Interestingly, for Nicolas, it was not one of the many big projects that he had worked on that was his career highlight. It was actually a small project that he and another developer completed while working directly with the stakeholder. Up until that point, he had always worked with layers of management between him and the end client. The customer was thrilled with the result and thanked him and his colleague in person. It was the first time that had happened to Nicolas, which gave him a real lift. (11.30) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The IT industry continues to get more interesting. There are so many opportunities to make things work better. For example, there is a huge need to make systems communicate and work together. Right now Nicolas is especially interested in the new ways things are being deployed. He is excited by the new possibilities offered by using Docker Engine – Community. (13.58) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Surprisingly, it was a course that Nicolas took while at architect school that sparked his interest in I.T. He explains exactly how that happened, in the podcast. What's the best career advice you received? – Good communication is essential. You need to be prepared to share what you are doing with others. What's the worst career advice you received? – Stop coding and get into management. People thought that the coding work Nicolas loved doing so much would all be outsourced. That did not happen, so Nicolas has been able to continue to earn a living doing the work he loves. What would you do if you started your career now? – Nicolas said he would not change anything about his approach. He found working for a consultant to be a good way to gain experience. What are your current career objectives? – Nicolas is working on his people skills by attending more conferences and engaging more with others when he attends. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Being a good teacher and mentor. Teaching others has greatly improved Nicolas' understanding of all kinds of tech. How do you keep your own career energized? – Talking at conferences, writing about IT, creating prototypes and setting up demos all help to keep his career energized. What do you do away from technology? – Nicolas loves sports he finds that it helps him to de-stress. (25.35) FINAL CAREER TIP Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be afraid to fail. Failing is natural. If you don't try you will never fail. BEST MOMENTS (5.50) – Nicolas - "Do not be afraid to ask questions. Keep asking why to get to the root of things." (16.58) – Nicolas - "Communicate what you are doing, why you are doing it and how it is better than other alternatives." (19.33) – Nicolas - "Working for a consulting company early in your career is an excellent way to gain experience." (21.31) – Nicolas - "Now everything is about teamwork, so social skills are becoming increasingly important." (22.46) – Nicolas - "Teaching others pushes you to delve deeper, to understand more and hone your skills." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to t

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Cassidy Williams. She is a software engineer at CodePen and the director of outreach at cKeys. Previously, she has worked for Amazon, L4 Digital, Clarifai and Venmo. She also runs a weekly newsletter and loves teaching and helping people become better coders. In this episode, Phil and Cassidy Williams discuss the benefits of getting involved with the wider community and teaching them tech skills. They talk about the need to constantly evaluate the work you are doing to make sure that it is still right for you. Phil and Cassidy also review how the frontend is changing and what the websites of the future will look like. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.18) TOP CAREER TIP Know what you don't want just as much as what you do. If you do not want to work in a certain kind of environment or use a specific tech knowing that is the case is essential. You have to avoid that kind of work even if it looks like it will take you closer to your dream job. Putting yourself in an uncomfortable place to reach your ultimate goal rarely works out. Usually, you just end up feeling miserable. At which point, it is all too easy to give up on your dream. (6.08) WORST CAREER MOMENT A few years ago, Cassidy was offered a well-paid job with a good title at Amazon. Despite the fact that it was going to be practically impossible to maintain the level of life-work balance she had been enjoying at her previous firm, she took the job. For Cassidy, this turned out to be a huge mistake. She no longer had the time to work on side projects and got very little job satisfaction out of her new role. It was a tough way to learn what really mattered to her. (9.04) CAREER HIGHLIGHT In the podcast, Cassidy shares four great highlights from her career. Including her work at Clarifai which gave her the chance to build a programme from the ground up and share it with the world. (13.28) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Cassidy is really excited by the direction that frontend development is going in. React, Angular and Vue have really mixed things up and the possibilities are now endless. These more advanced front ends will make websites a lot faster, more functional and accessible. (15.42) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Creating her first website is what got Cassidy hooked on IT. What's the best career advice you received? – Ask yourself, what's the worst that could possibly happen? Cassidy finds that thinking this way stops her from worrying too much and unnecessarily holding herself back. What's the worst career advice you received? – Sign up for absolutely everything. It will make you better at time management. Following that advice will lead to burn out and leave you working on things you don't really care about. What would you do if you started your career now? – Cassidy would start out by working for a large company. Then move onto working with smaller firms and start-ups. In the podcast, she explains how this can benefit your career. What are your current career objectives? – Cassidy is figuring out how she can earn enough relatively passive income, so she can spend more time working on side projects that interest her. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Communication, both speaking and writing. In the podcast, Cassidy explains how she went about developing these skills. How do you keep your own career energized? – Working on interesting side projects is what keeps Cassidy's career energized. It is the main way she learns about new tech. What do you do away from technology? – Cassidy and her husband are musicians, so they both spend a lot of time playing music. She also loves making funny videos and coming up with new jokes. (22.12) FINAL CAREER TIP Periodically, sit down and have a meeting with yourself about where your career is going. Every quarter or so, review your goals, objectives and what you are working on. Make sure that you are happy with what you are doing and where you are going. At this stage of the podcast, she shares the questions you should be asking to ensure that you stay on track and enjoying the work that you are doing. BEST MOMENTS (4.34) – Cassidy - "Know what you don't want just as much as what you do want." (13.06) – Cassidy - "Technical workers should take full advantage of the freedom being able to work from anywhere offers them." (18.06) – Cassidy - "Start your career working for a large firm, later you can switch to smaller firms." (20.01) – Cassidy - "Learn to effectively communicate what you are thinking and don't be afraid to ask questions." (22.23) – Cassidy - "Periodically, take time out to honestly evaluate your career and ensure the work you are doing will keep you happy." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance the

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is James Ward. He is a software developer who shares what he learns with others through presentations, blogs, demos and code. He is a self-proclaimed Typed Pure Functional Programming zealot but often compromises on his ideals to just get things done. And as well as being the co-author of "First Steps in Flex" and the creator of the first Java hosting service back in 1997, he helped to launch the Reactive Manifesto. In this episode, Phil and James Ward talk, at length, about the best ways to get involved in the IT community, help others and grow your reputation within the industry. They also discuss how to be effective at influencing decision-makers. James also talks about how to go back to basics when explaining things to beginners. A skill you need when building a team. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.26) TOP CAREER TIP Find a community you want to be a part of and work to improve it. Everyone benefits when you do that, including you. In time, you become well known and people start to recognise your efforts and what you have to offer. You can contribute in all kinds of ways. Write blog posts, put together documentation, provide code samples and more besides. Use forum and social media to uncover what people are struggling with, and then provide something to help them to meet those challenges. (7.10) WORST CAREER MOMENT James worked at Adobe, in particular on Flex. When HTML, CSS and the web started growing, he realised that it would have a significant impact on how relevant Adobe Flex was. At that stage, James wanted to develop Flex in a way that enabled people to port their applications easily to the web. Unfortunately, he was unable to convince the management of the need to do this. It led to him leaving a job he loved because he knew the tech he was working on was going downhill. The experience taught James that he needed to work on his influencing skills. (11.34) CAREER HIGHLIGHT James' career highlight was TypeSafe the company behind Scala. He enjoyed being able to simplify things to the point where people could actually get started with using the tech. First, they created activator which made everything easier to install and provided templates. Later, they provided hundreds of pieces of sample code, which made things even easier. (15.46) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T There is so much happening right now. It is almost overwhelming. But, this is a good thing because it means that the possibilities are endless. James has a lot of fun learning the new technologies and playing around with the latest tech gadgets. He shares details of his rocket related project with the audience. (17.29) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – James describes himself as being a nerd, even as a young kid, so for him taking up a career in I.T was a natural step. What's the best career advice you received? – You need to work on your dependability. In the podcast, James explains how he overcame his own flakiness. What's the worst career advice you received? – James has been lucky with his advisors, so did not have a worst piece of career advice to share. What would you do if you started your career now? – Get involved in machine learning, AI and data dynamics. What are your current career objectives? – James really wants to improve developer journeys and experiences. Right now, he is focused on using Java Spring in Google Cloud to do this. What's your number one non-technical skill? – His desire to learn. At this stage he talks about a couple of his side projects he is involved in, including WebJars. What do you do away from technology? – James loves spending time in the mountains in Colorado. He is a keen hiker, biker and skier. (25.21) FINAL CAREER TIP Share what you know. Everyone has something unique to share with their community, so make sure you do. You never know how many people you can end up helping by doing so. BEST MOMENTS (4.29) –James - "Find a community you like and participate. Working to make that community better will get you known." (11.20) –James - "Take people on a journey when trying to influence them. Build your arguments slowly over time." (18.22) –James - "Be dependable. When you say you will deliver something, make sure that you actually do." (19.33) –James - "Learn not to over commit. If you are a people pleaser, learn to say no a little more." (25.22) –James - "Share what you know with your community. Everyone has something unique to share." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Jennifer Wong. She is a civil former engineer and self-taught software engineer specialising in UI and frontend development. She has written for Net Magazine and has had projects covered by Mashable, Engadget, Gizmodo and more. She is also an avid conference speaker and a Mozilla Tech speaker. In this episode, Phil and Jennifer Wong discuss how being flexible about the work you do and pushing yourself to learn completely new skills helps your career. Jennifer also speaks about her experience with sexual harassment in the workplace. Jennifer explains why you need to educate yourself about workplace disciplinary procedures, even if you have not, yet, had any issues. She also discusses how her project "Human Wasteland" helped to make a positive for the issue of homeless in San Francisco. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.09) TOP CAREER TIP Be flexible about the work you do and how you lead your life. Not being too rigid about your career plans makes it easy to adapt as things change and follow your interests. (5.49) WORST CAREER MOMENT Jennifer experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. She went to HR, yet, the person just got a slap on the wrist. Shockingly, their boss protected them when the issue came to light. Worse, that person continued to abuse others even after Jennifer had left the company. It was an awful experience. One that highlighted to Jennifer the importance of knowing your rights and how workplace disciplinary processes should work. That way, if something goes wrong you do not waste time or end up taking ineffective action. (9.23) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Creating Human Wasteland is Jennifer's career highlight, so far. She took an innovative approach to highlighting the plight of San Francisco's homeless population. Finding a public toilet is not easy, in the city. So, street defecation is an issue in the city. Jennifer mapped the 311 reports the city receives when this happens. Her innovative project caught the attention of the media. This in turn opened up the chance for Jennifer to talk about solutions for the homeless and play a part in local politics and improving social justice. (11.45) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The fact that anyone can now potentially work as a programmer is an exciting prospect. Jennifer can see this new wave of people coming up with lots of truly new and innovative ideas. (13.18) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Jennifer was inspired to get involved in IT when a friend of hers learned HTML and CSS and started building her own websites. What's the best career advice you received? – You will always feel you don't know enough. Don't worry about this, everyone still has so much to learn. What's the worst career advice you received? – Don't worry about learning new skills just use the ones you already have. There is a real danger your existing skills will one day become redundant. What would you do if you started your career now? – Jennifer would have began her IT career earlier. What are your current career objectives? – Identifying and learning some of the skills she currently has zero knowledge of. In the podcast, Jennifer explains how she is using side projects to achieve this goal. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Empathy. How do you keep your own career energized? – Jennifer finds that working on side projects energises her. It pushes her to learn how to use new tools and languages. What do you do away from technology? – Jennifer volunteers for the League of Women Voters and co-leads the Police Commission Observer Corps. (0.00) FINAL CAREER TIP Become an effective networker. You can never tell which relationship is going to lead the next big thing in your life. BEST MOMENTS (4.15) – Jennifer - "Be flexible with what you want to do with your career." (8.41) – Jennifer - "Educate yourself, in advance, about what to do if you are harassed or bullied in the workplace." (15.12) – Jennifer - "Don't just build on the skills you already have. Actively learn some completely new ones." (19.33) – Jennifer - "It's important to have empathy and understanding for your customers." (21.24) – Jennifer - "Network. You never know who is going to connect you to the next big thing in your life." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philt

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Kristijan Ristovski who is also known as Kitze. He is a developer and the founder of React Academy where he teaches React and Graph QL around the world. He also launched ok-Google and more recently sizzy.co, which is a browser for designers and developers. And he's now in the process of documenting his journey on YouTube. In this episode, Phil and Kristijan Ristovski discuss how solving problems you have helps others, stretches you as a developer and gets you known, in the industry. They talk about how easy it is to launch side projects and how to take advantage of this fact. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.51) TOP CAREER TIP Solve your own problems. Usually, you are not the only person with that problem, so, coming up with a solution helps others as well as you. Plus, it is a great way to learn and stretch yourself. Sharing what you create is a great way to get known. Kristijan has taken this approach and has ended up developing two marketable and highly successful resources. The problem you solve does not necessarily have to be huge. It is the little issues that annoy people the most. (6.17) WORST CAREER MOMENT While in college, Kristijan created a fun news portal for Macedonia. It became the 5th biggest Macedonian website. The site could have been huge and much more profitable had he invested some of the cash he made into running ads and marketed it properly. Instead, he blew most of the profit on having fun, while at college. Understandably, Kristijan regrets doing that. (10.06) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Sizzy.co, the developer's browser, is Kristijan's biggest success, so far. It has really taken off despite the fact that he is not yet heavily marketing it. Currently, there are 4 or 5 investment companies interested in investing. (11.48) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The fact that things are getting easier is really exciting. You can get a huge amount done. So much so that launching side projects is a viable option for every developer. Right now, Kristijan is working on 20 ideas in parallel, something that would have been impossible just a few years ago. Machine learning and AI mean pretty soon anything will be possible. (14.41) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – From childhood, Kristijan was enthralled by all things computer-related. What's the best career advice you received? – Don't wait until tomorrow to get started. Work on your ideas now. After all, at any point, you could have an accident and find yourself unable to work. What's the worst career advice you received? – A friend once told him not to publish a conference summary article, he wrote. He did anyway and it proved to be very popular. What would you do if you started your career now? – Skip college and focus on self-education. What are your current career objectives? – Kristijan is currently building a bigger team. What's your number one non-technical skill? – The ability to inject a bit of humour into most things. It makes serious, heavy subjects more accessible and easier to digest. How do you keep your own career energized? – Kristijan only works on things that he loves, which helps to keep him energised. What do you do away from technology? – Kristijan is trying to get to the gym 6 times a week. He is working at spending more time away from technology, so is learning to play the guitar. BEST MOMENTS (5.00) – Kristijan - "Solve your own problems; others will have the same issue. Providing a solution will boost your career." (13.18) – Kristijan - "In a weekend, you can sit down and turn any idea that you have into a launch. So, why not just do it?" (15.56) – Kristijan - "Don't wait, create and invest in your future now, while you still can." (18.02) – Kristijan - "Spend time on self-learning. You can learn most things using online courses." (18.56) – Kristijan - "Build a team. You really can't do everything on your own." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer ABOUT THE GUEST – Kr

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Adam Tornhill. Adam is a programmer who combines degrees in engineering and psychology. He's the founder of Empear where he designs tools for software analysis. He's also the author of "Software Design X-Rays", "Your Code as a Crime Scene", "Lisp for the Web" and "Patterns in C". In this episode, Phil and Adam discuss how domain expertise enables you to work faster, produce better products and cut down on maintenance. They talk about the future of the industry and whether the pace of change can continue to accelerate. Adam explains why he writes about tech and how it has benefited his career. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (2.46) TOP CAREER TIP The most important skill you can have is domain expertise. Understand the product, its context and the end-users. Knowing your domain enables you to keep things simple. This in turn means that the code you write is simpler. Working this way solves numerous problems and brings commercial benefits which Adam talks about in the podcast. (4.19) WORST CAREER MOMENT In 1999, Adam worked on the Y2K bug. He came up with an elegant solution, the technical details of which he explains in the podcast. It was shipped. At that time that meant physically sending out CDs which was expensive. A little while later Adam was working on an unrelated project. He looked at the date and time protocols and realised the solution they had already shipped was not going to work. Naturally, he felt terrible and he was afraid the mistake would cost him his job. (8.52)CAREER HIGHLIGHT About 15 years ago Adam joined a project that had a hard deadline and was way behind. The package had to be ready in 3 months. Unfortunately, when he looked at the existing code, he realised there was no way that could happen. Radically, Adam persuaded his manager to let him and his team rewrite it, from scratch. Within 6 weeks they had launched a fully functioning, freshly written system. A huge success for Adam and his team (12.01) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Adam loves to learn new things. So, the fact that the landscape is changing all of the time excites him, but he wonders if the pace of change can continue to accelerate. (13.03) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Adam started writing code as a child in the 80s, so a career in I.T. was a natural progression for him. What's the best career advice you received? – Start to write. Adam finds that writing helps him to clarify things and look at them from a different perspective. What's the worst career advice you received? – You have to become a manager to build a successful IT career. What would you do if you started your career now? – Initially, Adam would stay in roles for longer. It feels it is important to learn the project design process from the early stages to launch. What are your current career objectives? – Getting Empear up and running and becoming an even better communicator. What's your number one non-technical skill? – His psychology degree has helped him to understand and motivate those around him. It has also impacted on how he writes his code. He explains how in the podcast. How do you keep your own career energized? – Side projects, especially those that are radically different from what he is currently working on. What do you do away from technology? – Adam loves spending time out in the fresh air with his kids. (20.03) FINAL CAREER TIP Learn to learn. The more programmes and design methods you learn the easier it will be to pick up the next one. You soon reach the point where you can instantly relate the new thing you are learning to something you already know. When you can do that, you learn far faster. BEST MOMENTS (0.00) – Adam - "Become a domain expert understand the product, context and your end-users." (14.11) – Adam - "Writing is a fantastic learning vehicle, which makes you see things from another perspective." (14.44) – Adam - "You do not have to follow the management path to have a successful IT career." (20.09) – Adam - "Learn to learn. Gain experience with as many different programming and design paradigms as possible." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email a

