I.t. Career Energizer: Phil Burgess Chats With Robert C Martin, John Sonmez, David Rael And Other Successful It Professionals

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Leon Kuperman, the co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Cast AI. He has worked in technology for more than 20 years in roles that cover product management, software design & development though to production deployment.   Leon talks about the value in fostering an engineering mind-set. He also discusses the importance of following our passions and how working on things we’re interested in can help us to be far more productive.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Developing an engineering mind-set is a keystone element in ensuring that you have a successful career as an IT leader. You must be immersed in the subject matter of what you are building.   WORST CAREER MOMENT A system was taken offline by hackers who demanded a ransom in order to release it back to the company Leon was working for. Rather than pay their demands, Leon was tasked with fixing the problem, retrieving the site and ensuring it could not happen again. However, this was not possible. The ransom was p

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Sunir Shah, the founder and CEO of AppBind as well as president of the Cloud Software Association. He has spent his career creating and selling software products to improve how the internet works. And he believes that nothing is more profitable than becoming a piece of the internet! Sunir talks to Phil about why we should make use of the internet to reach out to those with knowledge and experience. He also discusses the value in reminding ourselves of our own capabilities when challenges arise.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP The world is filled with fascinating people, each imbued with an arsenal of knowledge. Seek them out and talk to them. The internet has made this a much easier prospect as we are all connected.   WORST CAREER MOMENT As well as suffering a crisis of self-doubt and pivoting in his career, Sunir was fired after a particularly disappointing business encounter. But this experience led him to the founding of his company.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Sunir had deliver

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Meredydd Luff, the CEO and cofounder of Anvil, a platform for building full-stack web apps entirely in Python. He has a PhD in building usable programming systems from Cambridge University and he wants to make programming more accessible for everyone. Meredydd talks about the importance of finding your “and” – the secondary skill that adds value to you. He also discusses why bringing your unique offerings to your IT career can make all the difference.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Look for what your personal “and” is. If you are just a developer then that’s okay, but it’s always best to be one thing “and” another. This makes life much more interesting and yourself much more valuable.   WORST CAREER MOMENT After completing a huge amount of work, Meredydd discovered that his system had been built upon degraded hard disks. This led to a huge outage for a popular messaging system in the Philippines.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Starting and building Anvil – taking the complete system

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Ulf Schwekendiek, the first mobile engineer at Siri before it was acquired by Apple as well as a co-founder of Ditto which was acquired by Groupon. He is now the co-founder and CEO of Centered, designing the platform and building a team that shares his passion for achieving mindfulness at work. Ulf talks about the importance of keeping your creative spirit alive as your career progresses. He also discusses the value in documenting your ideas.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP If you have a creative spirit, always make sure that you keep this spirit alive in whatever you do. Make time to create and always be curious about what could be.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Ulf experienced a time in his career when he felt as though he should become a manager, because of the expectations placed upon him by others. He soon realized that this was not where his passion truly lay.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Ulf prefers to focus upon the failures of his career, rather than become too nostalgic for the hi

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Matthew Gaddy, a productivity and high-performance coach for engineers, helping them to operate at their best so that they can produce work that makes a difference. He is on a mission to increase productivity in a way that reduces stress and fosters a quality working environment. Matthew talks about the importance of visualizing our ideal outcomes and sticking to the roadmap that will take us there. He also discusses the value of time management and how planning can help.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Begin with the end in mind! We often get so caught up in the task itself that we lose sight of why we began in the first place.   WORST CAREER MOMENT When first applying productivity techniques to his work, Matthew found that he unfortunately burned himself out. This led to a greater understanding of the importance of taking time out.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT After making a huge leap in his career, Matthew recognized the value in ensuring we have sufficient reserves in case of se

