IT Career Energizer

Guest Bio: Dan North is the originator of Behaviour-Driven Development and Deliberate Discovery. He has been coaching, coding, and consulting for over 25 years and uses his knowledge to help CIOs, businesses, and software teams to deliver quickly and successfully. Dan is also a frequent speaker at conferences and has contributed to a number of books, including 97 Things Every Programmer Should Know. Episode Description: In this episode, Dan shares his excitement on how wide open the field of IT remains, and that it continues to be powered by a strong sense of innovation and creativity. He also talks with Phil about the benefits of choosing your own path, the value of diversity, and the importance of empathy. Key Takeaways: (1.22) Phil starts things off asking Dan to tell us more about himself and what he's working on. Dan talks about how's been working independently for almost six years now and that one of the downsides of being independent is having to run the actual business as well as do the work and that it takes up time that he would like to spend on book-writing. He adds that he also recently became a father and has less disposable time than ever before "and I couldn't be happier about it." (4.19) Phil then asks Dan to share a unique career tip, to which Dan responds first with the fact that IT as an industry is barely into its second generation and that this can be immensely freeing because it means the industry hasn't become stuck in a rut of making people do things a certain way. He says that because of this, even people who are new to the business have just as much a chance of making their ideas successful as people who have been in the business for many years. (8.09) Dan then brings things back around by saying that the best tip he can think to give is for people just starting out in the industry to not "institutionalize themselves" and keep questioning and thinking of better ways to do things because everyone is just "making this up." (9.02) Dan continues this line of thought by saying that even if he had been asked as recently as ten years ago, he could not have possibly predicted where we would be today in terms of technology and what would be "hot and exciting." He also says he can't wait to see what keyboards finally get replaced with. (10.41) Phil asks Dan about his worst IT career moment, and Dan tells a story about the second "real" job he ever had, where he was the senior software engineer for a database marketing business. He describes that there was one single database that essentially did everything for the company and that he, by typing something in the wrong terminal, accidentally shut down, along with the entire server. Dan says that rather than punish or fire him, that his boss instead told him that he was going to learn about database restores, and they manually restored the database all night. (15.59) Phil moves on to asking about career successes, and Dan replies that he actually has a hard time thinking of what's been the highlight of his career because he's still learning and growing and that he has not had a very straightforward career path. Dan continues that rather he's always just gone after opportunities as they appeared or based on what interested him and that even things he's proud of, such as the first time he was a keynote speaker at a conference, happened essentially by accident. He emphasizes not getting too hung up on having a rigid career plan, as it can lead to you missing out on interesting experiences and opportunities. (19.04) When Phil asks what excites Dan most about the future of IT, he reiterates that what excites him the most is that he has no idea what the future of IT will look like. Apart from that, he says that the strong shift towards more diversity in the field of IT excites him very much because it means opening up a much larger talent pool of different viewpoints, life experiences, and ways of thinking. (22.41) On the topic of the best career advice that he'd ever received, Dan responds that it was actually advice from a friend in the context of relationship problems he was having and that it was to "never settle for second best." Dan adds that it has translated into every part of his life, such as looking at jobs and asking himself if he's just taking a job because it's there and settling. (24.35) On that note, Phil asks Dan about his current career objectives, to which Dan says that mostly he's just trying to find interesting people and interesting challenges before adding that he's tinkering with an idea for finding a better way to locate people for jobs that are good at working on teams in a way that gets people excited and motivated and can grow a team. Phil notes that people with these qualities are hard to find but easy to spot. (28.16) Upon being asked about the non-technical skill that he has found the most useful, Dan mentions listening as a "powerful non-technical skill," before adding that he also thinks that sharing information and e