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Eric Weinstein. He is an engineering leader focused on building performant, scalable and easy-to-use distributed applications. He has a background in web development, SVOD, ad tech and machine learning as well as experience with mobile development and blockchain applications. He is currently Director of Engineering at ZipRecruiter where he's helping to build the world's first artificially intelligent job marketplace. In this episode, Phil and Eric discuss how to incrementally achieve your long-term career goals while staying current and relevant. They talk about avoiding burnout and how working in small efficient teams is effective. Eric discusses numerous ways AI and machine learning will be used in the future and the challenges this throws up. They discuss how to avoid communication failures. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (2.07) TOP CAREER TIP Set your career goals for 5 years time. Then work your way backwards to figure out where you need to be in 3 years, 2 years and 6 months to be able to attain that ultimate 5-year career goal. At those points, set yourself milestones along that path. This will ensure that you achieve your long-term career objectives. In the podcast, Eric explains how to adjust this approach to take account of the fact things change fast in the IT industry. (4.19) WORST CAREER MOMENT At one stage in his career Eric found himself working crazy long hours. Late evening, weekends and occasionally 24-hour shifts. They got the product out on time. But, everyone being sleep deprived and stressed did a lot of damage to staff goodwill and morale. It was a bad time for Eric. Now he will happily crunch when needed, but will not let it become a regular occurrence. (5.57) CAREER HIGHLIGHT The launch of AUX. Taking things from a product vision to launch was a very gratifying experience. It was great being responsible for every part of a product. Eric is especially proud of the fact they managed to do that while still respecting everyone's work-life balance. (7.44) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Eric is excited about the role that machine learning and AI are playing in shaping IT and the world we live in. People are using these technologies to tap into their own intuition and experience. This tech is augmenting their skills, making them more effective, rather than replacing them. The way natural language processing and AR are developing is also very exciting. They are going to make people's lives so much richer. Eric shares several interesting examples of this and does so in some depth. (11.44) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Eric's publishing career lead to one in IT. In the podcast, he explains how he took this unusual path into the industry. What's the best career advice you received? – It does not cost anything to be nice. What's the worst career advice you received? – If you keep your head down and do good work, people will automatically notice. That approach rarely works. What would you do if you started your career now? – Eric's undergraduate work was in philosophy, he would make sure it was computer science, instead. What are your current career objectives? – Continuing to get better at communication and help his team to translate the high-level vision into action. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Communication, Eric has worked on becoming effective in all communication delivery formats. How do you keep your own career energized? – Eric enjoys attending conferences. It is a great way to find out about emerging trends and make new connections. What do you do away from technology? – Eric is enjoying being a dad and likes to work out regularly. He is also hoping to get back into Taekwondo. (22.59) FINAL CAREER TIP Our industry is nominally about technology, but mostly it is about people and putting them first. Focus on your human relationships not just the work that you are doing. BEST MOMENTS (2.24) – Eric - "Set your 5-year career goal then set milestone goals to get you there." (5.15) – Eric - "Constantly overtaxing yourself and working crazy hours leads to poor work." (13.55) – Eric - "It does not cost anything to be nice. Things go smoother when you are." (20.14) – Eric - "Please spend time on communication, it is critical." (23.57) – Eric - "If you want to go far, pick a solid team to go with you." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Lalitkumar Bhamare. He is a Senior Software Test Engineer working at XING SE. He is co-founder and chief editor of the magazine "Tea-time with Testers" which was first published in 2011 and now boasts a readership of 40,000 across the globe. And is also the founder of TV for Testers and host of Techno Talk with Lalit. In this episode, Phil and Lalitkumar Bhamare discuss the need to be a continuous learner and effective ways to do that. They talk about why it is important not to wait around until you land your dream job. Lalitkumar also explains how he turned a small local tech newsletter into a global resource for all to use, in just 8 years. He shares why he always pays it forward. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (3.21) TOP CAREER TIP The day you are finished learning you're finished as a professional. You need to be continually getting your hands dirty. Stay current, read the blogs, try new things yourself, discuss them, write about them and stay current. (4.18) WORST CAREER MOMENT After graduating in 2008 as a mechanical engineer Lalitkumar landed a job with a finance company. Unfortunately, because of the recession, on his first day he and many others were sent home. The firm said they would ask him to join them at a later date. But, it did not come for over a year. Instead, he took a job with an Indian firm. That decision proved to be very beneficial for Lalitkumar. So, his worst career moment taught him that he did not need to wait to land his dream job to enjoy his work and have a good career. (6.48) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Starting and making a success of Tea-time with Testers has been his highlight, to date. Lalitkumar got a huge amount of support for this community project, from across the world. It started small, just as a newsletter shared with colleagues. But, the fact that everyone, including newcomers, had a voice meant that it grew really fast. (9.45) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Lalitkumar feels that the future of I.T is bright. The possibilities are almost endless. With tech, so much can be achieved. It touches every aspect of our life, which is part of the reason working in IT is so exciting. (11.49) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The fact you could work on solving people's problems and make a difference in the world attracted him to the world of IT. What's the best career advice you received? – Keep calm and carry on. You can't effectively solve problems if you are panicking. What's the worst career advice you received? – The boss is always right. Don't be afraid to challenge your boss and ask questions. What would you do if you started your career now? – Lalitkumar would like to build something special to help animals, especially dogs. What are your current career objectives? – Lalitkumar feels that things are changing drastically, right now. So, he is focused on understanding that change, so he can stay ahead of the times. What's your number one non-technical skill? – His ability to effectively communicate with stakeholders from different backgrounds. In the podcast, Lalitkumar gives examples and explains how to develop this skill. How do you keep your own career energized? – Lalitkumar stays curious, learns new things, speaks at conferences and collaborates to make sure he always stays fresh. What do you do away from technology? – Lalitkumar likes to connect with nature. He enjoys hiking, gardening and tree hugging especially when he does these things with his son. (17.05) FINAL CAREER TIP Stay relevant, but also pay it forward. Give something back to your community. BEST MOMENTS (3.30) – Lalitkumar - "The day you are finished learning you're finished as a professional." (5.30) – Lalitkumar - "It's okay to start from something in hand instead of waiting for the best opportunity" (13.22) – Lalitkumar - "Don't be afraid to ask questions and challenge ideas." (15.24) – Lalitkumar - "Learn to explain the same problem to different people, in their language." (17.06) – Lalitkumar - "Stay relevant.Pay it forward. Give your community something back by sharing what you know." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at phil@it

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Simon Prior. Simon is the QA Programme Manager at Camelot which is the home of the UK's National Lottery. He has previously worked as a developer, build engineer, scrum master, QA engineer and QA manager. He regularly gives talks on testing and IT in schools and universities and he's also the host of the Aylesbury Testing Gathering. In this episode, Phil and Simon Prior discuss the role work culture plays in career success. They talk through how dangerous working too hard is and how to get the balance right. Simon and Phil discuss QA and testing and talk about how getting it right ensures the creation of the best products. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (2.48) TOP CAREER TIP Define your personal values and stick to them. For example, Simon believes that nurturing and empowering his team is important. He also strongly believes that testing should be done from the very beginning of a project. For him, those are both critical. So, he would not want to work somewhere this way of working was not a part of the culture. (4.28) WORST CAREER MOMENT At one point, Simon ended up working virtually every hour of the day shifts and spending most of the night reading work emails. Understandably, the stress became too much and he ended up collapsing in front of his kids, during breakfast. He hired someone to co-ordinate the two teams he was running and changed his work balance. Simon now works for a family-focused company. Plus, most of his work is completed during daylight hours. (7.10) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Simon feels that he is currently living his career highlight. Becoming the QA programme manager for Camelot is something Simon enjoys. It is also a step up career wise. (10.06) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The way technology is developing means that the variety of opportunities is huge and growing. Right now, machine learning and AI are both fascinating areas, right now. IT is now far more exciting, so it is becoming easier to get young people interested. (13.16) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Simon was very good at maths; something that made it easy for him to have a career in I.T. What's the best career advice you received? – If you want to move on find your replacement and train them effectively. What's the worst career advice you received? – Stay with one company for life. What would you do if you started your career now? – Simon would get into testing, straight away. What are your current career objectives? – Now that he has taken on a senior management role Simon is primarily working on being an effective leader. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Knowing what information should go in which direction. It makes you a far more effective communicator. How do you keep your own career energized? – Simon reads at least one blog per day and is part of a slack group. What do you do away from technology? – He spends a lot of time with his children. He runs, writes and is a Peterborough football fan. (18.41) FINAL CAREER TIP If something feels uncomfortable, move on. There are plenty of opportunities available elsewhere, so don't just stick it out and stall your career. BEST MOMENTS (3.30) – Simon - "Define your personal values and stick to them when looking for work." (3.52) – Simon - "From the moment a project is conceptualized someone with a testing mindset needs to be involved." (9.08) – Simon - "Ensure that you are building the right product. Not just that you've built the product right." (14.49) – Simon - "If things don't feel right, don't be afraid to make a change." (17.02) – Simon - "Communicate effectively by tailoring the information you share to each one of your audiences." (18.51) – Simon - "If you're not getting the chance to progress, see what else is available." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer ABOUT THE GUEST – Simon Prior Simon Prior is the QA Programme Manager at Camelot which is the home of the UK's National Lottery. He h

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Dominick Baier. Dominick is an independent consultant specialising in identity and access control. He helps companies around the world to design and implement authentication and authorization for their distributed web and native applications. He is also co-creator of Identity Server and the author of a couple of books. In this episode, Phil and Dominick Baier discuss the importance of building your brand and having a lifelong business plan. They talk about how to tap into the power of open source and how these projects can end up being the standard. Dominick is a security expert, so they also discuss the benefits of working in this field. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.52) TOP CAREER TIP Find something that you are ready to do for the rest of your life. Provided you continue to find it interesting and there is work, stick with it. Dominick also recommends producing as much free and open content as possible. It will build your brand and help you to get hired. In the podcast, Dominick goes through the pros and cons of each of the ways he does this. (8.52) WORST CAREER MOMENT Dominick spends a lot of his time, helping others to turn their ideas into reality. Occasionally, someone in the firm who is higher up than the person he is working with will suddenly decide that what they working on has no value. Then the project gets cancelled. It does not happen often. But, when it does it is very frustrating. (11.01) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Many years ago, Dominick started an open source project called Starter STS. It has evolved into IdentityServer. It is now the defacto standard if you are doing token-based services. Dominick is very proud of the fact that this project has helped and is still helping so many people. (12.15) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Dominick thinks tools will continue to get better and better in the authentication and protocol space, mostly because of effective collaboration amongst those involved in the field. (15.16) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Dominick's father was a software developer, so he was interested in I.T. from an early age. What's the best career advice you received? – Focus on the one thing you are most interested in. What's the worst career advice you received? – Learn as many things as you can. It just did not suit the way he likes to work. What would you do if you started your career now? – Pick the thing he loves, become expert at it and let the world know about his expertise. What are your current career objectives? – Dominick has just founded a product company. So, he wants to get better at that. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Being good at explaining complicated things. How do you keep your own career energized? – Dominick takes a lot of breaks and finds working in a natural outdoor environment to be very energising. What do you do away from technology? – Dominick loves family activities, camping, barbecues, beer and whiskey. (23.37) FINAL CAREER TIP If you like working on the security side of things, specialise in it. There are still not many people that who are security experts. So, those that focus on that side of things quickly become an invaluable resource. BEST MOMENTS (5.44) – Dominick - "Find something that you are ready to do for the rest of your life." (6.36) – Dominick - "Produce as much free and open content as you can. You'll get hired faster." (21.40) – Dominick - "Be very technical, but also improve your ability to explain that technology." (23.59) – Dominick - "Become a security expert. Currently, there is very little competition in that field." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer ABOUT THE GUEST – DOMINICK BAIER Dominick Baier is an independent consultant specialising in identity and access control. He helps companies around the world to design and implement authentication and authorization for their distributed web and native applications. He is also co-creator of Identity

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Scott Jehl. He is a designer and developer working at Filament Group. He is a tireless advocate of practices that ensure web access for all and is always chipping away at open source projects with his colleagues at Filament. He is also author of Responsible Responsive Design, co-author of Designing with Progressive Enhancement and a frequent presenter at conferences throughout the world. In this episode, Phil and Scott Jehl discuss why you need to follow and engage on Twitter. The benefits of sharing what you know, as you learn it. How to give succinct, yet informative, speeches. Scott and Phil also discuss the challenges the roll-out of superfast networks is going to throw up. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (3.41) TOP CAREER TIP Stay active on Twitter. A lot of important stuff starts with conversations on Twitter. So, stay engaged there. Be curious, listen and ask questions. Share what you know as you learn. It does not matter if others are likely to already know or not. Putting it in writing will benefit you and, usually, many others. (5.24) WORST CAREER MOMENT When Scott first got started as a public speaker he had a deeply embarrassing experience. Despite preparing well, he found himself only halfway through his slide deck with just 5 minutes to go. He tried to bring it all together. But, he still ended up looking pretty bad in front of hundreds of his peers. Scott has now come up with a way of preparing his speeches so that he never overruns. A technique he shares in the podcast. (7.44) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Scott and the Filament Group were lucky to be at the forefront of responsive design and working with the Boston Globe. Their readers mainly used IE, which at the time, had no support for media queries and CSS. Scott was able to write a script to address that complex and difficult issue. It was exciting, challenging and interesting work. (9.43) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Scott sees it being even easier for I.T professionals to work remotely and flexibly, in the future. So maintaining the right work-life balance will become far easier. He is really excited to see bigger audiences, throughout the world, gaining access to the web. It is amazing the difference it is making to people's lives. The emergence of new browser standards and technologies is having a hugely positive impact. (11.47) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Scott's background in graphic design led naturally to a career in I.T. What's the best career advice you received? – You can do anything in two weeks. In the podcast, Scott explains how any IT professional can use this advice to achieve more. What would you do if you started your career now? – Scott says he would take some of the online boot camp tutorials, early on to accelerate his career. What are your current career objectives? – Right now, Scott is most interested in performance and accessibility. In particular, how devices can parse and evaluate script fast enough. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Technical and narrative writing. How do you keep your own career energized? – Listening to podcasts. They expose him to people working on all aspects of the web. What do you do away from technology? – Scott likes to spend a lot of time with his family. He also enjoys surfing, hiking and cooking. (19.34) FINAL CAREER TIP Share what you learn, write a blog. Doing that has greatly benefitted Scott's career and that of others. BEST MOMENTS (4.18) – Scott - "Be curious, ask questions, share what you know as you learn it." (13.11) – Scott - "You can do a heck of a lot in just two weeks, especially with a good team." (14.11) – Scott - "Boot camp tutorials are a great way to learn and accelerate your career, especially early on." (17.50) – Scott - "Write about what you are working on, it is the best way to get clarity of the problem." (18.53) – Scott - "Pay attention to what other people are working on." (19.34) – Scott - "Write or blog to share whatever you've learned." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is James Quick. Founder of Learn Build Teach. He is a self-taught Web Developer who is addicted to learning and has a passion for teaching. He speaks at community events, participates in Hackathons and builds continuously. In this episode, Phil and James discuss the importance of investing in yourself and talk about effective ways to do this. They also discuss the need to regularly check progress with your manager. As well as how to sail through the appraisal process and get properly rewarded for your work. James shares how he works to effect change and engages with the IT community to help others and ensure his skill stay sharp and relevant. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (2.45) TOP CAREER TIP Invest in yourself. James had a great mentor who taught him to set aside some money each year to spend exclusively on himself. You can use that cash to buy hardware, get extra training or travel to meetups. Basically, anything you need to further your career. In the podcast, James shares some great examples of how he has invested in himself monetarily. (4.52) WORST CAREER MOMENT One year, while working as a Microsoft evangelist, he got a really low bonus. Yet when he questioned why that was, he was told he was doing a decent job and was not given any areas to improve on. For James, this was both frustrating and disappointing. Missing out monetarily felt bad, but not knowing where he was supposedly failing and how to improve was worse. It was very frustrating. James goes on to explain how he now works to ensure that negative experience is never repeated. (7.34) CAREER HIGHLIGHT When James joined FedEx he was worried that his programming skills were too rusty. Yet, he was able to build the entire front end of the 2nd application he worked on basically by himself. That achievement demonstrated to him that he was still a good developer. Getting promoted to an architect at FedEx, a year ago was also a highlight. (9.37) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The fact that there is always something new to learn is exciting. As is the fact there are so many different ways to contribute. A positive situation James cannot see changing any time soon. (11.14) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – For some reason, when he was asked which major to take he said computer science. So, his journey into I.T. was a happy accident. What's the best career advice you received? – His dad encouraged him to always do the right thing for him, especially careerwise. What's the worst career advice you received? – Accept things the way they are. If things are not being done properly, always work to change that. What would you do if you started your career now? – He would get as much hands-on experience as possible, while still studying. James shares several practical ways to do this in the podcast. What are your current career objectives? – Having more of an impact at FedEx and broadening his brand. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Speaking Spanish and being outgoing has opened up several opportunities for him. How do you keep your own career energized? – James finds that creating new stuff and investing in the IT community re-energizes him. What do you do away from technology? – James and his wife love to travel. They are also very sports orientated. (23.17) FINAL CAREER TIP Relationship management is the key to success. You never know where a chance meeting is going to take you. Building genuine, strong relationships with others can open up all sorts of opportunities. But, you have to be genuinely interested and engaged, with others. BEST MOMENTS (2.47) – James - "Every year, invest monetarily in yourself as a way of growing your career faster." (6.46) – James - "Throughout the year, clearly communicate with your managers, so you can be sure you are doing things right." (7.12) – James - "When someone gives you positive feedback make a note of it. You can use those notes during your appraisal." (9.27) – Phil - "You don't necessarily have to go down a management route to progress and grow your career." (19.25) – James - "Broaden your brand, doing things like public speaking will make career progression much easier." (23.31) – James - "Relationship management is the key to success." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Graeme Rocher. He is a co-founder of the Grails framework, the co-author of The Definitive Guide to Grails and Project Lead for the OCI Grails team. He has worked in the software field for more than 20 years and has expertise in Grails, Groovy, Web Development, Dynamic Languages and the Java Virtual Machine. He was awarded Oracle's Groundbreaker Award in 2018 and has recently been named a Java Champion. In this episode, Phil and Graeme Rocher discuss how believing in yourself and becoming a lifelong-learner pushes you to make a real difference through the tech you work on. They also talk about the benefits of being involved in the open-source industry. As well as the future of IT and how you can tap into the latest trends to grow your career. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.39) TOP CAREER TIP You need to be passionate about what you do and be a lifelong learner. Every new technology progresses in a new and interesting way. So, it is worth keeping up with what is going on. (6.00) WORST CAREER MOMENT For many years, Graeme headed up the Groovy and Grails development team at Pivotal Software. In 2015, he and his team had to find a new home. Fortunately, they found a good one at OCI. But, the actual move was extremely stressful. It was a worrying time. But, it taught Graeme that open source technologies are important and, therefore, robust. They don't get abandoned in the same way commercial software does. In the podcast, he explains why getting involved in Open Source is a good career move. (8.14) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Receiving the Groundbreaker award at Oracle Code in recognition of his contributions to Apache Groovy was a big moment for Graeme. From a technical standpoint, it is building Micronauts. (9.14) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The fact that IT is ever-changing and that the industry is becoming more diverse is exciting. This means there are so many more career paths available. He is also excited by the possibilities Micronauts opens up. It creates the opportunity to be able to build applications in a much more efficient way. In the podcast, Graeme provides several examples of what he means. (12.53) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Graeme got into programming through playing games, as a child. He started by working with QuakeC. What's the best career advice you received? – Embrace open source. What's the worst career advice you received? – Don't bother investigating certain technologies. What would you do if you started your career now? – Right now, a lot of the innovation is happening in DevOps. So, there are lots of opportunities in that area. What are your current career objectives? – Progressing Micronauts so it can be used to build more efficient microservices and applications. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Being artistic has made it easier for Graeme to think out of the box and stand out. How do you keep your own career energized? – Pushing boundaries is what keeps Graeme's career energized. What do you do away from technology? – Graeme loves skiing, the beach, paddle boarding and spending time outdoors. (21.28) FINAL CAREER TIP Keep progressing yourself and do not listen to the naysayers. Believe in yourself, never give up and strive to make a real difference. BEST MOMENTS (5.01) – Graeme - "Be genuinely passionate about what you do and become a lifelong learner." (8.04) – Phil - "Open source is always going to have a future." (10.55) – Graeme - "The move towards more intelligent Java compilers and ahead of time compilation is going to be a big deal." (15.30) – Graeme - "Expose yourself to new technologies and do so at an early stage." (20.47) – Graeme - "Never accept that the solution is complete, there is always room for improvement." (21.38) – Graeme - "Self-belief is really important. Don't let others put you off." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer ABOUT THE GUEST – Graeme Rocher Phil's guest on today's sh

