#180 - Becoming a Distinguished Engineer, Public Speaking, and Early Retirement - Kelsey Hightower

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Jun 24, 2024

Guest Kelsey Hightower shares insights on career success, entrepreneurial mindset, impact vs. activity, public speaking, building a personal brand, early retirement, staying engaged in your career, and the impact of AI on software developers' careers.

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ANECDOTE

Kelsey's Career Journey

Kelsey Hightower's career journey started with an entrepreneurial mindset by opening a computer store and getting A+ certified instead of college.
This led to diverse roles in data centers, web hosting, and financial institutions, eventually pivoting to open source contributions and joining Google Cloud.

INSIGHT

Entrepreneurial Mindset as an Employee

An entrepreneurial mindset is valuable even as an employee.
It encourages thinking about the business as a whole and taking ownership beyond one's defined role.

ADVICE

Taking Risks Within a Role

Take calculated risks within your role by understanding how the company makes money and suggesting improvements aligned with business goals.
Prepare a plan, gather evidence, and be ready to lead the execution.

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“Learn the difference between activities and impact. Sometimes we spend our career trying to get really great at activities. Always ask yourself, what is the impact of the work I’m doing?”

From Google Distinguished Engineer to early retirement, Kelsey Hightower has a career journey filled with lessons for tech professionals at every stage. In this episode, Kelsey reflects on his journey, revealing why he decided to retire early, and offering valuable insights and lessons learned.

Discover the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset, differentiating between activity and impact, and building a strong personal brand. Kelsey reveals his top strategies for becoming a confident public speaker and shares his thoughts on staying engaged and planning your career path. Plus, we touch on the impact of AI on software developers’ careers.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry’s most respected figures and gain a unique perspective on achieving career success and fulfillment.

Listen out for:

Career Journey - [00:01:35]
Entrepreneurial Mindset - [00:04:15]
Taking Risks in Our Role - [00:07:50]
Activity vs Impact - [00:11:45]
Thinking in Bigger Impact - [00:16:04]
Impact of AI - [00:24:52]
Getting Good at Public Speaking - [00:31:23]
Building a Personal Brand - [00:38:05]
Retiring Early - [00:44:04]
Getting Engaged in Our Career - [00:50:49]
Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:57:48]

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Kelsey Hightower’s Bio
Kelsey has worn every hat possible throughout his career in tech and enjoys leadership roles focused on making things happen and shipping software. Prior to his retirement, he was a Distinguished Engineer at Google, where he worked on Google Cloud Platform. He is a strong open source advocate with a focus on building great software as well as great communities around them. He is also an accomplished author and keynote speaker with a knack for demystifying complex topics, doing live demos and enabling others to succeed. When he is not writing code, you can catch him giving technical workshops covering everything from programming to system administration.

Follow Kelsey:

Twitter / X – @kelseyhightower
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/kelsey-hightower-849b342b1
Email – kelsey.hightower@gmail.com

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