Guest Bio: Shawn Rakowski is a seasoned software developer with Gullview Technologies out of Brainerd Minnesota, where he specializes in delivering full stack .NET solutions. Shawn is also a husband, father, conference speaker, blogger, former podcaster, aspiring entrepreneur, and game dev hobbyist. Episode Description: In this episode, Shawn explains the value of taking time for personal creative projects to challenge yourself and create a more diverse portfolio and skills set. Shawn also talks about the dangers of second-guessing yourself, as well as the importance of always pushing yourself to learn more and gain new experiences. Key Takeaways: (1.31) Phil opens the interview by asking Shawn to tell the listeners a bit more about himself. Shawn says that he's been working in software development for about a decade, generally working in e-commerce and distribution, but has been recently focusing more on speaking about game development at conferences, including Codemash this past January. (2.37) Phil then asks Shawn for a "unique career tip," to which Shawn responds with the advice that anyone doing software development should make a point to spend time developing games or other side projects. He explains that games, in particular, are very useful for teaching developers new ways to learn and adapt and that they can be combined with different disciplines like music, art, physics or math. (4.08) Shawn goes on to illustrate how games also provide a tangible product for developers to add to their portfolios. Shawn also tells Phil about "game jam" events where the participants have to build a game in just a couple days. Game jam events are useful because the time constraints force you to be creative, and there's usually a prompt to follow, which solves the problem of not being able to come up with an idea. (5.41) Phil notes that game development seems like it would make you think differently about problems and solutions, and Shawn agrees that game dev offers complexities that you would not typically encounter in your regular IT or developer day job. Because of this, devoting time to game dev can also help you challenge yourself and make you a better developer overall. (7.28) Phil asks Shawn about what he considers the worst IT moment of his career and what he learned from it. Shawn talks about working at a job where he didn't like the culture of the office and felt like he didn't fit. While he did leave that job for a remote one, he was convinced to come back on the grounds that management had changed and things were better, only to find that this was not the case. Shawn says the main thing he learned was to trust his feelings and to move on and don't look back rather than stay unhappy at a bad job that might change. (11.00) Phil changes gears and asks Shawn to share any highlights of his IT career. Shawn relates a story about how he developed his first indie game for Xbox Live and that, while it did not make him much money and was "kind of a terrible game, creating it pushed him to learn command patterns, object-oriented programming, C# (Sharp), and .NET. Now he works with .NET for a living and owes it to developing that terrible Xbox Live game. (14.47) Phil and Shawn discuss the future of IT, with Shawn mentioning the book Developer Hegemony by Erik Dietrich, positing that we are moving more towards independent IT and development firms with small, specialized teams that can be brought into major organizations to solve problems. (16.7) Phil starts the "Real Round," asking Shawn what got him into IT. According to Shawn, LAN parties were his first introduction to computer technology but that he was actually going to school for a philosophy degree before falling in love with computer science. (17.49) Next Phil asks Shawn for the best career advice he's ever received. Shawn says it wasn't just career advice but life advice from a guest on his podcast who recommended he look into meditation and mindfulness as a way to handle the feelings stress and frustration at being stuck at his old job. Learning to be more conscious of his feelings and rationalize them has improved his mindset when it comes to both work and life. (19.41) Shawn tells Phil that if he were starting his IT career now, he would skip college and jump straight into programming and learning on the job. Shawn also mentions that he would make it a point to look into functional programming, stating that it's a better way to compose software and that, as it is on the far end of the adoption curve, now is the best time to become familiar with it. (22.22) On the subject of the most helpful nontechnical skill to have, Shawn says that it's being fearless about stepping outside your comfort zone in regards to things like public speaking, podcasting, and not stopping yourself because you're worried you'll make a mistake or that someone is better than you. Shawn and Phil both emphasize the value of new experiences. (23.24) Finally, Phil asks Shawn for some parti

Welcome to episode #065 of the I.T. Career Energiser, a weekly podcast where your host Phil Burgess chats with inspiring I.T. professionals, consultants and experts from around the world. To find out more about the podcast visit itcareerenergizer.com And remember to Subscribe to get new episodes automatically downloaded to your device. In today's episode, Phil chats with featured guest, Nicki Watt. Nicki is an experienced software engineer and consultant and is currently the Chief Technical Officer at OpenCredo. She can be seen speaking at various conferences and is also co-author of the graph database book "Neo4j in Action".

In today's episode, Phil chats with featured guest, Gualtiero Bazzana. Gualtiero is past president of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board, more commonly known as the ISTQB(r). He is also president of the ITA-STQB, the Italian chapter of ISTQB(r) and Southern Europe regional director of Alten, which is a technology and engineering group operating world-wide. KEY TAKEAWAYS (01.26) Gualtiero begins by explaining more about his responsibilities as Regional Director of the technology and engineering consultancy Alten. Gualtiero goes on to tell us about his passion for not-for-profit organisation ISTQB(r). (02.27) Gualtiero tells us how he is a family man with three children and that he has a great passion for skiing (02.51) Gualtiero says that his main priority is his role as regional director of Alten and his voluntary work for ISTQB is a secondary priority. (03.46) Gualtiero says that I.T. is in an exceptional moment in time, with a lot of opportunities. He goes on to say that we should all embrace change and take risks so that you can live without regret. Gualtiero reasons that we should take the USA's approach to a career in I.T and act more aggressively and be positive. (06:23) Gualtiero says that the worst moment in his I.T. career was when he lost his biggest client, one that generated over 50% of the company's income. Gualtiero explains that he felt a social responsibility for the staff he had hired and for the company that had just purchased his company. From the experience Gualtiero learnt two vital lessons: 1. Always surround yourself with good guys, and you'll be able to work out a solution. 2. Always think about risk management. Don't rely heavily on one source of income for your business. (10.16) Gualtiero talks about his career highlight by stating that he is proud to have been voted for two terms president of ISTQB(r), an organisation that spans many countries and cultures. He goes on to state that it is important to recognise the short term results of people, but to also look at their potential. (12:13) Gualtiero states that a career in I.T. is an ever changing learning curve. There are always new challenges as the industry evolves. He says that if you are enthusiastic about I.T. you will never be bored as there are opportunities for technical people, analytical people and those that want to be managers. BEST MOMENTS (13:58) The Reveal Round: Phil: "What first attracted you to a career in I.T.?" Gualtiero: "For sure, the fact I get to work with cutting-edge technologies." Phil: "What is the best career advice you have ever received?" Gualtiero: "It's not really career advice, it's life advice. Be always fair with the people around you, with colleagues, customers and suppliers. The world is big and small at the same time, it's important to stay connected." Phil: "If you were to begin your I.T. career again, what would you do differently?" Gualtiero: "I am so happy, I would do exactly what I've done again. Start working for a well-positioned consultancy company, which gives you the idea to experience different things. You have to see what's around so that you can choose what you want to do." Phil: "What career objectives are you currently focusing on?" Gualtiero: "I'm 52, so in the I.T. domain I'm close to being a dinosaur. But I try to be young, so my objectives are to develop the career path of the best people working with me, and to try to keep a good balance between work and life." Phil: "What's the number one (non-technical) skill that has helped you so far?" Gualtiero: "Constancy of purpose, if you want to be the best you need to work intensively. But also the ability to be open-minded changes." Phil: "Gualtiero, can you share a parting piece of advice with the audience?" Gualtiero: "I think that the I.T. industry is a land of opportunities, for everybody. We can get so close to how the world is changing. We get to see the impact our projects have on life, on telecommunications, on banking and e-commerce. Phil: What's the best way we can find out more about you? Gualtiero: "You can find me on LinkedIn" https://www.linkedin.com/in/gualtiero-bazzana-ba61828/ ABOUT THE HOST Phil Burgess, an I.T. consultant, mentor, and coach, is the creator and host of the I.T. Career Energizer Podcast. His podcast continues to inspire, assist and guide anybody wanting to start, develop and grow a career in I.T. by inviting successful I.T. professionals, consultants, and experts to share their advice, career tips and experiences. CONTACT THE HOST Website: itcareerenergizer.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/philburgess ABOUT THE GUEST Gualtiero Bazzana is past president of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board, more commonly known as the ISTQB(r). He is also president of the ITA-STQB, the Italian chapter of ISTQB(r) and Southern Europe regional director of Alten, which is a technology and engineering group operating world-wide. CONTACT THE GUEST LinkedIn – https://www.linked