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Rick Claus. Rick is a Microsoft Developer Advocate on the Azure engineering team. His role is to connect with technical communities in order to share his knowledge about the ecosystem and capture feedback on how to make things better. He has worked in the IT industry for more than 20 years, working on Core Azure infrastructure services, Windows Server, systems management and all things "cloud" In this episode Phil and Rick discuss why you need to challenge yourself to learn, the potential of new technologies to make our lives easier and why you should try to work with people smarter than you. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (5.21) TOP CAREER TIP Rick says that career advice is often specific to the individual. However what has worked for him is to continue to stay curious but also challenging yourself to continue to learn. Rick approaches everything as someone new to the industry which helps to maintain his level of excitement and curiosity. (6.56) WORST CAREER MOMENT Rick describes his involvement in a mass desktop refresh rollout project for a customer when working as a consultant. The rollout was taking place in fourteen different locations and was being delivered by a distributed team. Unfortunately they left the most difficult part of the rollout to the very end. They thought that they could apply everything they had learnt from earlier rollouts to the final rollout. (10.31) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Rick talks about having recently become the lead for his team. Watching the team being able to be successful doing things he used to do but in different and creative ways. Rick gets a lot of satisfaction from enabling them to engage with IT professionals, speak at conferences, create videos and other content. (11.52) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Rick is excited by seeing people starting to understand the potential of new technologies that will make their lives easier. Rick also explains how organisations are recognising that they have the ability to pivot and add these new technologies to their existing portfolio. (16.00) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The constant challenge. Rick loves problem solving, trouble shooting and making people's environments better for them. What's the best career advice you received? – Hire people that are smarter than you. What's the worst career advice you received? – Nothing specific. However Rick has a degree that he doesn't use anymore. What would you do if you started your career now? – Stay focused on the solutions and how they help individuals. What are your current career objectives? – Providing guidance and clarity to his team. What's your number one non-technical skill? Rick talks about his theatre background and the skill of being able to convey information through stories How do you keep your own career energizer? – Constantly go off and learn. What do you do away from technology? – Rick is an avid home brewer. (20.51) FINAL CAREER TIP Don't forget to invest in your own skills and your own self beyond the technology space. Rick also talks about the importance of mentoring. BEST MOMENTS (14.04) – Rick - "Technology in the world of IT is constantly in change and we have to deal with that change. Be prepared for it" (16.50) – Rick - "Hire people that are smarter than you. Together as a team you're going to be stronger" (17.27) – Rick - "Stay focused on the solutions and how they help individuals" ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community in Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer ABOUT THE GUEST – RICK CLAUS Rick Claus is a Microsoft Developer Advocate on the Azure engineering team. His role is to connect with technical communities in order to share his knowledge about the ecosystem and capture feedback on how to make things better. He has worked in the IT industry for more than 20 years, working on Core Azure infrastructure services, Windows Server, systems management and all things "cloud" CONTACT THE GUEST – RICK CLAUS Rick Claus can be contacted thro

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Allan Kelly. Allan is the author of several books including "Continuous Digital", "Project Myopia" and "A Little Book about Requirements and User Stories". He is also a regular conference speaker and the originator of Retrospective Dialogue Sheets, Value Poker and Time Value Profiles In this episode Phil and Allan discuss why a career in I.T. can be a risk, why new technologies will open up new problems to be solved and why you shouldn't be scared to take some time out for yourself. Allan also provides some fantastic stories and insight into his own career. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (3.58) TOP CAREER TIP By having an interesting career in I.T. you are taking on a lot of career risk. Allan talks about the number of companies that he has worked for in the past that have subsequently either disappeared or folded. This is because interesting and innovative companies often haven't found out how to make money reliably and this could delay your pay check. (6.32) WORST CAREER MOMENT Allan tells us that early in his coaching career he took a role with a bank. He was very eager to help and make a difference when he joined but quickly concluded that a big part of the problem was the management. Allan believed that they needed to change the system but was unable to get the management's time to explain his concerns. Consequently it became more and more frustrating until he was fired. However you will never know what a company is like until you try to work for them. (11.25) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Allan describes how companies he worked for early in his career didn't work in the way that he had been taught at university. It was disorganised and this made Allan feel guilty about not doing things correctly. He then worked for Railtrack on a project where they did work in a structured, methodical manner which delighted Allan. But he found that there were even more difficulties than he'd encountered in his previous experiences. However, he subsequently got to see what he had worked on in action and making a difference to other peoples' lives when he visited Paddington station Allan also talks about how he was able to help someone transition their career from a programmer to a product manager. (16.53) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Allan says that we are constantly at the frontier of new technology. As we solve problems we open up new categories of problems to be addressed. He then provides an example of how he used XML to help to move data around. Allan then goes on to say that current technologies are helping to solve problems but they will also create a new frontier of things that we haven't even thought about. (20.21) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – BBC Telesoftware. Allan was able to write programs, send them to the BBC for publishing and be paid for them. What's the best career advice you received? – Allan can't recall a specific example but recalls not having the confidence to work independently as a contractor What's the worst career advice you received? – A school career aptitude test suggested that Allan should become a forester or woodsman. What would you do if you started your career now? – Create something and get it into the App stores and hopefully make some money out of it. Alternatively contribute to an open source project. What are your current career objectives? – Allan says that he's longing to get back to product delivery. What's your number one non-technical skill? - Allan considers himself to be a closet economist and that understanding has helped him in his career. How do you keep your own career energizer? – Allan does podcast interviews, speaks at conferences and writes books. What do you do away from technology? – Allan says that he's found a love of gardening, exercises regularly and is kept busy by his children. (26.10) FINAL CAREER TIP Allan says that he doesn't believe that the perfect work-life balance exists. Don't be scared of taking some time off for yourself. BEST MOMENTS (10.10) – Allan Kelly - "Not all the agile coaches in the world are compatible with all the corporations and vice-a-versa" (25.01) – {Name} - "The person who learns most is the person doing the talking or doing the writing" ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: ht

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Aslak Hellesoy. Aslak is the creator of Cucumber and co-founder of Cucumber Limited. He is a co-author of The Cucumber Book and was an early adopter of XP and BDD. He has worked as a programmer, software architect, business owner and trainer in a variety of industries including finance, telecom and retail. In this episode Phil and Aslak discuss his involvement in the test-driven way of working and how Cucumber came about. He explains how his Open Source projects played a role in the company's formation and how his career has benefited from this way of getting things done. Aslak demonstrates why learning functional programming languages is now a good idea. They also discuss the merits of CRDT and functional programming languages. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (8.50) TOP CAREER TIP Get involved in Open Source. Doing that has played a big role in Aslak's career success. It is an effective way to learn new tech, have fun, expand your network and make a difference. Aslak also recommends taking on speaking engagements. In the podcast, he explains how he got started and how you can do the same. (12.05) WORST CAREER MOMENT Many years ago, Aslak found himself working on a big finance project. From the start, the team knew the deadline was impossible to meet. But, the project manager ignored this fact and did not make the customer aware of this issue. Despite everyone working long hours, the deadline was missed. It was a very de-motivating and stressful experience. Bert saw firsthand the damage a lack of transparency and trust could do. That incident sparked his interest in behaviour-driven development (BDD). He could see that working collaboratively was a far better approach. (14.27) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Selling the company he had built up with his team over the course of 5 years is Aslak's career highlight. Aslak is looking forward to having more time to dedicate to Open Source work while still being involved in evolving Cucumber. It has also enabled him to get back to being able to code all day. (16.05) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Aslak is a little concerned about where the latest tech is going to take us as a society. A lot of good things are going to come out of AI. But, AI and other new techs are still very much open to abuse by governments and organizations. More optimistically, Aslak points out that a career in tech still offers excellent job security, particularly for software developers. A situation that is not likely to change anytime soon. (17.50) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Aslak ended up pursuing an IT career by accident. Only when he understood the power of the World Wide Web did his desire to work in tech really take hold. What's the best career advice you received? – Get a mentor, someone who is prepared to spend time with you. What would you do if you started your career now? – Aslak would learn functional programming rather than procedural programming. What are your current career objectives? – Aslak is looking forward to having a full-time team working on Cucumber. There are a lot of exciting features he wants to see added. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Listening to other people. How do you keep your own career energized? – Learning new techniques, languages, frameworks, databases and platforms. What do you do away from technology? – Aslak has two young daughters and enjoys cooking and playing five-a-side football. (23.15) FINAL CAREER TIP Have lunch with a colleague you do not know well, preferably, someone who is doing something different from you. This will help you to understand the business you are working in far more. That will make you a far better developer. BEST MOMENTS (9.22) – Aslak - "Working on Open Source projects is a great way to learn new technologies." (16.51) – Aslak - "Being a software developer is going to be a pretty safe job choice." (19.16) – Aslak - "Get yourself a mentor. No matter where you are in your career a mentor will help." (20.08) – Aslak - "Learn functional programming languages, you can get more done with them." (21.32) – Aslak - "Listen to others and ask the right questions." (23.15) – Aslak - "Get to know people from all areas of the business it will make you a better programmer." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https:/

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Bert Jan Schrijver who is Chief Technical Officer at OpenValue in the Netherlands. He focuses on Java, Continuous Delivery and DevOps. And he is a Java Champion, JavaOneRockstar speaker and user group leader for the Dutch Java User Group. He also loves to share his experiences by speaking at conferences, writing for the Dutch Java magazine and helping out Devoxx4Kids with teaching kids how to code. In this episode Phil and Bert Jan Schrijver discuss how engaging with the tech community leads to more interesting career opportunities. They talk about how switching projects regularly enables you to achieve more and progress your career faster. Bert explains how to get the balance right, so you can find interesting, fun and engaging work. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (3.57) TOP CAREER TIP Engage in tech communities. Doing this has really shaped Bert's career. Every company he has worked with in the past 10 years is one he heard about via the community, while attending events. In the podcast, Bert expands on the type of engagement that works best. (5.39) WORST CAREER MOMENT At one stage Bert found himself in real danger of burning out. He was working on a huge insurance project. When they got to the migration stage everyone had to work 13 hours a day, 7 days a week. Luckily, Bert realised he was close to burning out and falling sick. Fortunately, when he explained this to his then manager they were understanding and responded well. The experience taught him the importance of maintaining a good work-life balance. (8.13) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Being recognized as a Java champion by the international Java community is Bert's career highlight, so far. It was nice to be recognized as an expert. Plus, occasionally, potential clients have also heard about the award. (9.54) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The way the IT industry operates now means that one person can achieve a huge amount. Provided you have a broad enough set of skills, you can build products on your own that can literally change the world. During the podcast, Bert explains how to leverage your knowledge to build great things fast. The method he outlines means you do not need access to a lot of cash to get started. (12.12) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Bert learned to programme on a Commodore 64, which he started playing with at the age of 7. So, for him, a career in IT was a natural progression. What's the best career advice you received? – Find a job where you can have fun. You will become far more successful, when you do. What's the worst career advice you received? – Don't become a consultant, you will be bored. The opposite was true. What would you do if you started your career now? – He would go into consulting earlier because you learn so much faster when you regularly switch between projects. What are your current career objectives? – To make OpenValue the best Java shop in the world. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Public speaking. Through his speaking engagements, Bert has met a lot of amazing people. How do you keep your own career energized? – Bert makes sure that he is always learning. He follows interesting people and stays involved with the tech community. What do you do away from technology? – Away from tech, Bert's focus is his family. (17.18) FINAL CAREER TIP Show interest in others and have empathy. When you are likeable and approachable, people want to work with you and you get stuff done together. BEST MOMENTS (3.57) – Bert - "Engaging with the tech community is the best way to learn and find interesting projects." (6.57) – Bert - "Keep a good balance between work and life. When you reach your mental capacity it is time to go home." (10.12) – Bert - "Once your skillset is broad enough you can build a product that will literally change the world." (12.50) – Bert - "Find a job that enables you to have fun, when you do success will follow." (14.06) – Bert - "You learn a lot faster if you regularly switch between projects." (17.18) – Bert - "Show interest in others and have empathy. When you truly connect with others, you achieve so much more." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Sarah Guthals. She is currently a Senior Program Manager for Microsoft, focused on education. She received a PhD in Computer Science from UCSD in 2014. During graduate school, she co-founded ThoughtSTEM, a company that teaches children to code through software and courses. She is also author of a dozen technical books targeted at students and was recently named in Forbes 30 under 30 list and UCSD's 40 under 40 alumni. In this episode, Phil and Sarah Guthals discuss why you need to review the direction your life and career is taking, every 6 months, or so. They also talk about imposter syndrome and how it damages everyone, rather than just you. Sarah explains why you need to tailor the work you do to fit in with your unique skill set, an approach that benefits everyone. She also shares a simple tip that will enable you to become more effective at negotiating pay and benefits packages. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (5.24) TOP CAREER TIP Check-in with yourself regularly. You need to remember you are a growing and evolving person. What worked for you six months ago may not be right for you now. Checking your goals and what you are doing regularly can be life-changing. Do this with all aspects of your life and you will become much happier. (9.30) WORST CAREER MOMENT Sarah wasted 3 months working on an educational project that she knew, because of her experience, was not viable. Unfortunately, she had not realised that her new colleagues at Microsoft did not know everything she did about K12 education. So, when a solution she believed was not workable was suggested, she went along with it, instead of speaking up. She had made the classic mistake of feeling that the Microsoft team had to know more than she did. In reality, on this occasion, it was her that was the expert. Her feelings of being an imposter stopped her from speaking up, earlier. In that situation, she really was the expert. (12.08) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Sarah's first job was her career highlight. In that role, she realised she was not tied into one career trajectory. If she did not enjoy something she could simply switch direction. This realisation inspired her to make each job her own. She now tailors each role to fit in with her skillset. As a result, she is always working in a way she enjoys, which means she thrives. (14.01) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Cloud availability means that all kinds of people can use tech to solve their problems and make their lives much easier. Everything people need to make things happen is far more accessible than ever before. (16.52) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The fact that the IT community is a truly collaborative one is what drew her to a tech career. What's the best career advice you received? – When negotiating wages, remember you are not asking the person in front of you for the money. You are asking for the company's money. What's the worst career advice you received? – If you get a PhD, you cannot work in the tech industry. What would you do if you started your career now? – Study other disciplines. Sarah explains why in the podcast. What are your current career objectives? – Integrating education into everything she works on. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Empathy, which is a skill that also enables you to become an effective communicator. How do you keep your own career energized? – Sarah sets herself goals and reviews them regularly. What do you do away from technology? – Sarah loves visiting Disneyland. She also enjoys movies and writing. (21.22) FINAL CAREER TIP Remember that you are a whole person. It is not just about your career. Put yourself first and the rest will follow. Diverse experiences are critical when it comes to solving problems. So, it is good for everyone when you are yourself and take care of your personal needs. BEST MOMENTS (9.07) – Sarah - "Regularly, review your goals and ask yourself if they are still worth the level of effort you are putting in." (11.13) – Sarah - "Even if you feel like an imposter, speak up. Ask questions, you will learn and may teach others something too." (12.48) – Sarah - "Work to make your role fit in better with your skills and strengths to become happier and more productive." (17.18) – Sarah - "Wage negotiations are not personal. It is the company's money you are asking for, not the person's in front of you." (19.43) – Sarah - "Developing empathy automatically leads to you becoming a better communicator." (21.22) – Sarah - "Remember, you're not just your career. You are a whole person." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from t

