Ship It! Cloud, SRE, Platform Engineering A learning mindset, starting with COBOL
Sep 27, 2024
David Beale, a career navigator skilled in on-the-job learning, shares his journey in tech, including his unexpected dive into COBOL while working in a toy distribution center. He discusses the evolution of his coding skills and the shift from casual projects to structured environments. The conversation also touches on the challenges of transitioning between cloud platforms like Heroku and AWS, the importance of in-person work, and how personal projects can lead to career advancement. Beale emphasizes resilience and adaptability in today's tech landscape.
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Learning COBOL for a Toy Factory
- David Beale learned COBOL to land a temp job at a toy distribution center, despite primarily having scripting language experience.
- He used online resources to learn enough for the interview and continued learning on the job, supporting AS400 systems and hand scanners.
Skateboarding and Coding
- David's initial coding experience stemmed from his passion for skateboarding.
- Unable to afford skate videos, he wrote a bot to download them incrementally over his slow dial-up connection.
Early Career Advice
- For early-career technologists, David recommends moving to a city and working in person.
- He emphasizes the value of in-person collaboration and learning by osmosis, which is difficult to replicate remotely.