Welcome to the I.T. Career Energizer Podcast In this episode Phil Burgess talks to Phil Lew who is C.E.O and President of XBOSoft, a leading provider of software quality engineering services. Phil has 25 years of experience in the software industry and has an interesting and solid view of how you should conduct yourself in pursuit of finding the correct career. During those 25 years he has experienced frustration at his own progress before finding his own career path. KEY TAKEAWAYS from Phil Lew (01.23) Phil Lew begins by telling us about his passion for cycling, and how he enjoyed racing. However as he has matured he now mainly goes on cycling tours. Cycling to him is a metaphor for life and Phil says it is not always the strongest that win, but the person who applies the right amount of efforts at the right time. Phil says he thinks this outlook applies to our lives as well as our careers. Phil also has a passion for travel and has travelled to 70 countries within the last 6 years. (02.49) Phil Lew discusses the benefits of mentors and explains that he feels he could have broadened his mentoring network when he was younger. He tells us that he thinks and believes that a lot of people are the same, that if we keep our heads down and work hard we will get on in our careers. However, Phil makes it clear that it does not always work out that way. He tells us that he really did not get enough career advice early in his career. (05.54) Phil Lew goes on to tell us what excites him about the future. He deliberates that the I.T. field is so broad that there are many ways a person can get into the industry, which excites him. He quotes Mark Anderson saying "software is eating the world" Phil Lew thinks" that software is becoming the world". He demonstrates this using the example of a remote control for a garage door and the software that you can use to control your garage door through your phone. Phil Lew says the field of software in I.T. companies is broadening. You can enter into this field from any number of places which is also exciting. (09.06) The best career advice Phil Lew has received was to pursue communication and public speaking skills. These skills have helped him throughout his career. He advises that no matter what kind of ideas you have, no matter how great they are, if you cannot communicate them, they are not worth very much. Referring to engineers he goes on to tell us that most do not have those skills (10.34) Phil Lew has career objectives that are very clear. They are aligned to his company's objectives, to be successful and to train others to grow the company enabling him to focus on strategies for the company. He believes that managers and executives need to grow people in their roles to progress within the company, and take the Managers/Executives places so they, the managers, may grow themselves. KEY TAKEAWAYS from Phil Burgess (03.03) Phil Burgess agrees with Phil Lew that mentoring is important in your career and to get that earlier on in your career is vital. We need to seek out mentors that are right for us. (07.16) Phil Burgess has the same opinion as Phil Lew with regard to people working in I.T. and how working within the industry is changing the dynamics. It is important to be able to relate to people at the front end of the business. BEST MOMENTS Phil Lew reasons that knowing values and understanding value, for example, knowing your own value and your skills will help you to be responsive to what you can get out of the market place. Phil Lew has a perceptive view of companies that do not implement software in their solutions; he fears that they will get left behind if they do not incorporate software into their plans for the future. This means that there are a lot of opportunities to get into these companies and help them out. Phil Lew says that software is the future of our economy. He started out with a Business Major then switched to an Engineering Major because he felt strongly that it was the future. He also advises to pursue communication; Phil says that this really helped him with his career as well as his public speaking skills. ABOUT THE HOST Phil Burgess, an I.T. consultant, mentor, and coach, is the creator and host of the I.T. Career Energizer Podcast. His podcast continues to inspire, assist and guide anybody wanting to start, develop and grow a career in I.T. by inviting successful I.T. professionals, consultants, and experts to share their advice, career tips and experiences. CONTACT THE HOST Website: www.itcareerenergizer.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/philburgess ABOUT THE GUEST Phil Lew is the Chief Executive Officer and President of XBOSoft. He is a keen cyclist and traveler, enjoying visiting some 70 countries in the last 6 years. His career has included selling companies that he grew and nurtured. Phil has been in the industry for 25 years. CONTACT THE GUEST Website: www.xbosoft.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/philiplew