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Claudio Perrone. A well-known Lean & Agile management consultant, entrepreneur and start-up strategist. He is a Fellow of the Lean Systems Society, the creative force behind A3 Thinker and the inventor of the PopcornFlow thinking model. He has also been the driving force behind the design and development of several large scale solutions for global companies in the fields of e-learning, e-commerce, manufacturing and automation. In this episode, Phil and Claudio discuss the PopcornFlow thinking way of working and how it drives faster change. He explains how to overcome the tendency to be zombie-like and always choose the default solution. They also speak about the importance of challenging yourself, so you stay marketable and discuss how this can be done. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (7.42) TOP CAREER TIP Grow claws like a tiger – stay sharp, always be learning and keep yourself marketable. Search out projects that keep you working on yourself. Never stand still. In the podcast, Claudio shares how he learned this mindset and uses it to this very day. (11.07) WORST CAREER MOMENT Many years ago, Claudio was part of a team that made a mistake that cost £3 million, a day, for 3 days. An error in the way they set up the servers and backups meant that they lost a ton of data. Fortunately, much of it was recovered, but, only because the sales team kept paper copies. Claudio's other low point was when he had to wrap up his joint business venture. Making talented people redundant felt particularly bad. But, the experience taught him to stop trading on assumptions and to avoid being proud and opinionated. (15.04) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Taking an idea and turning it into an award-winning business was one of Claudio's career highlights. His company provided breakthrough learning and performance solutions to numerous organizations. Being able to help people to recognise their potential and quickly unlock it was hugely rewarding. (17.09) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T In terms of the technologies, Claudio sees everything becoming easier. As a result, we are able to be far more creative, ignite change and have a huge impact. IT professionals have moved from being a necessary evil to a strategic force for change. The way we work is now more business-driven. It is an important change that is already making a positive difference. (19.28) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Unlike many others, Claudio did not drift into the world of IT. He began working as a technical writer, then self-taught himself Visual Basic, without going to college. What's the best career advice you received? – Go home. There is no need to work stupidly long hours. In fact, it is counter-productive. What's the worst career advice you received? – Pace yourself. This is wise advice for many people, just not for Claudio. What would you do if you started your career now? – Move companies more. If you stay in one company too long, you will stagnate. What are your current career objectives? – Claudio wants to bring PopcornFlow to the world. He is currently bootstrapping a company and helping more people to learn to experiment. What's your number one non-technical skill? Being able to successfully negotiate change. The right solution for the wrong problem is the wrong solution. How do you keep your own career energized? – Every 5 weeks, Claudio launches a new start-up. They are all in different fields. Rarely going over the same ground twice keeps things fresh for him. What do you do away from technology? – Recently, Claudio has returned to music and drawing cartoons. (32.53) FINAL CAREER TIP Stop fighting problems. Usually, to truly solve problems, you need to fight battles. The underlying issues need addressing. If a company's policies are no longer fit for purpose, they have to change. When the policies change, numerous problems automatically disappear. Impacting policies and driving change is something we are all capable of doing. BEST MOMENTS (5.59) – Claudio - "Inertia is your enemy. Find ways to run little experiments. It is this that really changes the status quo." (8.03) – Claudio - "Keep yourself marketable. Stay hungry, stay sharp and never stop learning." (22.38) – Claudio - "It's not only about what you do. What you learn by doing it is what matters." (24.31) – Claudio - "Focus in on craftsmanship, learn your craft stay humble and be curious." (34.26) – Claudio - "When company policy is restricting what you can achieve, step up. Get that policy changed." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that ha

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Allen Holub. An internationally recognised software architect and Agile-transformation consultant. He's worn every hat from CTO to grunt-programmer, and is an expert-level programmer in many languages. He is also an international speaker and a widely published author, having written ten books and hundreds of articles. In this episode, Phil and Allen discuss the unique challenges working as an independent throws up and how to cope with them. They also discuss the benefits that working this way bring. They talk about why you need to seek advice from the right people. Then reveal two non-technical skills that will keep you organised and energize your career. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (7.29) TOP CAREER TIP If you are working as a consultant, make sure you keep at least 6 months of cash to hand. Your income is going to fluctuate and you need to be able to cover your bills. Social media marketing is important for consultants. Twitter works particularly well. It enables you to have proper conversations and gives lots of people the chance to get to know you a bit. (9.36) WORST CAREER MOMENT Allen was once hired to work on a terrible piece of software. It was so bad that he was obliged to write to the CEO and say so. He knew he had done the right thing. But, three years later, he was still struggling to find work. Former members of that team kept getting him blackballed. But, he does not regret doing it. Allen thinks it is important to be honest. When you are consistently honest people hear about it and know they can trust you. (12.49) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Making a positive difference to how people work and helping them to achieve more, is very fulfilling. So, for Allen, each new success is a highlight. Speaking at conferences has enabled him to reach thousands more people. In the podcast, Allen shares an effective way to push yourself out of your comfort zone. A method you can use to start public speaking and benefiting from doing so. (15.49) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Allen says that for the I.T. industry the future is kind of interesting. However, he is concerned that we are starting to repeat past mistakes. This is particularly the case when it comes to the Agile way of working. Many firms have tweaked it to the point where it is no longer Agile. Instead, they have more or less gone back to their previous inefficient ways of working. Allen explains why this has happened and touches on how issues like this can be rectified. (19.10) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Wanting to make his own electronic instruments led to Allen becoming interested in I.T. What's the best career advice you received? – Because Allen's career has not been a traditional one, he has not received much career advice. What's the worst career advice you received? – Allen is an introvert, so he finds it impossible to effectively apply the marketing advice created for him by extroverts. It just does not work for him. What would you do if you started your career now? – Allen says he probably would not pursue an IT career, again. He explains why, during the podcast. What are your current career objectives? – Allen's current focus is on marketing himself. He is also planning to write another book. What's your number one non-technical skill? Being able to write well. It helps you to stay organised and communicate effectively. How do you keep your own career energized? – Speaking at conferences helps Allen to energize his career. It keeps him interacting with others and learning. What do you do away from technology? – Allen is an artist, so he draws occasionally and still enjoys playing the piano. (24.57) FINAL CAREER TIP Provided you can handle the uncertainty and cash flow issues, working as an independent is a great career choice. It insulates you from a lot of negativity and is an interesting and fulfilling way of working. BEST MOMENTS (7.50) – Allen - "For consultants, cash flow is a constant problem. So, you need six months of cash sitting around." (11.40) – Allen - "You've got to be honest. If you are not you can't do a good job." (14.33) – Allen - "There is no need to fear public speaking. After all, you are just talking to people who are basically like you." (20.41) – Allen - "To be useful, advice has to be given by someone who knows you and understands your work." (25.30) – Allen - "Working as an independent insulates you from a lot of the problems that are associated with our industry" ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journ

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Josh Doody. He helps software developers to get more high-quality job offers and negotiate higher salaries. He is also the author of the book "Fearless Salary Negotiation", a step-by-step guide to getting paid what you're worth. In this episode, Phil and Josh discuss the right way to negotiate high salaries. He shows the audience how a few simple language changes will turn you into a better negotiator and self advocate. Josh explains how to avoid weakening your negotiation position by using a number when answering the question, how much do you want to make? He also reveals the IT sector in which his highest paid coaching clients are involved and explains why you may want to switch career direction. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (3.09) TOP CAREER TIP Always re-negotiate job offers, even if you think the offer is a really good one. Usually, you will have underestimated your value to that firm. They know this is likely to be the case. So, most firms, will only offer you what you consider to be a good salary, rather than what you are actually worth to them. Josh also shares the best way to leverage the power you to get properly paid throughout your career. That includes when you move to new roles within a firm. He also explains how to get your direct manager on your side. (6.44) WORST CAREER MOMENT While Josh was still working for other people, he spent a year under a manager who had poor management skills. His manager had simply been promoted to the point where his salary level demanded that he had people report to him directly. This despite the fact he was not suitable for that role. It was a situation that resulted in a very poor working environment. But, good came out of it. Josh realised that even if he left that firm, he could potentially find himself in the same situation again. It made him rethink his career and realise that he needed to find a way to work for himself. (8.06) CAREER HIGHLIGHT At one point in his career, Josh got heavily involved in developing HR talent management and development software. This work was a highlight of his career. He really enjoyed the creative process. Working on blue sky ideas, building systems people were actually able to use was engaging and exciting. Josh particularly liked being able to combine using his existing skills to the full while learning new ones. (9.40) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Machine learning and AI are the top fields to work in. That will be the case for many years to come. Unsurprisingly, the people who have this type of experience are being extremely well paid, right now. The future for IT is bright and very exciting. Over the past year, more of Josh's clients have started to receive multiple work offers. Many have taken advantage of this fact and chosen to do the work that looks to be the most interesting and fulfilling. The role that offers the most opportunities for the future. (13.37) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The first time Josh used a DOS computer; he saw the magic and was immediately hooked. What's the best career advice you received? – His first boss taught him to be more purposeful about the way he approached his work. Not to just focus on the financial reward. What's the worst career advice you received? – Slow down, you are progressing too fast. What would you do if you started your career now? – Josh would focus on machine learning and AI. The work is fascinating and Josh's clients who work in that field are earning big. What are your current career objectives? – In the short term, Josh's focus is on offering good coaching services. But, he is an entrepreneur, so expects to, switch focus, at some point. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Diplomatic communication. This skill enables Josh to stand up for himself and his ideas without putting the other party off. During the podcast, he shares a clever language trick he uses to do that. How do you keep your own career energized? – Experimenting and trying new things in his business. Josh is not afraid to take risks. What do you do away from technology? – Josh has a close group of friends that he spends a lot of time with. He is also active in his community. (23.39) FINAL CAREER TIP When a prospective employer asks you how much you expect to make, if they were to offer you the job, never reply with a number. Josh explains what to say instead, so you do not alienate the other person or weaken your negotiating position. BEST MOMENTS (3.13) – Josh - "Always negotiate job offers, even if you think the offer is really good." (3.52) – Josh - "Get your pay as high as you can at the beginning, using tactful negotiation techniques." (16.57) – Josh - "Of the people I coach, the ones involved in AI are the ones that are making the big money." (17.07) – Josh - "For the next 20 or 30 years, AI is going to be huge." (24.39) – Josh - "Don't be the one to name the first number in wage negotiation." (24.41) – Jos

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Rob Allen. He leads impactful, cohesive development teams from the ground up to solve thorny problems. He turns wild-west-style engineering organisations into professional powerhouses by leading untested initiatives through to successful deployment and broader adoption. In this episode, Phil and Rob Allen discuss why setting clear goals is essential. As well as how to work out what they should be and achieve them. They also discuss the benefits of learning to be inclusive, listen closely and be empathic in your work life. As well as touching on how and when to reassess things so that you become even more effective and grow your career. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (3.17) TOP CAREER TIP The best GPS system can't help you if you do not have a destination in mind. Career-wise you need to know where you are going in order to plot a way of getting there. Rob points out that setting good career goals is not necessarily about setting your sights on working for a specific company or role. In the podcast, he explains how to get to where you want to be in both your work and personal life. (0.00) WORST CAREER MOMENT In 2010, Rob travelled with his wife, a professor, to a conference she was attending. The world in which his wife worked meant that they met up with the same people several times a year. So, over time, many of them had become friends. When Rob walked into the bar someone he knew well slapped the bar and said something like – here's Rob Allen, often wrong, seldom in doubt. The guy had been drinking, but, that comment still stung. Worse than that, when Rob thought about it, he realised there was quite a lot of truth in that observation. It was an awful moment, but it led to him changing his ways. He started to stay quiet and listen far more at meetings. When he had a question, he still asked it, but made sure it did not sound like he was offering an opinion. Changes that proved to be very beneficial. So, in the end, his worst career moment turned out to be his best moment. In the podcast, Rob explains the changes he made and how he and everyone around him have been able to benefit as a result of them. (12.59) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T Rob believes that in the past 7 or 8 years, the IT industry has made real progress in terms of project and people management. These changes are having a profound and positive impact on the way we work and what we can achieve. (14.37) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Rob reached a stage in his life where he desperately needed to make more money. So, he decided to put his HTML and CSS skills to use and began his IT career. What's the best career advice you received? – Shut up. What's the worst career advice you received? – Hang in there and just stick it out, management will make it better eventually. What would you do if you started your career now? – Rob, would start out by focusing more on data analytics and those kinds of technologies. What are your current career objectives? – Currently, Rob's team is understaffed. So, his focus is improving the hiring process and improving the efficiency of the team. What's your number one non-technical skill? Empathy, it helps you to see the other side of something and learn more from others. How do you keep your own career energized? – Rob is an active member of Rands Leadership Slack, a group of about 10,000 software people. The conversations within that community keep Rob engaged, learning and energized. What do you do away from technology? – Rob enjoys spending time with his family and is a huge fan of the video game Overwatch. He is also working to put together a stable of cars. (18.53) FINAL CAREER TIP Having clear career goals is essential. In fact, you should set clear goals for all areas of your life. BEST MOMENTS (4.15) – Rob - "Work out what you want to achieve in life and set your career goals accordingly." (5.07) – Rob - "Before accepting a role, ask yourself how it fits in with your long-term objectives." (9.03) – Rob - "Listen carefully in meetings and make it clear you are asking questions to grow your understanding rather than challenging things" (16.18) – Rob - "Software is a team sport. You need to get the people right for the software to be right." (18.53) – Rob - "If you are looking to energize your career, having a goal is essential." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.c

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Laurie Barth. She is a software engineer who started as a mathematician. She currently works as a developer and consultant with Ten Mile Square Technologies in the Washington DC Metro area. In this episode, Phil and Laurie Barth discuss how to use your previous skills and experience to succeed when taking on new roles. They also speak about how the background of those getting involved in the industry is becoming more diverse and the positive impact that is having. During the podcast, they discuss how an empathetic approach to project management brings benefits for both the customer and the development team. As well as, talking about the opportunities working collaboratively as an IT community is creating. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.46) TOP CAREER TIP All of your skills are transferable. Your past experiences from your education and previous jobs will all be relevant in some way, even if it is not obvious how. So, when you start a new role, remember that you are always a bit further ahead than you think. (6.10) WORST CAREER MOMENT At one point in her career, Laurie ended up working for the government. In that role, she was put in charge of managing a series of large technical problems. Unfortunately, despite being a manager, she was not given the authority to actually do anything to solve those issues. Fairly quickly, she realised she was in the wrong job and moved on. As a result of this experience, if Laurie does not feel excited or engaged with what she is being asked to do, she quickly speaks up. At the company she is currently working for, every time she has done that, they have pivoted things enough to make things interesting again. (8.09) CAREER HIGHLIGHT For Laurie, her first lead engineer role was a really exciting experience. When she took over, she quickly realised that some tension existed between the customer and the technical team. From the start, Laurie recognised that the client was not that interested in her technical prowess. They just wanted to know she had their back and would deliver good solutions. In response to this, Laurie decided to focus on understanding their problems and gaining their trust. Armed with that knowledge, she was able to act as an effective conduit between the customer and the technical team. As a result, the project went from being one that was in trouble, to being one that was a huge success. By the end of it, everyone was really excited about what had been accomplished. An outcome few expected, which is part of the reason it is one of Laurie's career highlights. (9.59) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T It is good to see the industry moving away from the stereotype of coders in a basement, working apart from everyone else. Now, communities of developers are coming together online, at conferences, meetups and working on open source projects. People are getting excited about the tech again and are being introduced to lots of new stuff. This collaborative culture is helping to move things forward at a far faster pace. (11.13) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – A love of puzzles and maths. What's the best career advice you received? – Your values and goals should always be in sync, not in conflict. What's the worst career advice you received? – Never let a bad commute put you off of taking a great job. Terrible advice - a long, tiring, stressful commute can really mess up your quality of life. What would you do if you started your career now? – Laurie wishes she had recognised her coding abilities at a younger age. What are your current career objectives? – Laurie plans to do more technical writing and speaking. She is also enjoying playing around with the ECMO script syntax for JavaScript. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Writing. Technical writing is challenging, but it is a skill that is in demand and the work is interesting. How do you keep your own career energized? – Getting involved in various IT communities has enabled Laurie to connect with some incredible people. It has also exposed her to all kinds of interesting and new tech. What do you do away from technology? – Laurie plays a lot of board games, bakes whenever she can and loves TV and movies. (15.42) FINAL CAREER TIP Build genuine relationships and help others. When you take that approach you become more valuable and a useful contributor to the IT industry. BEST MOMENTS (5.24) – Laurie - "Even if you're starting from scratch, you're further ahead than you think." (7.12) – Laurie - "If you don't feel engaged, while working on a project, speak up and change things up." (10.36) – Laurie - "Get involved with IT communities to benefit from the growing collaborative culture." (11.39) – Laurie - "Make sure your values and goals are always in sync, not in conflict." (14.38) – Laurie - "The IT industry is crying out for technical writers." (16.02) – Laurie - "Help others and build genuine relationships to become a more valua

