Justin Garrison, a developer with an impressive background, discusses transitioning from physical labor to a tech career, exploring the similarities between technology and automotive expertise. He reflects on financial constraints shaping his vehicle and computer choices, emphasizing the importance of patience and adaptability in the tech industry. Additionally, he highlights the value of empowering others through open source and tech education, aiming for a more inclusive and innovative tech community.
Transition from mechanical passion to tech career due to financial pressures in college.
Importance of understanding system complexity in tech akin to intricate car engines.
Value of personal growth through rejection in open-source contributions and focus on learning process over immediate validation.
Deep dives
Transitioning into Technology and Education
Initially having little exposure to technology, the guest shares their journey from high school typewriters to their work in the university's technology department. Despite viewing themselves as a future mechanic due to their love for cars, financial pressures in college led them to tech roles, such as providing tech support and working with Linux. They gradually transitioned to technology careers, realizing the financial stability and opportunities tech offered.
Cars and Technology Intersections
Drawing parallels between cars and tech systems, the guest highlights the complexity underlying seemingly simple interfaces, like driving a car. They emphasize understanding systems beyond the surface functionality, likening car engines to complex technological infrastructures. The guest's passion for cars contrasts with their late entry into the tech world, where they found a new appreciation for developing intricate systems, like Kubernetes.
Contributing to Open Source and Value Judgments
The guest discusses their early experiences in open-source contributions, delving into the emotional journey of having a code contribution rejected. They express how personal growth and learning from such experiences outweigh immediate validation. Despite facing rejection, they discovered the value of sharing knowledge through open-source projects and focusing on the learning process rather than external validation.
Navigating Corporate Open Source Politics and Technology Decisions
The guest reflects on navigating corporate open-source politics, paralleling their experience at Disney with the broader context of technology decision-making. They underscore the influence of political considerations on open-source initiatives, citing the Kubernetes project as an example. The guest delves into the evolving landscape of open-source governance, where community collaborations and neutral platforms play crucial roles in shaping the direction of tech projects.
Transitioning to Containerization for Application Deployment
Moving from a cumbersome process of deploying applications, which involved extensive setups like sending emails, accessing virtual machines, and manually configuring Jenkins and Git, the speaker reveals a paradigm shift towards containerization. Embracing the efficiency and simplicity of containers, they describe setting up container hosts to streamline deployment, eliminating the need for manual configurations and dependencies. Exploring Mesos' pluggable architecture for schedulers further sparked interest, leading to considerations of integrating Mesos with containerization for improved efficiency and scalability.
Empowering Teams with Kubernetes for Application Deployment
Initial skepticism towards Kubernetes was transformed when a crucial interaction with Kelsey Hightower revealed the extensibility and pluggability of the Kubernetes API. By delving into Kubernetes' API, the speaker built a scheduler in Bash, unlocking insights into Kubernetes' customizable capabilities and its potential for enhanced deployment automation. Transitioning from manual setups to a hardware Kubernetes cluster showcased the empowerment of teams in deploying applications, simplifying processes and enhancing efficiency through containerization and Kubernetes integration.
Justin is a developer who’s helped create Oscar winning movies at Disney Animation, built infrastructure for Disney+, and worked on EKS at AWS. He is now the Director of Developer Relations at Sidero Labs and host of the Ship it! podcast