DESCRIPTION Welcome to The IT Career Energizer. Phil Burgess introduces his guest April Wensel by telling us April is an international speaker and the founder of Compassionate Coding a social enterprise bringing emotional intelligence and social consciousness to the software industry. April is also a mentor and a keen advocate of diversity and inclusiveness in the industry. KEY TAKEAWAYS Phil Burgess starts the interview with April Wensel by asking her to expand on his summery and telling us a little bit more about herself. April tell us she has been working as a software engineer both in an individual capacity as a contributor and in an engineering team. She solves a lot of problems within the industry around human beings. This is why she started Compassionate Coding to inspire people to care about human beings and the people they are building the software for. In addition to these qualities she reveals to us that she is a Vegan which enabled her to bring compassion to the industry. Phil continues with the theme by asking April how she sees compassion having a bearing on how software is developed. April looks at it from a very rational angle that when the software product is being designed, firstly, the goal is to alleviate suffering in someone's life, and secondly how we actually go about building the software. She says we want to minimize suffering for the developers and anyone else on the team. Phil asks April "Can you perhaps tell us a unique career tip?" April discusses with Phil the benefits of identifying core values, and for her, personal filters, she advises, people should slow down and filter out some of the noises you hear in the industry. Phil agrees that identifying your core values is essential and a very good point and that if you establish what they are early, and what you want to do with your career as you mature, opinions will change but they are essential if you want a career in IT. Phil enquires of April about her worst IT moments and learning from that experience. April tells us about a job she loved and how she was upset on ethical grounds regarding how the company was progressing, she also tells us what happened to her. Phil shares with April an interview he did with David J Anderson ,and David made the point April was making, that in your career you have to make the choices between your job and what is ethically correct. Phil asks April about her career highlight or greatest success. April outlines how her view of compassionate coding spreading through the technical community has given her personal satisfaction. April had seen the lack of concern in human beings and knew she wanted to do something on her own. When she receives messages from people implementing or taking on board her ethics she says it light's her up inside. April informs us that if we are looking to have a career in IT we need to have more that coding skills. We need to be able to manage our time well, able to communicate our ideas in an effective way, and work well with others. April assures us that the industry is not as it always was perhaps being shut away in a basement on our own, but that IT is now in this modern landscape and communication skills are going to become more important. BEST MOMENTS April tells us "I've matured I am not excited by technology for technology's sake, for me the most exciting is social entrepreneurs in technology companies April explains "we are able to apply all the techniques established and apply them to social problems" Phil asks April about non technical skills. April believes listening is a very important skill to have in the industry especially when dealing with non-technical staff. "Ignore any advice that does not resonate with your core values "April says when Phil asks her to share any parting piece of advice April discusses what happened when she had to leave the company she loved working for over ethical issues. April says it was a problem with the culture of the company and its ethics. Her advice is "definitely leave when you know it's time to leave" ABOUT THE HOST Phil Burgess, an I.T. consultant, mentor, and coach, is the creator and host of I.T. Career Energizer Podcast. His podcast continues to inspire, assist and guide aspirants start and grow in their career by inviting successful professionals, consultants, and experts in the I.T. CONTACT THE HOST Website: itcareerenergizer.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philburgess ABOUT THE GUEST April Wensel's career has taken her along a path of success to founding her own business of Compassionate Coding. Her ethics and practices within Compassionate Coding centre around her belief that we should leave this world better than we found it, and that software companies need to care about human life with compassion. April believes that software technology should be used to help social problems as well as helping humans. April is a vegan, passionate about animal rights, and believes we should strive towards a more peaceful world. CON

DESCRIPTION Welcome to the I.T. Career Energizer Podcast. In this episode Phil Burgess has Sandro Mancuso as his guest. Sandro is an international and inspiring I.T. consultant, a speaker who is the co- founder of Codurance and the founder of The London Craftmanship Community. Sandro is the author of The Software Craftsman. It can be appreciated that Sandro Mancuso with 22 years experience in software gives sound advice to all who are looking to succeed in whatever field they work in. KEY TAKEAWAYS Phil Burgess starts the interview asking Sandro to tell us about his career. Sandro, who is Brazilian, started at the age of 11 years when his father bought him a TK85 2X. He discovered he could type games and codes which helped him decide that was the path he wanted to take at university. He also wanted to come to London as he knew at that time it was the hub of I.T. software. He advices us to separate our career from our job and goes on to explain how to approach this. Phil asks Sandro to tell us about his worst I.T. experience, Sandro describes to us about working in the year 2007 and 2008 when all the apps were being planned he tells us how he was employed by a company who did not listen to advice and subsequently the system went down on numerous occasions. He reminds us that software is everywhere and that it is a discipline on its own. BEST MOMENTS Sandro was working with someone he admired greatly and wanted to impress him, he was given a task which he worked on as quickly as possible to achieve a good impression, when he took it to the person he admired that person destroyed the code and deleted it. The person he so admired gave him this advice "how it is done is as important as getting it done". Phil asks for a parting piece of advice. Sandro's advice is" do not let anyone else control you career" He advises "Don't blame companies if they do not create some space for you to learn, your career is your responsibility" ABOUT THE HOST Phil Burgess, an I.T. consultant, mentor, and coach, is the creator and host of I.T. Career Energizer Podcast. His podcast continues to inspire, assist and guide aspirants start and grow in their career by inviting successful professionals, consultants, and experts in the I.T. CONTACT METHOD Website: itcareerenergizer.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philburgess ABOUT THE GUEST Sandro Mancuso is an Author and founder of the London Software Craftsmanship Community. He is co- founder of Codurance and has worked for startups, software houses, product companies, international consultancy companies and investment banks. His professional aspiration is to raise the bar of the software industry by helping developers become better at, and care more about their craft. CONTACT METHOD Website: https://codurance.com/blog/author/sandro-mancuso/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandromancuso/ Twitter: @sandromancuso