Arlene Andrews is a self-guided learner who has moved into the Quality Advocate section of the tech world with Lightning Fox. In this episode Phil and Arlene discuss the importance of continual learning, why you should do due diligence on a company before agreeing to join them and how the current diversity trend is impacting the way the tech industry works. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.10) TOP CAREER TIP Be curious and interested in everything. The more you know the easier it is to find interesting projects and people to work with. (5.16) WORST CAREER MOMENT A start-up Arlene worked for is now being investigated for major fraud. The fraud took place around the time she left. The experience has taught her to be a little bit more cynical and to carry out more due diligence before accepting new positions or projects. (6.33) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Working on a group project with the CodingBlocks Slack folks is currently Arlene's career highlight. The idea came from the community and the CodingBlocks team decided to make it a reality. It is a large scale ongoing project that will help people across the world. Arlene is enjoying being part of something that is bigger than herself. It is enabling her to explore new tech and get over her imposter syndrome. (8.14) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The fact that people from all fields are now able to get involved in the IT industry is an exciting trend. It means that people are now able to make tech their 2nd career. Arlene is self-educated, yet has still been able to have a successful IT career. Having people from different backgrounds involved in the industry is helping companies to see things from a different perspective. As a result, they are able to serve more people efficiently. (10.20) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – At the time that Arlene was introduced to computing, things in were not going the way she wanted in the rest of her life. So, being able to get her VIC 20 computer to do what she told it was an utter delight. What's the best career advice you received? – If something catches your interest, find out more and try using what you learn. What's the worst career advice you received? – When Arlene entered college, she was told to become a secretary and get a job with a company she could stay with for life. These days, following that sort of path is no longer necessary, for anyone. What would you do if you started your career now? – Arlene jokes that she would have started her IT career 20 years earlier. What are your current career objectives? – This year, she is due to speak at a couple of conferences and is working on growing her blog. What's your number one non-technical skill? Short story telling has taught Arlene how to engage her audience in fun yet effective ways. How do you keep your own career energized? – Giving back to the community keeps Arlene engaged and energized. She spends a lot of time on the developer focused slacks tracking down answers for people's questions. What do you do away from technology? – Arlene enjoys writing, knitting and she tries to walk. But, the thing she enjoys most is being out with people seeing how they use and enjoy tech. (18.00) FINAL CAREER TIP – Stay curious. Keep doing what you are doing, but be sure to expand to cover all of the bases and be ready for the future. BEST MOMENTS (4.12) – Arlene - "Be interested in everything." (11.52) – Arlene - "Just try it." (12.48) – Arlene - "Don't get locked into one way of looking at how to do things" (14.14) – Arlene - "Start your IT career young and start safely." (17.59) – Arlene - "Stay curious and expand your knowledge to cover all of the bases." ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey. CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at [email protected] and via the podcast's website, https://itcareerenergizer.com Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community in Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer ABOUT THE GUEST – ARLENE ANDREWS Arlene Andrews is a self-guided learner who has moved into the Quality Advocate section of the tech world with Lightning Fox. Having previously worked in a wide range of business operational roles she is now able to leverage her experiences of supporting cust

My guest on today's show is a senior cloud advocate for Microsoft. As a member of the Azure engineering team, he engages with the community and customers around the world to share his knowledge and collect feedback to improve the Azure platform. Prior to working for Microsoft, he was a Lead Architect for a consulting and engineering company in Switzerland. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's show is Thomas Maurer. He works for Microsoft as a senior cloud advocate. In that role, he engages with customers and the community to use the cloud to transform their businesses. He is part of the Azure engineering team. Thomas has been awarded the Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) Award, several times. He is also an accomplished public speaker and the author of two books. Over the years, he worked as a software and systems engineer for several companies. Prior to joining Microsoft, he was the Lead Architect for a Swiss engineering and consulting firm. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.15) – So, Thomas can you tell us a bit about your career before joining Microsoft. Thomas explains that he started his IT career straight after he left school. He began by working for a firm of consultants, then a service provider, before returning to consulting and engineering. He ended up working a lot with Visual Studio. So, when he got the chance to be a Microsoft Cloud Advocate he couldn't resist saying yes. Thomas really enjoys the fact that the role keeps him close to the community, attending events, learning and helping others to do more. (4.18) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Thomas says it is very important to learn to stay positive. Things are bound to go wrong. Maintaining a positive attitude helps you to get through those times and make what you are working on a success. Over the years, Thomas has noticed that negativity attracts negative things. The mindset of the workforce has a huge impact on a company. Of course, at times, things get tough, but being optimistic keeps you going and takes you through it. (6.26) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Many years ago, Thomas spotted a job he really wanted. But, he just assumed he was not experienced enough to land the role, so he did not apply. Instead, he set his sights lower and joined another company. When he rang a friend to tell them about his new job, they thought he was crazy for taking it and told him that they could have helped him to land the job he really wanted. They said so in a nice way, but it was still a bit deflating. At that point, Thomas realized that not applying for his dream job was a mistake. It felt pretty bad, but he had said yes, so he started working for the other company. Only then did he realize how big a mistake he had made. They did not have the right type of projects for his skill set and what he wanted to learn. So, for a few months, his career progression slowed. Fortunately, not long afterwards, he was offered his dream job. But, he played things cool and told them he wanted to sleep on it. This gave him time to think and be certain that he was not making a mistake. In the morning, he took the job, which turned out to be one of the best decisions he has ever made. (10.30) – What was your best career moment? Of course, landing his dream job was a big moment. So, was getting his first Windows Insider MVP award, in 2012. He is especially proud of the fact that one of the chairmen nominated him. Thomas loves working with the community, speaking, blogging and helping others. But, it felt great to have his efforts recognized. Over the years, Thomas has won several MVPs and other awards. (14.39) – Can you tell us what excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? The never-ending variety of the projects you end up working on keeps things exciting and interesting. But, Thomas thinks the changes cloud computing has brought have been particularly exciting. Better still, there is more to come. He also sees machine learning, IoT, 5G and AI bringing in another wave of drastic changes. The list of new opportunities this tech opens up is endless. (16.52) – What drew you to a career in IT? It was Thomas' love of gaming that laid the foundations for his IT career. Through it, he got into building his own computers and optimising the operating system. (17.30) – What is the best career advice you have ever received? The best career advice Thomas given was not to complain too much. Instead, work to make things better. (17.47) - Conversely, what is the worst career advice you've ever received? Someone once told Thomas to stretch the truth a bit. Thomas does not feel comfortable doing that. He believes that if you take that approach, in the end, people will lose trust in you. (18.19) – If you were to begin your IT career again, right now, what would you do? Thomas says he would become a data scientist, working with AI and machine learning. (18.50) – Wh

My guest on today's show is Chief Architect at Headspring, author of MVC in Action books, an international speaker and a prolific OSS developer. He is an expert in distributed systems, REST, messaging, domain-driven design and CQRS. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's podcast is Jimmy Bogard. He has a BSEE in Computer Engineering. But, he became a software developer and engineer. Jimmy worked for Icabob Design, VI Technology and Dell Inc in those roles. In 2008, he joined Headspring and, today, he is their Chief Architect. Jimmy is an expert in distributed systems, REST, domain-driven design, messaging and CQRS. He is also the author of the ASP.NET MVC in Action books, as well as a prolific OSS developer and public speaker. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (00.46) – So, Jimmy, could you tell us a little bit more around your background and your current role as chief architect at Headspring? Jimmy starts by explaining that he graduated with a computer engineering degree and kind of fell into an IT career, when he left university. In time, he landed a job at Headspring. (1.47) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? When he studied to become a computer engineer he was told that to succeed in that field you need to be continuously learning. He was told that he would need to reinvent himself every 5 or 10 years. It was a good habit to get into. When he moved into software he was already able to move from one technology to another fairly quickly. Jimmy says it is also important to stay in the know. That way you will be learning and growing in the right ways. In other words you have to become a T-shaped developer. That is to say you have a broad knowledge of a lot of subjects and technologies. But, have also taken the time to dive deep on at least one of them. (3.07) – What approach do you take when learning new technologies? Jimmy explains that the client's needs drive the skills he learns. He focuses on learning those technologies that will help them to achieve their goals. You have to be careful not to dive in too deep. If you do that you spend too much time learning and not enough time working on the projects. To stop that from happening Jimmy periodically pauses and asks himself does this really matter? If the answer is no, he stops learning that tech or skill and focuses on something that is more relevant to what he is working on, at that moment. (4.11) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Years ago, Jimmy was working on a loyalty rewards project for a major retailer. He came up with what he thought was an important, but easy change to implement. For some reason, it went live not long before Black Friday, the busiest time of the year for the retailer. Unfortunately, a mistake slipped through. Jimmy had miss configured the dependency injection container in a way that registered some components twice. The net result was that everyone was awarded double reward points. Worse, nobody noticed the error for about 10 days. When the client asked him to check he did. But, he only ran the test locally. Not in the full environment. So, everything looked fine. In reality there was an issue. People were receiving a 10% off coupon via email. Followed shortly by an identical coupon giving them another 10% off, which they were not actually entitled to. The customers thought it was their lucky day, so did not complain. So, there were no emails from them saying there was an issue. Just a spike in the figures that was disguised by the fact this was all happening at the retailer's busiest time. Eventually, Jimmy could see the issue and was able to fix it. But, he felt awful. The mistake was an expensive one. Understandably, the retailer did not want to take the coupons off of their customers. They were only able to revoke the duplicates that were attached to unopened emails. Naturally, changes were made to make sure something like that could not happen again. One of which is to track the key metrics and forecast what they should look like once any changes went live. Now, if they change up or down further than anticipated the system immediately flags it as a potential issue. This triggers extra tests to track down and solve any issues. (10.49) – What was your best career moment? Jimmy says that it is the things that he deliberately set out to achieve that he is proudest of. For example, building a system for a local county government in Texas, whose budget had just been slashed. For them, he took a 100% paper-based case file system and digitized it. They had tried off the shelf software, but none of it quite worked for them. When Jimmy presented his tailor-made solution to the team, he got a standing ovation. They like it that much. Better still, Jimmy was able to physically see what a difference his new system made. (13.52) – Can you tell us what excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? The fact that the work he and other IT prof

My guest on today's show is a JavaScript developer, consultant, author and, educator. He is a huge proponent of the web as a mobile app platform and wants to help developers push it to the next level. Henrik is also a conference speaker and has taught workshops for Frontend Masters and O'Reilly and author of the book Human JavaScript. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's I.T. Career Energizer podcast is Henrik Joreteg. He is an independent JavaScript Consultant, speaker, and trainer who is particularly interested in the intersection between web and machine learning. Henrik specializes in building Progressive Web Apps using tools like Redux and React/Preact. His consultancy work has led to him working on projects for firms like Microsoft, Starbucks, and Groove. Henrik is the author of the popular book Human JavaScript. He has also helped clients like AT&T, Ericsson, and Pacific Northwest National Labs build modern JavaScript applications KEY TAKEAWAYS: (00.43) – Please expand on my introduction and tell us a bit more about yourself. Henrik explains that he has been involved in the IT industry for a while, so his career has been varied. Recently he has helped Starbucks with the architect of their progressive web app. He also now spends quite a bit of time consulting. Recently, he wrote and published the Human Redux Book, a kind of follow up to an earlier book he wrote. (1.53) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? You need to make sure that you are able to continue learning. If your current role is not allowing you to do this, you should move on. Continually pushing yourself out of your comfort zone a little ensures you continue to learn and stay relevant. It also builds confidence and turns you into a more attractive employee. As a result, finding well-paid work is never a problem. Be especially careful if you are working for a large company. While working for a firm like that, is all too easy to stagnate and not make an impact. In the long-term, doing this will harm your career and stop you from increasing your wage packet. At the very least, take on a side project that pushes you. Because you are doing them outside of the confines of your workplace you are free to explore and take your skills in new directions. (4.15) – Are your books an example of this? Yes, the first one Human JavaScript certainly was. At the time, Henrik had been working on a cutting edge app which included real-time asset tracking transposed over a map. Something nobody else was doing back then. So, he wanted to show the world what could be achieved by working with JavaScript slightly differently. Writing the book was a lot of work, but it pushed him to develop new skills. More importantly, because he gave the book away free, he was able to help other developers, from across the world, to break through and create exciting tools. (6.01) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Early in his career, Henrik had a job where he was not given enough work. So, he used some of his spare time to teach himself Python and work on a side project. Unfortunately, doing this got him in a bit of trouble. Henrik had built a Twitter bot that followed people on the platform. This activity got him added to a watch list. After about a month of monitoring him, he was called in and spoken to about his internet usage at work. They explained that his work was good, but they had concerns. Henrik was not impressed by the fact that they decided to monitor his activity instead of speaking to him and explaining the issue straight away. So, a month later he left. His other low point happened when he found himself working virtually around the clock on a collaborative project. At the time, his daughter was very young. So, she really needed his attention. But, he didn't have any time free to spend with her. He hated being in that situation. At that point, he realized that things had to change. So, he started to take steps to get his work/life balance back. (9.18) – What was your best career moment? Developing and launching the Starbucks app has been a highlight. Both Google IO and Microsoft built their versions on the same day. Creating the SimpleWebRTC library was another highlight. He landed several talking gigs off the back of it. For example, speaking at dotJS, in Paris, where he spoke in front of 1000 people. (10.33) – Can you tell us what excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? The fact there is still so much to do and achieve is really exciting. Seeing people applying machine learning to old problems is particularly interesting. Henrik is especially interested in the intersection between web and machine learning. He has a lot of friends who are dentists and doctors. Henrik can see dozens of ways tech can be used to help them to work more efficiently. It is just one example of how much more there is still out there for IT professionals to do. (12.36)

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is a public speaker, blogger, and technical writer. She has spoken at more than 40 conferences in three continents on a variety of topics. She is also a Senior Developer Advocate for LaunchDarkly and she specializes in creating entire documentation suites for new companies. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on his IT Career Energizer podcast, today, is Heidi Waterhouse. She is an accomplished technical writer. Heidi has a talent for quickly understanding complex systems and creating clear and concise documentation. Heidi is also a well known public speaker and blogger. She has delivered talks at 40+ conferences, across three continents. Currently, she is working for LaunchDarkly as a Senior Developer Advocate. Her role there involves listening to current and potential clients to understand their needs and help the development team to meet and exceed them. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (00.37) – Can you perhaps tell us a little bit of why you got into public speaking blogging and technical writing as well? Heidi explains that it kind of happened by accident. While at university, she got mononucleosis and had to spend a semester at home. During her recovery, she was given a musical optical character recognition project to work on. She enjoyed the work so much that she wrote up a set of instructions. She wanted to make sure that others could make the magic happen and enjoy using the system to the extent she had. Heidi enjoyed doing that so much that, when she returned to university she changed her degree to technical writing. When she started working independently she got into public speaking. At first, because it was an effective way of promoting what she had to offer. She helped audiences to see that hiring a technical writer makes a lot of sense. In the end, it is far cheaper than paying an engineer to do it. They don't really know how to tackle the task, so it takes them longer and the results are never good. (3.22) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Heidi's biggest tip is that there is no such thing as a soft skill. All skills matter and are useful, especially people skills. Being able to get along with your co-workers and relate to your customers is just as important as quantifiable skills are. If you can't do those things your career will stall. The same is true of communication skills. It does not matter how good a developer you are if you can't explain why you deserve funding for an important project you won't get it without the ability to communicate. (5.00) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? Heidi has been fairly lucky in her career. But, she remembers not being able to get the Microsoft Security Bulletin (Patch Tuesday Bulletin) to compile. She could not leave it half done or deliver it late. But, it just would not compile. In the end, using git-bisect she was able to find the error in the XML. It was a stressful moment, there was no way she could not publish a document like that on time. Fortunately, she was able to get it done, but it was a close call. (6.44) – What was your best career moment? Heidi says that she feels like she keeps experiencing that best moment. Every time she gets on stage and speaks. She really enjoys getting people to think about things in a different way. In particular, when members of the audience come up to her afterward and ask for help with a problem. Of course, occasionally you fail to connect. But, most of the time, you make the connection and can see that you are helping, which feels great. (8.10) – Does the response you get from the audience vary depending on where you are in the world and who you are presenting to? Heidi says it does. For example, in the UK, fewer people approach her after the talk. Instead, she gets asked a lot of questions on Twitter. She has also noticed that Agile transformers can, as she puts it, "talk the hind legs off of a donkey". (9.10) – Can you tell us what excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? Heidi looks forward to the day when most of the boring tasks will be automated out. She believes that the fact this is happening will lead to even more interesting and exciting IT careers. (10.59) – What drew you to a career in IT? Hiedi was an English major in university and was planning to become an English professor. But, when she was exposed to the world of IT she was fascinated by it. When she realized she could combine both interests and have an IT career she was hooked. She loves sitting in conferences learning new things. (11.49) – What is the best career advice you have ever received? People kept on telling her to ask for more cash. In the end, she listened and got over being shy about doing so. It was good advice. If you do so when you are offered the job, people readily agreed. They have already slotted you into their organization in their minds, so do not want you to slip through their fingers. (12.47) - Conversely, what is the worst care

