IT Career Energizer

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/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact Phil is also reachable by email at phil@itcareerenergizer.com 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 – Jennifer Wong Phil’s  guest on today’s show is a 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.   CONTACT THE GUEST – Jennifer Wong Jennifer Wong can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/mybluewristband LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferewong/ Website: https://www.mochimachine.com  

Kristijan Ristovski, founder of React Academy and ok-Google and developer of sizzy.co browser, discusses the benefits of solving your own problems, launching side projects to get known, and the value of stretching yourself as a developer. He shares his worst career moment and how investing in marketing could have made a difference. The podcast also covers advice for starting an IT career, forming teams, using comedy in career development, and finding purpose to prevent burnout.

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 at phil@itcareerenergizer.com 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 – Adam Tornhill Phil’s guest on today’s show is Adam Tornhill. He 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”. Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamTornhill LinkedIn: https://se.linkedin.com/in/adam-tornhill-71759b48 Website: https://empear.com   CONTACT THE GUEST – Adam Tornhill Adam Thornhill can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamTornhill LinkedIn: https://se.linkedin.com/in/adam-tornhill-71759b48 Website: https://empear.com      

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.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@itcareerenergizer.com 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 – Eric Weinstein Eric Weinstein 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.   CONTACT THE GUEST – Eric Weinstein Eric Weinstein can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericqweinstein LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericqweinstein/ Website: http://ericweinste.in/    

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@itcareerenergizer.com 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 – Lalitkumar Bhamare Lalitkumar Bhamare 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.   CONTACT THE GUEST – Lalitkumar Bhamare Lalitkumar Bhamare can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lalitbhamare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalitkumarbhamare/ Website: https://www.talesoftesting.com/

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 phil@itcareerenergizer.com 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 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.   CONTACT THE GUEST – Simon Prior Simon Prior can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/siprior LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-prior-0499372/ Website: https://priorsworld.wordpress.com/  

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 phil@itcareerenergizer.com 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 Server and the author of a couple of books.     CONTACT THE GUEST – DOMINICK BAIER Dominick Baier can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms: Twitter: https://twitter.com/leastprivilege LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominickbaier/ Website: https://leastprivilege.com

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 phil@itcareerenergizer.com 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 Jehl Scott Jehl 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.   CONTACT THE GUEST – Scott Jehl Scott Jehl can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottjehl GitHub: https://github.com/scottjehl Website: https://scottjehl.com/

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.com/philtechcareer Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact   Phil is also reachable by email at phil@itcareerenergizer.com 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 – James Quick James Quick is the 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.   CONTACT THE GUEST – James Quick James Quick can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamesqquick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesqquick/ Website: https://www.learnbuildteach.com/    

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 phil@itcareerenergizer.com 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 show is Graeme Rocher. 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.   CONTACT THE GUEST – Graeme Rocher Graeme Rocher can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/graemerocher LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graemerocher/