Today's episode should be very interesting not only for I.T. enthusiasts but also for everyone else who wants to upscale their game in their career. Our guest today is Jeremy Likness, a cloud developer advocate for Microsoft and he has one great piece of advice for you – be comfortable selling yourself! Jeremy's career has spanned over 20 years which he says has mostly focused on communicating with clients and customers. And, he proves that it really made a difference in his career when he started changing how he packaged himself to relay his knowledge and skills easily. These ups and downs made him brave enough to take risks, learn on his own and be determined about his goals. He made connections along the way and his goal is to empower other developers to be their best. Start listening to learn more about Jeremy's career advice! To find out more about this episode visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e60

Bill Wagner is one of the world's foremost C# developers and a member of the ECMA C# Standards Committee. He is currently with Microsoft, working on the .NET Core Content Team. Bill is also an author, blogger and creator of learning materials for developers interested in the C# language and .NET Core. In this episode Bill Wagner tells us why we should only take advice from people who have relevant experience in what we want to do. Bill also provides helpful insights into his own use of mind mapping in progressing his career and why you should not waste your time on doing things that you don't enjoy. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e59

Adda Birnir is founder and CEO of Skillcrush, an online tech education company that helps students make a career change into tech. Prior to founding Skillcrush, Adda worked as a developer, building web applications for companies such as the New York Times and ProPublica. In this episode Adda Birnir tells us why we must always be thinking about our customer's problems and how we can solve them. Adda also talks about her transition into a tech career from a liberal arts degree and how it inspired her to start her company, Skillcrush. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e58

Hadi Hariri leads the Developer Advocacy team at Jet Brains and spends as much time as he can writing code. He has authored a couple of books, a few courses and has been speaking at regular events for over 15 years. In this episode Hadi tells us why we should always dedicate time to continue to learning new things and why persistence and consistency can pay off. Hadi also talks about our self-imposed limitations and his thoughts about the future of machine learning. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e57

Dave Fancher has been building software for more than a decade. He is the owner of Achiiv Solutions as well as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, a Pluralsight author and author of "The Book of F#". Dave is also active within the software development community and has spoken at numerous events throughout the United States. In this episode Dave Fancher tells us why we need to keep our own best interests in mind and that you need to be cognizant of potential burnout. Dave also talks about personality types and the perils of poor communication. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e56

Monica Beckwith is an independent performance consultant and trainer optimizing customer applications and systems running the Java Virtual Machine. Monica is also a regular speaker at conferences and is co-author of the 'Java Performance Companion'. In this episode Monica Beckwith tells us why we need to be proactive when opportunities present themselves and how you can avoid getting lost in large organisations. Monica also talks about challenges in her own career and why you should never give up on yourself. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e55

Dan Wahlin is founder of the Wahlin Group which provides consulting and training services on Web technologies such as JavaScript, jQuery and SharePoint. He is also one of the top authors at Pluralsight and has published several courses covering a range of technologies. As well as being a Microsoft Regional Director and a regular speaker at conferences and user groups. In this episode Dan Wahlin tells us why we need to be honest and respectful of others and why those that continue to learn differentiate themselves from those that don't. Dan also talks about the opportunities within technology careers and the importance of exercising your mind as well as your body. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e54

Gene Kim has been researching high-performing technology organizations since 1999. He's a multiple award-winning CTO, Tripwire founder, co-author of The DevOps Handbook, The Phoenix Project, and Visible Ops. Gene is also a DevOps Researcher and is passionate about IT operations, security and compliance, and how IT organizations successfully transform from "good to great". In this episode Gene Kim tells us why we need to surround ourselves with the best people in our field and why he believes the best days of software engineering are ahead of us, not behind us. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e53

Jeff Patton is an independent consultant, providing training, coaching and consulting services. He has designed and developed software for the past 20 years on a wide variety of projects from on-line aircraft parts ordering to electronic medical records. Jeff has also authored numerous articles, essays and, most recently, a book, "User Story Mapping". In this episode Jeff Patton tells us why we need to spend time with the people who will use the software we deliver. Jeff also talks about the future of I.T. jobs and why you need to find that one thing that you're passionate about. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e52