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show helps developers to take a step up in their skill set with a focus on making complex topics approachable, regardless of skill level. He is a Microsoft MVP for .NET, has authored seven courses for Pluralsight and has delivered more than 300 technical presentations across the United States and Europe. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's I.T Career Energizer podcast is Jeremy Clark. Currently, his focus is on helping IT professionals to quickly improve their skills. He has authored several courses for Pluralsight, a platform that enables developers to assess their current skill levels and identify the right training path for them. Over the years, Jeremy Clark has delivered more than 300 technical presentations at conferences, throughout the world. He has also spent over 9 years of his career sharing his knowledge as a consultant and mentor. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (00.49) – Can you maybe tell us a little bit about some of the courses you've written for Pluralsight. To date, Jeremy has produced 7 courses for that platform. He wrote his C# Interfaces course, largely because as a new developer he struggled to understand what interfaces were. The same is true of his Practical Introduction to Dependency Injection course. Most people get introduced to dependency injection backwards. Typically, they get given an application that has a DI container and just left to try to figure things out themselves. Jeremy currently speaks at conferences on about 20 subjects. All of which he has struggled with, at some point. He finds helping others to get over the speed bumps he faced to be very rewarding. (2.33) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Jeremy's advice is to get involved with people in the industry as much as possible. Make it a goal to attend a meetup, or something similar, at least once a month. When you do that your world gets a lot bigger, really quickly. You learn so much. Often, you will find people working with the same tools as you, but using them in a different way. Or, you will come across developers who are doing similar work to you. But, are using tools you do not know much about. Either way, you get to learn a lot from them. Unfortunately, at the moment, Jeremy is not able to do this as much as he would like. The nearest meetups and user groups are at least an hour and a half drive away. So, he struggles to attend them regularly. But, to some extent, attending conferences fills in the gap for him. Attending and speaking at them means that he still gets to interact with others who are working in the industry. (5.16) What would you recommend to someone who cannot get to meetups, conferences or other physical events? Right now, there are not many effective virtual groups for people to join. But, that is something that Jeremy is trying to change. In the meantime, his recommendation is that people listen to podcasts as a way of learning. Live coding is good too. On twitch streaming, there is usually some interaction and you can follow individual coders. (6.55) Can you share with us your worst IT career moment and what you learned from that experience. Fortunately, Jeremy has not had any of those oh my goodness I've just deleted the production database moments. But, he has found himself working on projects where there are at least 3 layers of project managers sitting between you and the end user. That sort of project setup makes it is all but impossible to come up with something that meets the end users needs. You just can't get close enough to them to find out what would actually be helpful. Everything gets filtered through layers of project managers and the important things are lost in translation. Usually, things get bogged down to the point where great solutions get left on the shelf. In the end, progress slows and the project gets cancelled. These days Jeremy recognizes those flawed projects and does not get involved. Instead, he focuses on working on things where he stands a good chance of having a positive impact. (9.20) – What was your best career moment? Jeremy's biggest successes have come from his habit of getting to know what his end users needed. For example, he was in the office one day speaking to a group of administrative staff. While he was there chatting to them he ended up watching how they were working with the system. He noticed that they were spending quite a bit of time creating a report to print out to help them to carry out their job effectively. So, he said to them would it be helpful if I put a print screen on the admin screen. Of course, they said yes. It took him just 5 minutes to do it. Yet that simple change saved the admin team a huge amount of time and stress every single day. They had not thought to request the change because they had assumed it would take too long and cost too much to have it done. Every time Jeremy spends time working alongside the end users he finds that he is able to make a huge differe

My guest on today's show is a Developer Advocate at Google working with the Chrome team to develop and promote web standards and developer tools. Prior to Google he worked at Lanyrd on their mobile website and for the BBC on JavaScript libraries and standards. He says that he wants the web to do what native does best, and fast. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's show is Jake Archibald. He is a Developer Advocate at Google. Currently, he is working with the Chrome team developing and promoting innovative tools like squoosh.app. He is there to promote web standards and developer tools to all who will listen. Before beginning his career at Google he worked for the BBC developing their web services and JavaScript library and standards. Later he moved to Lanyrd. Today, he is a well-known conference speaker. Jake has delivered talks at JSConf.Asia, LDNWebPerf and SmashingConf London, to name a few. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (00.49) –Could you give us an understanding of what your current role with Google as a developer advocate is like? Jake starts out by explaining that it is a really varied role that changes from day to day. Last year, he was working on Squoosh.app, an image compression tool for the web. It uses codecs from C and Rust to compress images in the browser. Other times he works on web standards. He is also involved in fixing Chrome bugs. He sees is role as promoting the web rather than just Google services. When other browsers get things right they praise and promote them too. His aim is to help everyone to get more out of the web and working for Google has not constrained him at all he has been given the freedom to speak freely, which helps things to move forward faster. (3.50) Phil asks him to tell the audience about his work with the BBC, which was also all about web standards. Initially, Jake made web pages for TV shows. He then moved on to work on the BBC's JavaScript library, which they use on pretty much every one of their pages. One of the biggest challenges he faced then, was keeping everything backward compatible. BBC policy meant that everything they produced had to be accessible using free tools, even older versions. Because, at the time, the newest version of Safari was a paid for tool, everything they built had to be compatible with the older version because it was still free. (5.41) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? The thing that made Jake successful was being in the right place at the right time. He feels there is an element of luck involved in everything. When he started out he knew very little about the web. But, within 2 years he had learned most of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. So, when the web exploded he was able to exploit that knowledge to the full. This was despite the fact that there were, and still are, gaps in his knowledge. Not knowing everything will not stop you from progressing in your IT career. So, don't get hung up about it. Just maximize what you do with your current skills and keep on learning to succeed. (8.00) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? That happened early in his career. He was working for a large corporation looking after their site and intranet. One day the HR department asked him to take some of the job postings and install them on their intranet. It sounded easy but was far from it. The way their site worked with cookies made it very tricky to scrape the information, so it could be added to the intranet. At the time, he knew nothing about Perl. But, it was really the only solution. So, he had no choice but to work out how to do it. After a bit, he managed it and the team he was working with were really pleased. But, he realized they had zero understanding of what it had taken to achieve that result. At that point, he realized he had not found his dream job. In fact, it was going to be quite limiting, so he had no choice but to move on. That felt pretty bad. He was pretty disappointed. The other worst moment was when he broke the BBC's iPlayer, their streaming service. He had not uploaded something properly. An error which, after two weeks, broke the corporation's streaming service when a rarely used server was pulled into use. Only then did the error become apparent. He was blamed, despite the fact that it was a weakness in the deployment system that ultimately caused the issue. (13.58) – What was your best career moment? For Jake, being able to contribute to the HTML spec was a huge moment. The web will outlive him, so it feels good to be leaving a legacy, something which others will continue to benefit from. (15.45) – What excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? For Jake, the fact that the web and JavaScript are still growing is exciting. In 10 years it is going to look very different than it does now. We are going to be able to do so much more with it. (17.55) – What drew you to a career in IT? When Jake was given his first computer at about the age of 7, he was hooked. He l

My guest on today's show is a Staff Operations Engineer from Zendesk. He describes himself as a Linux systems geek with a passion for making systems serve great content. And he is recognized as an expert in metrics and monitoring, about which speaks, as well as a featured panellist for the MonitoringScale Live community panel. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's show is Jeff Pierce. He has been working in the industry since 2003 when he started Coldflare Internet Services. Later, he moved into systems administration working for several firms. Jeff then changed direction a bit, taking up a role as a senior systems engineer for Apple in 2011. Then again when he started work as a DevOps Engineer for Krux Digital and a Senior DevOps Engineer for Change.org. After a few years working as a software and infrastructure engineer, he is now Staff Operations Engineer for Zendesk. He specializes in automating large clusters of Linux systems. Metrics and monitoring are his other passions. He is an expert in this field and regularly speaks on this subject. Jeff was also a featured panelist for the MontoringScale Live community panel. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (00.49) – Can I ask you to tell us more about the metrics and monitoring that you focus on and speak about? Jeff starts by pointing out the only way to do effective system administration is to have access to good software data. You need that data to be gathered automatically. Over the years, Jeff has focused on making sure companies are able to collect the data they need to be able to scale things and optimize what they are doing. (1.26) – So, you are following the principle – if you can't measure it you can't improve it. Jeff agrees but explains that it is a little more than that. He says if you can't see what your system and software are doing, you are already broken. You just don't know it yet. (1.44) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. Career Energizer audience? Jeff's advice is not to share your salary with your new employer. This is because they will simply offer you a percentage over what you already earn. If you want to make sure that you are paid the market rate, keep your salary history to yourself. Let it be known that you want to be paid a certain percentage over the market rate and let them negotiate from there. In fact, in the US in Massachusetts employers are no longer allowed to ask future employees how much they earn. The authorities are recognizing that being able to do this gives firms a huge amount of power over prospective employees. Continuing to base what they pay on what previous employers is only making pay gaps worse. (4.16) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Interestingly, the experience Jeff shares turned out to be a combination of the best and the worst moment of his career. It happened when he was working for the petition site change.org. They help campaign groups and people to put pressure on government and corporations, using petitions, to literally drive change. About four years ago they were involved in using petitions to stop the dog eating festival in Yulin, China. The data involved was huge. So much so that it uncovered a bug in their Galera MariaDB Cluster. The error caused every node to go into data protection mode. When all your nodes go down like that you do not have a cluster anymore. Instead, you end up with four separate servers. In their case, there was also a fifth arbitral process in place to break ties. The nature of the problem meant that their 4th server was serving virtually the whole site while they worked on the bug. Fighting to keep the site online at a time when they were getting four times more traffic than normal was a challenge. There were other issues too. On the one hand, existing on a few hours sleep and working in a highly stressed environment, was awful. For any engineer that time spent fire-fighting keeping the system going knowing that you could not fix it yet, for five straight days, was a nightmare scenario. But, it was also one of the best times. The strength of the team he was working with shone through. Plus, he learned a huge amount from getting the system into working order. That learning carried on for weeks after as they forensically examined what had happened. He delved into areas of the system and technologies he had barely touched before. (11.12) – What was your best career moment? Deploying the first piece of code he had a hand in writing into production was a real highlight for Jeff. He had just moved from the ops side to DevOps, so he knew it had the potential to make a big difference and help a lot of people because they were able to make it Open Source. For change.org having the ability to store the stats in Cassandra was very helpful. It is a no sequel database format, which means that it is highly scalable. Exactly what they needed, at the time, although now they have moved on to using DataDog. But, when Jef

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is a Senior Cloud Advocate for Microsoft. He conducts "science experiment" Hackathons with industry-leading organizations to test theories and create Proof of Concepts utilizing Microsoft cloud services. Previously he has been awarded Microsoft Most Valuable Professional 4 years running for evangelising mobility products and solutions through public speaking engagements and other efforts. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's show is Anthony Bartolo. He has been working in the tech industry for just over two decades. Initially, he worked within the communications sector as an IT manager and a general manager. Later, he became an Applications Specialist, Partner Engagement Manager and B2B Sales Manager for an electronic learning provider. In 2013, he re-joined Microsoft in the role of VP, Business Developer. Within 3 months he became a Sr. Technology Evangelist. Today, he is a Sr. Cloud Advocate for Microsoft. Anthony is a Data & AI, IoT and Identity & Security specialist with a thirst for knowledge. For 4 years running, he was a recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award. Over the years, he has spoken at numerous conferences and has been involved in many significant projects. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.10) – Can you give us a bit of an understanding of what your role as a senior cloud advocate is? Around 70% of the role is listening to those who are adopting Microsoft technology. The other 30% is sharing what is going on. What the advocate learns while listening to users is relayed back to the engineering team. Hackathons are a great way to learn how people are using the tools and what issues they have as well as what they would like. Anthony learns how it's being governed, implemented and secure. As well as how the resources are being made available. Often, they also share ARM templates and best practices through GitHub. (2.11) - Presumably, that involves subsequently talking about the hackathons and the results you're obtaining. Anthony confirms that is the case. He explains that the resources that have been created via hack quests are also frequently shared. He disseminates a lot of new information during public speaking engagements and via all kinds of tech forums. (2.41) - Prior to Microsoft, what were you doing? Before working for Microsoft, Anthony worked for Canada's largest telecommunications company – Rogers Communications. Later, he worked helping customers to adopt the first iteration of smartphones into their tech infrastructure. At the time, those smartphones ran on Windows Mobile and they were using Server 2003 Service Pack Two. He was heavily involved in improving security for these devices. Prior to that, he was involved in doing something similar for PocketPC devices and Blackberry. (3.45) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Anthony's advice to IT professionals is to make sure that they are part of the business. They need to have a seat at the table with the decision makers. This ensures that you understand the direction the business is moving in and have a say in what happens next. When you do that you become proactive instead of reactive. If someone proposes something you can weigh-in and help those who are around the table to understand how viable it is from a tech point of view. You can point out the pitfalls, come up with ways to move things forward and manage expectations. Instead of having to find a duct tape solution to implement something that was decided upon without your input you can come up with an elegant one and build that instead. (5.57) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. In the days of Server 2003, the company Anthony worked for ran into an issue because someone had found a way to store MP3's on their server. Somehow they had managed to stash thousands of them away in the bin file. Naturally, the end result was that the server ran out of space. When that happened, nobody got their emails. At the time, everyone had access to everything. Surprisingly, there was only a single universal admin key which the whole team used. Eventually, using a traceroute they were able to find how the individual was getting access and close them down. But, it was a complete mess and very stressful. It starkly demonstrated just how vulnerable the systems were. Within 90 days they had come up with a security plan and had started to implement it. They were very lucky to have discovered the vulnerability the way they did. It could have been a lot worse. Someone could have easily gone in and stolen all kinds of information. Now, nothing like that would be possible. Security is a priority, although there is still room for improvement. For example, it is not uncommon for people in an IT department to share an admin key. This is the IT equivalent of leaving a key under the mat. Anthony goes on to talk about password management as an example. He explains that

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is an aspiring tech polymath, a coder, a speaker and a teacher. She joined Atos's rotational graduate scheme in 2016 under the Technical Consultancy Stream and was awarded Graduate of the Year in 2018. She is also a Course Instructor for Code First: Girls. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's podcast is Shaquilla Johnson. She is just starting out on her IT career, yet she has already been able to have a big impact. In 2016, she joined Atos' graduate scheme. Shaquilla went on to win the 2018 Graduate of the Year award. She is already speaking at conferences and running courses at Code First: Girls. Shaquilla is an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and is currently taking more courses. For the past three years, she has been working on her own tech blog. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.06) – I wanted to start by asking you about Code First: Girls. So, I understand you got a bit of a background in there before you went into the instruction side of things? Around 2015, while at university, Shaquilla took an introductory coding course through Code First: Girls. It was quite basic. But, still covered beginner's web development, simple HTML, CSS, Get and UX design. It gave her a good insight into the world of tech and careers within that industry. At that point, Shaquilla realized that a career in tech was for her. So, she cancelled her audit and tax related applications and looked around for something IT related. She applied for a technical graduate scheme at a tech company that provided IT services. In 2016, she secured a place on the Atos graduate scheme. She has taken more courses and is now at the stage where she is able to volunteer and help others. Something she really enjoys doing. For her, paying it forward is important. (3.44) - So, do you take time out to do that? Shaquilla explains that she mainly works as an instructor in the evenings. Usually for 8 weeks at a time. Code First: Girls runs courses throughout the year. So, the instructors are able to fit when they volunteer to run the courses around the rest of their lives. (4.30) - I presume you're going to be sticking to that and continuing for a while. Shaquilla confirms she has no plans to stop working as a volunteer instructor. (5.19) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Her top career tip is to always remember that you are in control and act that way. Your managers, peers and mentors can all help you to progress. But, ultimately you are the one that is in control, the person that always has your best interests at heart. Occasionally, companies will lie to you to get you to work for them or things will not work out as expected for another reason. When that happens, you owe it to yourself to have a conversation to try to change things or move on. (6.55) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? There have been times when the morale of the team she has been working with was very low. Something that happens a lot when things are not going to plan. (8.27) – So, did you learn about how to deal with that stress? Shaquilla said she has been able to use those situations to learn more about handling stress. She is now more resilient and now understands how to use her mind to deal with the situation effectively. It has taught her to pause and rationalize what she is feeling, so she can find her way through the problem. (9.12) – What was your best career moment? your greatest success, so far. That was winning Graduate of the Year in 2018. The award came at the end of a packed 18 months. A period during which she was involved in several large projects and became an instructor at Code First: Codes. Her work during that time and winning that award has really opened doors for her. It has also helped her to grow her network. (10.34) – What excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? The fact that there is always something new on the horizon is something Shaquilla finds exciting and stimulating. There is always something new to learn and understand. The fact that in a few years we will be using tech we have not even thought of now is really exciting. Shaquilla cannot wait to see how these things shape the world. Unlike many of us, Shaquilla is not afraid of change. She is not fearful of automation. It will change things drastically, but, there will be other techs we can use to create new products and solutions, things that will likely blow our minds. (13.57) – What first attracted you to a career in IT? Shaquilla was drawn to IT in part because it is such a fast paced environment to work in. It is the industry that will lead us into the future. So, be authentic. (14.17) – What is the best career advice you have ever received? Be yourself, your best self. If you try to create a persona and become a caricature, a fake version of yourself, people will easily see through you. (14.43) - Conversely, what is the worst career advice you've ever received? To date, Shaquilla does not th