David McGimpsey is UK-born and Australian raised. David has been in Information Technology since 1992, when he started working as an IT assistant, crawling around on the floor fixing hardware. Shortly afterward, following a literal stroke; and a stroke of luck; David got the opportunity to travel the world, managing the IT systems of a marketing firm. Today, David is a communication skills trainer, based in Japan, and has just released his first book. In this episode David McGimpsey tells us why you should always ask questions to confirm your understanding. David also discusses the importance of continuing to develop your communication skills and why you shouldn't rely solely on your education. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e51

Phil Japikse is an international speaker, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and a passionate member of the developer community. He has been developing software for over 30 years and has been heavily involved in the Agile community since 2005. Phil is also a published author with LinkedIn learning as well as co-author of the book "C# and the .NET 4.6 Framework". In this episode Phil Japikse tells us why we should seek out situations where we are the least knowledgeable person in the room. Phil also talks about involving the right people when designing and developing software and the importance of being polite and respectful to others. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e50

Duncan Hunter is a Software Architect based in Brisbane Australia. He spends most of his time building enterprise web applications on top of Angular and ASP.NET. Duncan is also a mentor at firebootcamp.com helping developers get up to speed with Angular and frontend best practices. In this episode Duncan tells us why it's important to find the people you want to be like and how knowing what you're passionate about makes it easier to say "No" to things that aren't of interest to you. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e49

Troy lives on the Gold Coast in Australia. He is a Microsoft Regional Director, a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and a Pluralsight author on web security and other technologies. Troy also travels the world speaking at events and training technology professionals on how to build more secure software. In this episode Troy Hunt tells us why it's important for us to have an online brand or profile and how you should start if you don't have one. Troy also talks about independence and why a passion for what you do will make your life a lot happier. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e48

Chuck Wood is a developer, podcaster, speaker and the CEO of Devchat.tv. He's host of several popular tech podcasts including Javascript Jabber and Ruby Rogues as well as being an independent software consultant with a focus on Ruby, Ruby on Rails, JQuery, Prototype.js and other web technologies. In this episode Chuck Wood talks about working freelance within the I.T. industry and why relationships are key to the success of projects and teams. Chuck also tells us that we need to be true to who we are and what we care about. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e47

Phil Haack works at GitHub bringing the power of social coding to .NET and Windows developers. Prior to GitHub Phil worked at Microsoft as a Senior Program Manager shipping software such as ASP.NET MVC and NuGet. Phil is also a co-author of the ASP.NET MVC series of books as well as a regular speaker at conferences around the world. In this episode Phil Haack tells us why we need to be prepared to have difficult conversations and why this can help your career. Phil also talks about the importance of taking care when writing code and why you should test your code carefully. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e46

Christian is a Chief Architect of cloud applications at Red Hat and is well known in the community for being an author, frequent blogger, speaker, open-source enthusiast and committer on various open-source projects. Christian has spent time at web-scale companies and now helps companies create and deploy large-scale, resilient, distributed architectures - many of what we now call Microservices. He enjoys mentoring, training and leading teams to be successful with distributed systems concepts, microservices, devops, and cloud-native application design. In this episode Christian Posta tells us why the ability to learn is of higher value than what you know, why you shouldn't be afraid to introduce new concepts, new technologies or question the way you did things in the past. And why companies recognise that I.T. is their greatest differentiator. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e45

Barbara Carkenord has designed, written and taught hundreds of classes in software design, project management, business analysis, software testing and communications skills. As an early member of the International Institute of Business Analysis, Barbara worked on the development of a worldwide standard for business analysis, the BABOK Guide. Barbara is also an author of several books including "Seven Steps To Mastering Business Analysis". In this episode Barbara Carkenord tells us why we need to have the integrity to be honest and why this can be challenging when working in software development. Barbara also shares her worst career moment, what she learnt from that experience and why you need to keep challenging yourself to try different things. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e44

Suzanne Robertson is a principal and founder of the Atlantic Systems Guild. She is co-author of Mastering the Requirements Process, a guide for practitioners on finding requirements and writing them so that all stakeholders understand them. Suzanne is also a member of the IEEE and the British Computer Society as well as a regular speaker at conferences and universities. In this episode Suzanne Robertson explains why you should not expect people to tell you what they need from a software system. Suzanne also discusses how software engineering can benefit from disciplines outside of the I.T. and technology field and why you should open your mind to a future of possibilities. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e43

Rex Black is president of RBCS. He is a testing leader, providing consulting, training and expert services. Rex has helped clients, from small start-ups to Fortune 20 global enterprises, apply testing best practice in a wide variety of development lifecycles. Rex is also a prolific author having written fourteen books and dozens of articles over the past 20 years as well as being a past president of both the ISTQB and the ASTQB. In this episode Rex Black tells us why Software Testers are having to become more technically skilled and why the I.T. industry is interesting, inspiring and scary, all at the same time. Rex also talks about his career experiences and the pace of change in technologies, methodologies and expectations. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e42

David J Anderson is the Chairman of Lean Kanban Inc, a management training, events and publishing business which licenses its brand and franchises its events and training classes globally. David began his career as a games developer in the early 1980s and has worked at companies including IBM, Sprint, Motorola and Microsoft. He is also author of several books including the best-selling Kanban - Successful Evolutionary Change for your Technology Business. In this episode David tells us why we need to have Mastery, Autonomy and Purpose, and that you need to be prepared to fire your boss. David also discusses the career decisions you may have to make between being professional & ethical and keeping your job as well as the importance of sociology in the I.T. industry. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e41

Simon Brown is an independent consultant specialising in software architecture. He is author of the book "Software Architecture for Developers" and creator of the C4 software architecture model. Simon is also an award winning speaker, presenting at conferences, meetups and organisations around the world. In this episode Simon Brown tells us why we can't afford to stop learning and what we need to be doing to ensure that we don't. Simon also explains why we need to be selective in what we choose to learn about in detail and why anyone can make an impact in the I.T. industry. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e40

Brian P Hogan is a web developer, teacher, book editor and musician. He is also author of several books including, "Exercises For Programmers". Brian is currently a Technical Editor at Digital Ocean and is also a development editor at the Pragmatic Programmers as well as a panellist on the Ruby Rogues podcast. In this episode Brian tells us why software development is mostly about people and that it's about solving problems. Brian also talks about making the most of opportunities to engage with smart people, why the answer is always 'No' unless you say 'Yes', and why just having a backup of your data is not enough. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e39

Scott Allen has more than 25 years of commercial software development experience across a wide range of technologies. He has successfully delivered software products for embedded, Windows and web platforms. Scott is also a Pluralsight course creator, a host on the podcast Herding Code, a published author and a conference speaker. In this episode K. Scott Allen talks about the importance of having your own brand and being able to differentiate yourself from others. Scott also tells us why obstacles can provide great learning experiences and why he believes that cloud technology provides innovation and opportunity. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e38

Ted Neward is an industry professional with over 20 years' experience. He speaks at conferences all over the world and writes regularly for a variety of publications across the Java, .NET and other ecosystems. He currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, two sons, dog, four cats, eight laptops, seven tablets, nine phones, and a rather large utility bill. In this episode Ted talks about psychology and philosophy in I.T. and why empathy, sympathy and compassion will help you in your career. Ted also tells us why failures provide great lessons and why he believes technology has become embedded into western society. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e37

In this first episode of 2018 Phil Burgess takes a look back at the first eight months of the IT Career Energizer podcast and talks about how the podcast came about. Phil also looks forward to what you can expect from the podcast in 2018, describing some of the changes and additions planned for the show.

Jay Miller has been a system administrator for the military and in the private sector since 2008. He actively participates in several online communities, learning to develop in different languages such as JavaScript and Python. Jay's involvement in these communities led him to host the CodeNewbie Saturday discussions and eventually to starting the Productivity In Tech podcast. In this episode Jay talks about finding the one thing that you're good at and why you should become the subject matter expert of it. Jay tells us why we should be selective when opportunities present themselves and the consequences of making the wrong choice. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e36

Kent C Dodds is a full stack JavaScript engineer at PayPal whom he represents on the TC39, which is the committee that evolves JavaScript. Kent is actively involved in the open source community with over 100 published npm packages and a contributor on many more. He is also an Egghead.io instructor, Frontend Masters instructor and Google Developer Expert. Kent is happily married and the father of four kids. He likes code, cares about craft, design, tools and architecture. In this episode Kent tells us that there's no shortcut to gaining experience and you should try to learn, build and teach to develop your skills. Kent also talks about why building a social media following can benefit your career and why you should always be kind and considerate to others. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e35

Hans Eckman is an experienced Business Analyst who provides leadership and consulting to rapidly evolving companies. This includes helping in the development of disruptive programmes and products that drive innovation and process improvement. Hans is also an experienced conference speaker having given over 50 presentations in the U.S. and Canada. In this episode Hans tells us why it's people and processes that determine the success of I.T. projects and why it's your responsibility to market and to promote your uniqueness and your value. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e34

Heather Downing is a passionate coder and entrepreneur. She is also an international technical speaker and co-host of the YouTube channel "The Hello World Show". She also likes to encourage those with non-traditional backgrounds to enter the world of software development and is an advocate of women in tech. In this episode Heather talks about how she started her career in I.T. and why you should consider becoming a thought leader in your field, even early on in your career. Heather also discusses the importance of asking for help and the consequences of not doing so as well as why a career in I.T. is great for anyone who likes to be challenged.# To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e33

Cory House is a Pluralsight author, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, Software Architect, international speaker and principal at React JS Consulting. He has trained over 10,000 software developers at conferences and businesses worldwide on clean coding practices, front-end development, testing and software architecture. Cory currently specializes in JavaScript and front-end development using React. In this episode Cory talks about the impact that public speaking has had on his career progression and why multi-tasking can result in failure. Cory tells us about an unexpected success and why you shouldn't be trying to do it all. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e32

Rob Conery has been working in the technology field since 1998 as a DBA and then a web developer, originally with a focus on Microsoft ASP.NET. Rob is also author of The Imposter's Handbook, which is a compendium of skills and concepts for any self-taught programmer. In this episode Rob talks about his career in IT, sharing his worst career moment and greatest successes. Rob also discusses why you should consider going where others haven't been before, why an IT career needs to be fun and why you need to listen to yourself. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e31

Steve Smith is an entrepreneur and software developer with a passion for building quality software as effectively as possible. He provides mentoring and training workshops for teams with the desire to improve. Steve has been recognised as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for over 10 consecutive years and is a frequent speaker at software developer conferences and events.