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is a software engineer working in Germany. He has been working in the IT industry for seven years and has received multiple awards, including three from Microsoft. He is also a keen photographer, a technology blogger and also has his own YouTube channel. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's IT Energizer Podcast is the software engineer and MVP, Sibeesh Venu. He is currently working in Germany as a Full Stack Developer for medialesson GmbH. Despite having only been involved in the IT industry for seven years, Sibeesh is already a well-known tech writer and speaker. He has already become a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional three times. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.04) – So I really wanted to first ask you maybe if you could give us a little bit more about your background and tell us how you got into it. Sibeesh explains that when he left school he had no clear career direction in mind. So, on the recommendation of a friend, he went to engineering college. He got the qualification but had no job to go into. Sibeesh took a job at a local hotel. But, he soon realized the work was not for him and left after just 2 months. At that point, he decided to try IT, Sibeesh started by studying .NET. He moved to a new city and joined a startup company as an engineer. Later, he moved to Germany. (2.30) - How did you end up working in Germany? Sibeesh had always wanted to explore a new country. So, when he got the chance to work in Germany he made the move. (3.14) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Sibeesh says that it is important to always finish what you start, even if you find something really boring or very difficult you need to complete the project. That approach builds up your confidence fast and makes you more resilient. It teaches you that you are capable of pushing through regardless. (4.29) – Can you share with us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. In the past, Sibeesh has mistakenly joined companies where there was no place for his technical exposure or no chance to improve his knowledge. He ended up working with old languages in roles that offered him no job satisfaction. Sibeesh explains that you can only produce good work when you love what you are doing. His advice is not to waste valuable years doing a job you do not enjoy especially if it is one where you learn nothing new. (5.34) – What was your best career moment? your greatest success. For the past six years, Sibeesh has been writing an award-winning tech blog. He has won the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award three times. An award that is given to someone who passionately shares what they know with the wider community. Winning this award brings many benefits. For example, MVP winners get early access to Microsoft products. They are also in direct communication with Microsoft and get to attend the annual MVP summit. (7.17) - Presumably by being a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, you get the opportunity as well to expand your network. Sibeesh agrees it has made networking a lot easier for him. Getting involved in meetups has also helped him to network more. (7.40) – Can you tell us what excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? The pace of change and the emergence of AI both excite Sibeesh. It is a challenging environment to work in because you can never be sure what is going to happen next. But, providing you keep your mind open and become a continuous learner you will be able to take advantage of the opportunities that are out there. (8.47) – What attracted you to a career in IT? For Sibeesh it was simply the fact that his friend recommended that he give IT a try. (9.15) – What is the best career advice you have ever received? One of Sibeesh's mentors encouraged him to be a continual learner. Advice he took to heart and used to help him to quickly build a successful IT career. (9.30) - Conversely, what is the worst career advice you've ever received? Someone once told Sibeesh that "your job is important, not your satisfaction". Sibeesh now understands that the opposite is true. Your satisfaction is more important than your job. If you are not satisfied in your work, you will achieve nothing. (10.04) – If you were to begin your IT career again, right now, what would you do? Sibeesh is passionate about and fascinated by the IoT movement. If he were to start his career again, that would be his focus. (10.38) – What are you currently focusing on in your career? Sibeesh is working to make sure he stays within the MVP program. He is also working on building out an even stronger network. (10.58) – What is the number one non-technical skill that has helped you the most in your IT career? Writing is the non-IT skill that has advanced Sibeesh's career the most. Blogging about whatever he learns has really paid dividends. (11.21) - What do you do to keep your own IT career energized? Continuously learning helps to keep

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is a Developer Advocate for Google Cloud Platform. This gives her the opportunity to do silly things with lots of computers and to help developers build cool stuff on all sorts of platforms. Previously she has worked in a variety of software roles, from robotics with NASA to developer advocacy for Google Glass. She is also passionate about education, especially on the subjects of technology and science. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Jen Tong. She is currently working as a Developer Advocate for Google Cloud Platform. But, she started her career working on software. She has worked for NASA in the robotics field before working on Google Glass. Today, Jen works as a security advocate for Google Jen is passionate about astronomy. She has spent time coding for Project PANOPTES. That community project enables anyone to build a low-cost robotic telescope. She also enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.12) – So Jen, just looking at your career history be very interesting to hear a little bit about the work you did with NASA with robotics and obviously more, more recently with Google Glass. Sadly, Jen was only with NASA for one summer. They were working on a robot that was to be part of the space station's escape system. But, the project got canceled when NASA decided to take a different approach to the escape pod docking system. For the Google Glass project, Jen was mainly involved in building out the developer platforms. Her team's aim was to make it as easy as possible for people to build applications for Glass. (2.32) – Can you give us a couple of examples? Some of the most interesting applications involved helping people with accessibility issues to find their way around the world. Developers with hearing and vision impairments were particularly active. They could see all sorts of possibilities for Google Glass. (3.04) - Do you feel that Google Glass has a bit of ahead of its time when it first came out? With emerging technology, it can take a while for it to find its place in the ecosystem. Jen is not involved in Google Glass, at the moment, but says that it appears to have found its place. (3.39) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? For years, Jen heard people saying that taking risks leads to great rewards and adventures. So she pushed herself and took risks. Sometimes things worked out well, other times, not so much. Initially, when things looked like they were moving in the wrong direction, Jen would hang in there. Now, she is not scared to quit. Her recommendation when going into something new is to review how things are going after a pre-set period of time. Then pause and ask yourself if the role really is for you. If it does not feel quite right, don't be afraid to quit. Resist the temptation to give it one more month or another year. (6.03) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Jen's first IT related job was working for a semiconductor company as a process engineer. Her role was to split out the data for serial memory chips into a sequence of events. The job was not exciting, but she was learning a lot. More importantly, she was working with a fantastic team of people. She was only about 20 at the time, so their support was particularly important for Jen. But, when NASA offered a job it was too much to resist. She took the job. Unfortunately, it turned out not to be the dream job she thought it would be. She was no longer happy in her work life. That situation taught her the importance of periodically pausing and evaluating her career choices. Now, if she is not happy she moves on quickly. (8.10) – What was your best career moment? Working on Developer Relations of Google Glass was something Jen really enjoyed. At one hackathon they investigated how the glasses could be used by a team member who was completely blind. They came up with all sorts of viable applications. For example, placing QR codes on objects to warn of hazards. The glasses could pick up those codes and use the bone conducting speaker to discreetly notify the wearer of the danger. The visually impaired colleague they were working with could already see (feel) a lot of things using his cane. But, would occasionally walk into a low sign or something similar, because he had no way of knowing the objects were at his head height. The QR codes solved that problem. (10.18) – Can you tell us what excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? The fact that more people than ever before are learning to code is exciting. As people from different backgrounds get more involved in IT, a whole new ecosystem is opening up. (11.33) – What drew you to a career in IT? Jen got sucked into the world of IT partly because she wanted to be able to cheat on video games. A task that was not easy in the 80s and 90s. Without realizing it, her qu

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is a world-class software practitioner and business coach, consultant, and trainer. He is an author, keynote speaker and a globally recognized expert in software development and delivery improvement, particularly using Agile, Scrum and other Lean-Agile thinking and approaches. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's IT Career Energizer podcast is Neil Killick. He is a Len/Agile software product development practitioner, who also coaches. Over the years, he had used Lean, Agile and Scrum working methods in most of his roles. Currently, he is working as a consultant with a focus on digital business and UX analysis. He works to foster great team practices and deliver software flawlessly. Neil is also an experienced keynote speaker. He has delivered talks at Agile events, across the world. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.10) – Can you please tell us about your involvement and focus on Agile, Scrum and so forth. How did you get into that? Right from the start of his programming career, Neil had naturally worked in a way that fitted in with Agile. So, when 15 years into his career he came across Agile principles adopting them was really easy for him. His interest in Agile coincided with him taking on a programming role in a Scrum team. So his interest in Agile and Scrum started around the same time. (2.35) - So do you see yourself as a bit of an evangelist when it comes to Agile and Scrum and Lean and so forth? At the start, that was probably the case. Naturally, Neil still writes about those topics and gets quite heavily involved in problem-solving for practitioners. Today, he is more of an advocate than an evangelist for those working methods. (3.52) – When we were chatting earlier you also mentioned, it's about the outcome as much as anything else. Neil agrees that is true. He started his IT career with IBM, which meant that, right from the start, he was used to solving problems for customers. Neil has never simply implemented what was passed down the chain. He has always tried to first fully understand the problem his customer is trying to solve. When he started working in the IT industry programmers were expected to analyze the problem and come up with the solution before sitting down and starting to program. Ironically, the rise of Agile has resulted in developers being kept apart from customers. Business analysts look at the issue then tell the programmer what is needed. (4.56) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Neil's advice is to experience as many ways of working, languages, and platforms as possible. You have to grow to stay relevant when working in the IT industry. He has moved around a lot in his career. The maximum time he has spent working anywhere is about 3 1/2 years. This approach has ensured he is always learning and never gets bored. His advice is for others to do the same. Or, if they do want to stay with a single company to step up and take on other roles. Simply, drifting along, doing the same thing is not going to be good for your career. Periodically, you need to pause, think about what you are doing and change things up as soon as your career starts to stall. That can easily happen without your realizing it. Often, it is not because of laziness on your part. Sometimes the needs of the business nudge you into this situation. Either way, it does not matter. You need to get out of that rut and keep on learning. (9.11) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Over the decades, Neil has worked in all sorts of businesses, including quite a few startups. For the most part, this has worked out well for him. But, he did make a serious mistake, at one point in his career and ended up working for a firm that lacked direction. They spent a lot of money on hiring the very best developers but kept on switching focus. As a result, Neil and his team would frequently be part way through a project only to be told to throw it all away and start again. This way of working was frustrating for everyone. Inevitably, it ended up creating a toxic work environment. The developers ended up never actually producing anything. This was because the leadership kept canceling things. But, somehow that was forgotten and the development teams started to be seen in a negative light. To solve the perceived "problem" a team of traditional project managers was bought in. Ten minutes into the first hands-on meeting, the Agile way of working was scrapped. Worse than that, the decision had clearly been made before the first meeting was held. Within a few minutes of the start of the meeting a Word document was produced which said in the first paragraph, Agile working was a waste of time. They moved to a task-oriented working method. This turned some team members into product owners. While some became testers and the rest wrote the code. Effectively the cross-functional team they once were was broken down into silo

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show was an early pioneer of Web Standards, writing a best-selling book on the subject of CSS. He then went on to found Clearleft, arguably the first dedicated UX consultancy in the UK. He also set up dConstruct, the UK's first digital design conference, and UX London, the country's first dedicated UX conference. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Andy Budd is a renowned Design Leader and agency CEO. He started his IT career working as a designer. During his early career, Andy became a pioneer in the field of Web Standards. At that point, he published his first book – CSS Mastery. Over 14 years ago, he co-founded Clearleft, one of the UK's first dedicated User Experience consultancies. In 2015, he set up the dConstruct conference, which was held for 10 years. It was the first design conference to be run, in the UK. He is also the founder and curator of Leading Design. That annual conference improves design leadership and management. Andy speaks at these and many other conferences that are held across the world. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.09) – The first thing I wanted to ask you really was about how you transitioned from the web standards and the CSS aspect or your IT work to founding Clearleft. Andy as a natural transition, and goes on to describe how it happened. He started his working life as a flash coder, creating games. From there, he discovered CSS. When he did he realized almost immediately that separation of presentation and content was the way to go. Baked into this were standards around accessibility and usability. Andy was an early adopter of web standards. He had the 3rd table list website in the UK. He got together with two other early standards geeks to found Clearleft. At the time he was already creating controlled vocabularies, working with information architecture, usability testing and much more besides. So, he was one of the first people, in the UK, to take care of user experience, rather than just making a site look pretty. For the first few years, it was hard to get clients. Nobody could understand why it took them twice as long to deliver a website and why the fees were higher. In time, that changed. Now, UX design is the norm. (4.48) – Phil comments that at the time Andy set up Clearleft, a lot of people would not have known much about UX. So, he asks Andy how big a part of educating people about education was to making Clearleft a success. Andy agrees educating potential clients about usability was important. But he goes on to say that the fact people had never really thought much about UX before was also a superpower. Nobody else was really doing it. As a result, as soon as firms began to wake up to the importance of UX Clearleft grew really quickly. This was especially the case when companies moved away from using websites solely for marketing. Once, they started to use their sites to sell things and transactions were involved the functionality of the website became far more important. (6.11) Phil asks if the introduction of new devices like iPads and SmartPhones has changed the approach to UX at all. Andy responds by saying that the tools have changed. But, the underpinning philosophy hasn't really changed. The underlying problem-solving principles remain the same. However, the introduction of smartphones had an impact in another way. Mobile sites had to be slicker and better designed. At that point, a lot of companies woke up to how ugly, clunky and old-fashioned their main sites were. When they saw how good a website could look and what an effective sales tool that type of site was a lot of firms wanted to re-design their original websites. (7.44) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Andy explained that for him no single thing led to his success. His approach has to continually review what he is doing and make little course corrections. But, he does say that working in a company where you are not the best at what you do is a good idea. It ensures that you are continually challenged and stretched. You need to be a continual learner and have a beginner's mindset. This ensures that you learn new tools. If you do not, your knowledge becomes stale. At some point, those tools are going to become obsolete. When that happens, you are stuck. (10.32) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Andy has been very lucky career-wise. So, could not think of anything he would categorize as a bad career moment (11.47) – What was your best career moment? Andy has had a lot of great moments in his career. His first speaking gig went really well, so that was a highlight. Meeting Jesse James Garrett from Adaptive Path was also a great career moment. He was sat next to him at a book signing at SXSW South by Southwest. His work has also led to him traveling the world, which Andy has clearly enjoyed doing. Plus, over the years, he has worked with some fantastic clients. Spending time in Copenhagen working wi

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show set up a software company while studying for a Ph.D. in Plant Science. He has since worked for a number of companies at Group IT Manager and CTO level as well as immersing himself in the world of Social Software acting as a Social Media consultant. More recently he completed an almost eight-year stint leading Green Monk, the clean tech, energy and sustainability practice of industry analyst firm Red Monk, before joining SAP as Global Internet of Things Evangelist. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Tom Raftery is a well-known IT innovator. He became involved in the industry at a time when computers were still not widely used. Tom set up a business teaching early-adopters how to use the power of computers. Later, his firm moved into software, gaming and web development. After a while, Tom took that expertise and put it to use by working at CTO level for several businesses and organizations. In the early 2000s, he ran his own Social Media consultancy. He became SAP's Global VP. Today, he is their Futurist and Innovation Evangelist. Tom is also an accomplished public speaker, an experienced teacher, and an IT consultant. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.17) – You obviously set up your first software company while you're doing your Ph.D.? First of all, did you complete your Ph.D.? And what was that software company you set up? Tom confirms that he was unable to complete his Ph.D. He got distracted when he realized what an IT career had to offer him. Interestingly, it all started when his biology professor insisted that everyone hand in their 3rd-year project in a digital format. At the time there was only one computer in the department. It was slow and you had to save everything to 51/4 inch floppy discs. The queue to use it was always a long one. Around the same time, he got a check from HMRC. He had worked in the UK for a couple of summers and ended up with a tax rebate. Rather than fritter the money away he bought a 2nd hand Mac and a Dummies book called the Mac Bible and learned how to use it. That was it, he was hooked. At that stage, completing his biology Ph.D. stopped being his priority. Instead, he asked the university if they would like him to provide computer training for the undergraduates. They said yes, and his IT career was born. He dropped his Ph.D. and set up a computer company called Zenith Solutions and worked on that full-time. At first, he offered training. But, eventually ended up creating bespoke software. They also built websites. In time, they moved into working at the front end with databases. The firm also produced a game written in wml for Nokia. It was the first mobile phone game to be developed in Ireland. His company was always ahead of the curve. Eventually, they merged with another company. At that point, he gained experience of converting a system on access to one that ran on a sequel server, which they then front-ended. Later he set up his own social media consultancy. Then set up a data center with a friend, which is still in existence today. Tom is very proud of the fact that it has one of the lowest latency connections from Europe to North America. In 2008, he moved to Spain and ended up working for Red Monk as an open source industry analyst. A job he clearly enjoyed. Later, he led their energy and sustainability practice, which is called Green Monk. In 2016, he blogged about the fact he was leaving and said he was interested in starting a new IT adventure. That is when Tesla and SAP both got in touch. He realized SAP was a better fit for him, so joined them. A decision which proved to be the right one for him. (9.49) - It sounds like your career history hasn't really been in one focused area you've moved about you've tried different things. Tom agrees. He gets bored if he stands still. So, is always looking forward and getting involved with new innovations. (10.44) – Do you travel a lot in your role as an evangelist? Tom agrees that he does. He has visited countries on almost every continent. But, his job has not taken him to central or southern America, yet. (12.06) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Tom's advice is not to focus on a particular job or role that you want to do. The world is moving at a blindly fast rate. So, there is a good chance that by the time you have learned what you need to do that job it won't be there. It may even have been automated away. Instead, you need to focus on learning as much as you can about a subject that interests you. Doing something you enjoy will keep you engaged, which means you will be better at it. This, in turn, makes it easier to find work. (13.37) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. In the 2000s, Ton was working for a network engineering company, in Dublin. Unfortunately, he managed to crash the network on a Friday afternoon. Nobody could go home until it was fixed. Fortunately, he was able to figure it out, but it was a ve