Stewart Noakes has been an I.T. consultant since the mid 90s. In 2000 Stewart set up TCL, an independent software testing consultancy, growing the company to around 150 employees. TCL was subsequently acquired by Qualitest in 2012. Stewart has since used his entrepreneurial experience to help both new and established organisations to innovate and change. In this episode Stewart tells us that we need to be able to identify the gap between where we are in our career now and where we want to get to. Stewart also explains why you need to be flexible and open minded as your career progresses as well as why staying relevant is so important. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e29

Eoin Woods is a professionally qualified technical architect with over twenty years' experience in the capital markets and software product domains. Eoin is a regular conference speaker as well as a published author, which includes being co-author of the book "Software Systems Architecture" and Chief Technical Officer at Endava. In this episode Eoin tells us why our skills have both a software engineering and a commercial value. Eoin also talks about the unpredictability of future technologies and why Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain excite him. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e28

Emily Atkinson is a software engineer and Managing Director of DevelopHer, formerly Girls In Tech UK. Emily is passionate about encouraging others to learn more and has an interest in the crossover with tech and education. She is also a regular speaker at events and workshops. In this episode Emily talks about the importance of having a career development plan and how it will help to propel your career forward. Emily also tells us why we need to be continually challenged and why you shouldn't get too comfortable in your job. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e27

Visit itcareerenergizer.com for complete show notes of every episode El Mehdi Marhoum is the Co-President and Co-Founder of benel Solutions. He describes himself as an entrepreneur and lifelong hacker, and an expert in developing and architecting scalable and innovative software solutions. Prior to founding benel Solutions El Medhi was an Enterprise Solutions Architect having started out as a Software Engineer. In this episode El Mehdi tells us why I.T. professionals need to be patient when learning new skills as technology evolves. He also talks about the importance of clearly defining and agreeing tasks with your manager before you carry them out. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e26

Will Bushee has been involved in technology startups his entire career. As a leading expert on web harvesting, he runs BrightPlanet and has 8 US patents on Deep Web harvesting. He is also author of "Wired for Coding," a guide for IT students on how to stand out from the crowd and land their first job. In this episode Will Bushee discusses why I.T. professionals need to be good speakers and how it can benefit your career. Will also talks about the importance of conducting yourself professionally when discussing other companies with colleagues and acquaintances. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e25

Ryland Leyton is a Certified Business Analyst Professional having worked in the I.T. industry since the late 90s. Ryland is also a conference speaker and an agile coach for the International Institute of Business Analysis as well as author of the book "The Agile Business Analyst: Moving From Waterfall To Agile". In this episode Ryland talks about the continued popularity of agile, how business need to adapt to new ways of working and why none of your experiences are ever wasted. Ryland also discusses the importance of not being perceived as over confident. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e24

Kevin Beaver has more than 28 years of experience in I.T., the last 22 years of which have been dedicated to computer and information security. Kevin is author or co-author of a dozen information security books including the best-selling Hacking For Dummies, Hacking Wireless Networks For Dummies and the Practical Guide to HIPAA Privacy and Security Compliance. As well as a prolific writer, Kevin is also creator and author of the Security On Wheels information security audio programs. In this episode Kevin talks about the need for non-technical skills and the importance of communication. Kevin also talks about how writing "Hacking For Dummies" has helped his career and why you should get yourself known for what you do. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e23

Thomas LaRock is a Head Geek at SolarWinds and a Microsoft Certified Master, Microsoft Data Platform MVP, VMware vExpert, and former Microsoft Certified Trainer. Thomas has over 20 years' experience in the I.T. industry in roles such as programmer, developer, analyst and database administrator. In this episode Thomas explains why people don't care about effort or how difficult something is to achieve. Thomas also talks about the importance of being a generalist even when you are a specialist in one particular area of I.T. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e22

David Rael describes himself as a dad, problem solver, software creator and productivity expert. David is also host of the podcast Developer On Fire which he started in 2015 as a way of stepping outside of his comfort zone. In this episode David talks about the need to take action and providing value. David also discusses the importance of family and why you should continually test your understanding as you learn new things. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e21.

Laurence Bradford is the creator of Learn To Code With Me, helping people to get ahead in their careers and ultimately find more fulfilment in their lives. Laurence has developed a passion for education and specialises in product education and product management in the EdTech industry. In this episode Laurence talks about how you can reverse engineer your job hunt, why you shouldn't try to learn multiple coding languages at the same time and why machine learning, artificial intelligence and data science have great potential. Laurence also talks about her blog and podcast, Learn To Code With Me. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e20.

Paul Rayment is a seasoned I.T. professional having worked in the I.T. industry for more than 20 years. Paul is currently a senior project manager for Wilson Legal Solutions, who provide independent advice and consultancy to law firms in partnership with I.T. solution providers in the legal sector. In this episode Paul talks about his I.T. career journey and how motivation and hard work are essential for success. Paul also discusses the importance of being positive and professional as well as the need to learn from both your triumphs and disasters. To find out more about this episode, visit the show notes page at www.itcareerenergizer.com/e19.