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is a full-time Python trainer. In a given year, he teaches courses at companies in the United States, Europe, Israel, and China as well as to people around the world through his online courses. He is a regular panelist on the Freelancers Show podcast, CTO of Rent Like a Champion and a published author, his most recent book being "Python Workout". He is also credited with having created one of the world's first 100 websites just after graduating from MIT. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Reuven is an MIT graduate who started his IT career working as an engineer for Hewlett-Packard. But, he soon realized that web development was his passion. So, he became one of the first web application engineers Time Inc ever hired. From there, he went on to set up and lead a training company, take his PhD and found his consultancy firm. He is viewed as a Python expert, and is well-known for being instrumental in setting up the first newspaper on the World Wide Web. As well as providing face to face training, Reuven has created several online programming courses. Reuven is also a prolific IT writer and speaker. His latest book "Python Workout" is selling well and his online newsletter "Better developers" already has more than 12,000 subscribers. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.10) – Could you tell us maybe a little bit about rent like a champion? I know it's not directly related to IT. But, it'd be good to know a little bit about it. Reuven explains that a while back he realized that college alumni were returning to their college town a few times a year to watch games. But, they struggled to find accommodation. Usually, this was because the towns were too small to sustain a hotel. So, he set up Rent Like a Champion, to fill that gap. The service he provides links homeowners and small businesses up with people who want to stay for a night or two to enjoy the odd game. It has been a great success. (2.37) –Phil asks Reuven to tell the audience more about the weekly IT newsletter he produces. Still Better Developers, has been running for about 2/3 years. Every Monday, subscribers are sent a new set of tips and programming practices. As the name suggests the magazine is set up to help developers to continually learn and improve the way they work. The newsletter covers Python in a lot of detail. But, things like how to grow your developer career and get the most out of working as a freelancer, are also covered. At the time of recording the podcast, that newsletter had 12,000 subscribers. (3.45) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Reuven's advice is to focus on one thing. Something he did not do at the start of his career. His advice is to find that one thing that interests you and get a job doing it. Once you do that you can become a big fish in a small pond and will not spread yourself too thin. From there you can grow and learn new things. (4.57) – How long would you typically focus on one project? Reuven explains that it varies. You could do it for a few years, and then move on. Or, you could become a super expert and specialize in something like database optimization for 30 to 40 years. Reuven prefers to switch every 3 or 4 years. He started his career in web development but has also worked in general development, training and consulting. Every couple of years he asks himself what makes him happiest and focuses on learning more about and working in that area. He believes in the evolution approach to career growth rather than the revolution approach that so many people take. Initially, Reuven focused on Python, switched to Ruby and a few other languages. But, now that Python is so ridiculously popular again, he has switched his focus back to Python. (6.36) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. A long time ago, Reuven received a call from someone who had a problem with his Linux server. His network administrator had disappeared on him. So, Reuven agreed to help him. He finished up his day then pulled an all-nighter to sort this guy's servers out. It was tough, but Reuven felt great when he finally got it all working again. The problem was that when he tried to bill the guy he got ignored. He persevered until eventually; the guy came back to him. Unfortunately, it was in the form of a fax telling Reuven he was not going to be paid. Worse than that, the guy said he was going to sue him for ruining his servers. At that point, Reuven realized that he had been conned. That negative experience taught Reuven to always check a customer out before agreeing to work for them. (9.12) – What was your best career moment? Reuven worked at MIT as an undergraduate. At the time, he was the editor in chief of the student newspaper. One of his fellow students came to him and told him about the work Tim Berners-Lee was doing on something new called the Worldwide Web. The moment Reuven saw it he was intrigued and wanted to get involved. So, he and

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is a full-stack developer, having recently joined Test Double which is an agency of highly skilled developers on a mission to improve how the world writes software. Prior to Test Double, he spent a decade working for 1Password where he focused his efforts on browser extensions and web page filling features. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's IT Career Energizer podcast is Jamie Phelps. He is a full-stack developer at TestDouble. A firm that is working to improve the way the world writes software and wrangles code. Prior to that Jamie worked for Pier 1, 1Password and ran his own IT consultancy company. His areas of expertise include Ruby, Typescript, JavaScript, Go, Swift, Objective-C, and several other languages. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.06) – First, I want to ask you how you came to IT. You seem to have started your IT career a little later than average, so it would be interesting to hear how this transition happened. Jamie explains when he first attended university he studied music and religion. He went to graduate school to study the New Testament. When he went back to university to do his Ph.D. it dawned on him that he would probably be at school for another 3 to 5 years. During which time he would have to live very frugally, a realization that led to him switching to computer science. (2.12) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Jamie's most important piece of advice is to build a good network of people. Doing this stands you in good stead, especially later in your career. As you progress and become more senior the problems get bigger. So, it is always good to have people you can talk to. At some point, you will reach a stage where it is impossible to know absolutely everything. When that happens, you need a pool of experts you can trust and turn to for advice. (3.15) - How do you personally go about developing your network? Jamie mostly developed his network through Twitter. He also made a lot of connections while working at 1Password. Going to meetups and getting involved in IT communities have helped too. The people he met at these sorts of events shared his passion for the same tech. So, they were always there to back him up and help. Often, they had already faced and overcome the same or a very similar problem to the one he was facing. So, usually, he gets fast results when he consults with his trusted network. (4.53) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Fortunately, Jamie has not had a lot of bad career moments. But, he does remember one situation that made him feel bad. It happened when he was working for a firm that sold software. They realized that someone was using their website to see whether stolen credit cards were still active. Naturally, the moment the team realized they were being used in this way, they wanted to stop his activities. After a long weekend of time and effort, they finally managed to do so. But, it did not feel good to know that weaknesses in their system had played a role in helping someone to profit from his criminal activities. To make sure it did not happen again, they switched to a more robust payment provider. It taught Jamie that sometimes it is best to pay for an expert rather than always depend on your own abilities. (6.41) – So, in terms of what you learned from that, is it about making sure you select the right provider? What did you take away from that situation? Jamie explains that as well as looking for a good provider, in the first place, you need to periodically review your decisions. When they first set up their payment option it was the best that was available. But, eventually, they realized that the world had changed and that other providers now offered a far better option. You also need to be careful of the "not invented here" syndrome. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that something you write in-house is always going to be better than something an outside provider writes. In many cases, the opposite is true. (7.38) – What was your best career moment? For Jamie that was writing a Rails program that later evolved into the Watchtower element of the 1password system. This software oversees user's websites and tells them the moment a security breach is spotted. Jamie is very proud of building the first iteration of the system in Rails. He did it in response to the Heartbleed Bug, which hit in April 2014. It was a large SSL vulnerability that caused lots of damage. In response to the bug, 1Password asked Jamie to build something that would enable their clients to identify if their site had been hit by the bug. He is understandably proud of the fact that he was able to come up with the necessary system in just 3 days. (9.06) – Can you tell us what excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? Jamie is really excited by the advancements in language compilers. They have given rise to a lot more rob

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show has spent most of her career in the software testing world, which led to her founding the Software Testing Club. This evolved to become the Ministry of Testing which is a community of software testers that want to change, share and improve their craft. She says that she is a big believer in doing things ethically and that she's fascinated by the world of community, marketing, tech, and software testing. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's IT Career Energizer podcast is Rosie Sherry. She founded the Ministry of Testing, which has grown into a global community of testers. Up until now, most of her IT career has been spent working as a tester. She is also a founder of the Brighton Girl Geek Dinners and was, for several years, the community manager and co-director of The Werks Group. While there, she helped to set up co-working spaces and build the entrepreneur community in the Brighton area. In February, Rosie joined Indie Hackers as their community manager. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.09) – So, Rosie, can you maybe tell us a little bit about why you started the Ministry of testing and what it is up to right now. Rosie explains that about 12 years ago, she realized that there was not much of a community out there for people who were involved in IT testing. So, she decided to fill the gap. Over time, the group she started turned into a huge global community. (1.54) - Do you align yourself to anything in particular, was this just a community that you decided to create? Rosie explains that she wanted to bring testers, from across the world, together. She also thought that it would be fun and never dreamed it would grow as big as it has. (2.35) – Presumably, you were getting good feedback from that. So it sort of grew organically, is that correct? Rosie confirms that it is completely organic. In 2007, it was a different world. Twitter had only just got going. (3.01) - You were telling me, just before we started recording, that you're potentially stepping a little bit away from the day to day running. Rosie confirms that she will be taking a step back. The Ministry of Testing is much bigger and does a lot more than Rosie envisioned when she set it up. So, the person running the Ministry of Testing has to be prepared to take on extra duties. For example, the members requested regular conferences. Rosie wants them to take place but does not want to be the one to organize and run them. She does not want to spend long periods of time away from her family. Traveling around the world running conferences is not for her. (4.20) - So you're in the process of potentially handing the reins over to somebody else. Rosie explains that she already has a CEO in place. They have been working together for about three years, and he has been on the board for 18 months. They have nearly reached the point where things can be run smoothly without her. She points out that she still owns the company. Therefore, it is her best interests for things to run well, so she will likely still contribute. (5.01) – Do you think you will keep your hand in? Maybe, still attend local meetups and conferences, or will you step away completely? Her plan is to continue to attend some local meetups. In fact, she was involved in running the last one in her hometown of Brighton. The chances are she will still continue to contribute to the group. (6.00) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Rosie's advice is to build a good network and get involved in the community. That is what has driven her career. When she got started she had no qualifications. But, she networked and shared what she knew. Whenever she could, she helped the community. That included running a co-working space and helping to run a local geek girl meetup. In time, she became well known as a testing specialist. Her advice is to find a niche you like, dive in and meet people. Write blogs, listen to podcasts to cement what you learn and help others to learn too. (8.10) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. When Rosie had her first child, at 24, everything changed for her. Her boss just started to ignore her. She found it really hard to find a job. In the end, she started to hide the fact that she had kids so she could find work more easily. Rosie no longer does that. She is proud of being a mother and the fact that she has a successful IT career and runs her own company while raising and homeschooling her 5 kids. So, now she never hides her family life from others. She wants to show people that mothers can do things in different ways and achieve a lot. (11.06) – What was your best career moment? The Ministry of Testing has been like one long career highlight. It feels fantastic to have changed the testing world for the better. (12.19) – Can you tell us what excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? The fact that there is so much choice and so many opportu

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is Nicholas Walsh. Nicholas is a Technical Evangelist for Amazon Web Services, working to empower developers everywhere and to create engaging educational content. Nicholas has worked to build developer tools across multiple organizations that power artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities in applications. Many moons ago he worked as a research assistant in the biotech space. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on today's IT Career Energizer podcast is Nicholas Walsh. He is a Technical Evangelist for Amazon. In that role, he works to empower developers to put AWS products and tools to better use. He is currently focusing on AI and machine learning fields. Nicholas studied for a career in medicine. But, he switched to IT when he realized that he could do more good by working in the tech industry. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.12) – So, the first thing I wanted to ask you was how you moved from being a research assistant in biotech into the IT industry. Nicholas explains that, from an early age, he wanted to become a doctor. So, he majored in medicine. When he was doing the research element of his course, he noticed that he was enjoying the programming aspect of it, more than anything. Coding analytical scripts and automating data analysis. He was pretty good at it. He started to attend computer programming competitions called hackathons. Initially, he was worried that he was not going to be able to make a meaningful contribution at these events. But, he loved it. The first one he attended was on a biomedical theme. He stayed up for two nights coding. (2.32) – How long did it take you to move across fully into working in the IT field? For Nicholas, it was an iterative process. He gradually took on more of the coding responsibility on projects he was involved in. Nicholas joined a start-up in San Francisco as a data science intern. At that point, he knew that coding was for him. So, he identified the skills he needed and set about learning what he needed to know. Mostly by setting up projects for fun, getting involved in more hackathons and working with friends. He also stayed on for an extra year at school. That helped with the transition too, because it gave him a little more breathing space and enabled him to hone his data sciences and AI knowledge. (4.51) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Looking back at events and deciding whether a certain experience was positive or negative can be very beneficial. It is particularly important to do this when it comes to your career. Every now and again, you need to pause and ask yourself how happy you are with what you are doing. Career development should not be about throwing darts at a dartboard and seeing what sticks. If you are not happy, it is very important to know why. This ensures you do not make similar errors, in the future. Periodic, honest reviews help you to move forward in your career. When asked by Phil to elaborate, Nicholas explains that doing this on a project by project basis is particularly helpful. If you are working on big projects, Nicholas' advice is to pause every quarter and review where you are. For example, Nicholas was involved with an early startup that was building an AI, machine learning developer tools. Once the project was over, he asked himself what he had got out of that role and what itch that work had scratched. Doing that made him realize that he had always wanted to be involved with a project from the start. So, he would know what it was to shape things from the very start. It made him realize he had scratched that particular itch. So, when he moved on to his next role, he made sure it was different and addressed another of his career goals. His work with Amazon Web Services is all about fostering an existing community and achieving growth. (7.08) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Right at the start of his IT career, Nicholas represented Wolfram at conferences and hackathons. In that role, he came across someone who was very confrontational about the tech his firm used. They felt strongly that their way of doing things was better. Nicholas listened and tried to address their arguments and help them to understand the merits of the way his team did things. Unfortunately, despite trying to do so repeatedly he was unable to help that person. In the end, he realized he was never going to be able to convince them and had to walk away. Initially, it felt bad leaving things like that because he knew he could help them. But, it taught him the value of compromising and knowing when to cut your losses and move on. (8.30) – What was your best career moment? That happened when Nicholas was working for Datmo. One of their first customers had a really tight budget. They were rolling out an AI/machine learning model for computer vision application. Initially, it was hard to predict whether their budget would be

GUEST BIO: My guest on today's show is a front end developer who has been writing code since he was 8 years old. He enjoys people, code and talking to people about code. He now travels around the world encouraging, educating and empowering developers in the web development community. EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Phil's guest on his show today is Tejas Kumar. He is a front-end developer who has been coding since the age of 8. Tejas has worked with a long list of front-end frameworks, programs and languages, including JavaScript, TypeScript, React, and the Babel webpack. He is also a conference speaker who is working towards his goal of speaking at every JSConf, across the word. Tejas wants to educate and empower developers, in every corner of the globe. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.10) – I would like to start by asking about your work traveling the world speaking to developers and empowering them. Tejas explains that he started doing this, June of last year, when he spoke at JSconf EU. His talk was well received and he really enjoyed it. So, he decided that he would like to speak at each of the JSconf events that are held worldwide. Tejas structures his talks as dialogue. He enjoys the conversation he has with his audience. Afterward he gets to carry that conversation on and talk to some really interesting people, from all walks of life. Everyone from web architects to traditional architects who design buildings. (2.25) - So in terms of the numbers of conferences, talks you've done, how many of you clocked up now? Last year, Tejas did 7 conferences in 6months. But, that is nothing compared to his friend Sarah Vieira who spoke at 47, last year alone. His aim is to do an average of one a month, so he can maintain a reasonable work-life balance. (3.10) – Have you got any conferences coming up? There is one that had not yet been announced, at the time this recording was made. But, he also due to speak in September, at JSconf Budapest. (4.15) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? Tejas says it is important to remember that IT professionals are working in an industry where feigning knowledge is the norm. He has noticed that in technical meetings, everyone, including himself, will just nod their heads and pretend that they fully understand what is going on. Tejas finds this sad. He points out that a culture in which people feel an overwhelming need to be right and are disinclined to ask questions is not a healthy one. There are also a few people who feel an overwhelming urge to constantly correct everyone. Often, these people publically pick others up about silly, unimportant things simply because they want to appear to be cleverer. They tend to think they are always right. People like that can end up putting those who are new to the industry. (7.54) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Unfortunately, at the start of his career Tejas was thrown in at the deep end. He was being asked to do a mid-level job despite the fact he had very little experience. Worse, his team leader was constantly critical of him. Despite this, Tejas toughed things out and became good at the job. So, much so that other companies were headhunting him. But, when he asked for a raise his CTO just laughed at him and said he was not worth it and nobody would pay him that sort of money. Naturally, he quit. Before asking for the raise he had been looking around to see what was available. So, he knew what he was asking for was reasonable and that he could get a job elsewhere. In other words he had leverage. So, when they said no, he was comfortable with just quitting and moving on. In fact, he had already been offered a job by a company he liked the look of. But, he was not sure he was qualified and experienced enough. So much so, that he wrote back and explained this to them. Fortunately, they were really positive. Their attitude was that he knew more than he thought and if he did not they were sure he could quickly fill any gaps in his knowledge. Even before the hiring was official his new boss demonstrated that he believed in Tejas. After working for a boss that constantly tore him down working for someone who built him up was very refreshing for Tejas. Quitting his previous post was the best thing Tejas has ever done. (10.35) – What has been your career highlight? Tejas responds by saying that he is actually currently living his career highlight. Every day feels like a new best day at his job. He works with a brilliant team, has a lot of freedom, can more or less choose what technology he works with and works on interesting projects. Tejas especially appreciates the fact that his team works smart. For example, they budgeted 2 days to build a feature. With the help of his team, he was able to build it in 15 minutes. Phil jokes that if he was Tejas' boss he would probably be challenging his estimation process. This joke encourages him to share another career highlight. Tejas