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Michal Juhas, who has worked in the tech industry for more than 16 years. He has held a variety of positions during his career, from software developer to chief technical officer. And in 2019 he founded Geek Recruiters and he is now an IT Talent Advisor, Recruiter, Career Coach and Trainer as well as the author of 6 books and the creator of multiple video courses. Michal joins Phil to talk about why it’s crucial to gain as much experience as possible in the early days of your career, as well as the ways in which a note could help your job applications.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP At the beginning of your IT career journey, look for ways to gain more experience by accepting tasks from those who need work done. This looks great on your record when you come to the interviewing process.   WORST CAREER MOMENT When Michal’s company went out of business. He had built it from scratch, but it ultimately failed. Michal learned not to be too over-optimistic and be more realistic

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Edidiong Asikpo, a developer advocate who writes technical articles about Kubernetes, web development, soft skills and open-source contributions. She has given more than 50 talks at various tech conferences and meetups around the world and also played a significant role in building three of the most impactful developer communities in Africa. Edidiong talks about the importance of embracing new opportunities. She also discusses consistency and why it matters so much when it comes to your career.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Always make sure that you take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. The best way to grow your career is to remain open to new possibilities.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Edidiong needed to set up a workshop, and was supposed to be facilitating the operation of it. When it finally came time to present the project, her internet connection was lost and the event could not be attended.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT After joining a company struggling with cert

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Sham Jabeen, who has worked in the tech industry for the past 12 years, starting her career is an Account Manager for an IT support and services company. She is now a Senior Account Manager for Total Computers, where she works in partnership with vendors such as Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Microsoft and Google, and manages clients in the legal, financial and gaming industries. She is also the co-founder of Tech UK as well as a tech mentor and empowerment coach with a specific focus on women and diversity. Sham talks about the value of building relationships. She also discusses the importance of finding a mentor, and how coaching can help to guide our career paths.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Building long term relationships are the key to a long term career. Your network is your net worth, and foundations built throughout your career will serve you at all points.   WORST CAREER MOMENT After beginning at a certain company, she was dismayed to find that the culture ther

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Ben Hong, a Vue.js Core Team Member and a Staff Developer Experience Engineer at Netlify as well as a Google Developer Expert in Web Technologies & Map Platforms. He has spoken, taught and Emc’ed around the world at events such as VueConfUS, Vue Toronto and O’Reilly’s Fluent Conf. He is also a lead instructor at Vue Mastery, one of the premier learning platforms for the Vue.js community. Ben discusses the value in investing in yourself with a growth mind-set. He also talks about why we should always appreciate our personal career path, and the experiences that make it unique.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Always invest in yourself with a growth mind-set. Look for methods and ways to improve and develop in your own time, as every time your move forward, you add value to your career as a whole.   WORST CAREER MOMENT After completing a project, Ben was suddenly asked about which direction he wished to go next, and could not answer. This taught him the value in focusing

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Annie Liew, who graduated from a Front-End bootcamp in summer 2019 and is currently the Front-End Engineering Lead at Pastel. She’s passionate about bringing the technical and visual aspects of digital products to life and cares deeply about the user experience, beautiful pixels and writing clean, accessible code. Her goal is to become exceptional at Front-End built on strong foundational UX concepts. She is also very active in the tech and design community. Annie talks about how effective focus can help you to dig deep into a problem set, as well as help to develop your skills. She also discusses the importance of retaining the fun in everything you do during your IT career.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Honing your ability to do deep work, and concentrating your focus can help you to achieve a deep focus in tasks and help to develop your skill set going forward.   WORST CAREER MOMENT While creating an app from scratch for her tech challenge during an interview process,

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Toni Collis, the CEO of Collis-Holmes Innovations, an award-winning leader, International Keynote speaker, Consultant and Leadership Coach. Her career has focused on facilitating the use of technology, and she believes that this requires true diversity in the future leadership of the tech industry. As Founder of Women in High Performance Computing (WHPC), she developed and led innovations aiming to diversify the international Supercomputing workforce. And in early 2019, she began to focus on her passion for broadening diversity & inclusion in the technology industry. She now offers Leadership & Executive Coaching for women in tech, with a personal goal of assisting 2000 women into the tech boardroom in the next 5 years. Toni talks about why remaining in our comfort zones can be restrictive. She also discusses why resilience is the key to overcome challenges.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP If you are not growing, then you’re shrinking. The longer we remain in our c

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Devin Ford, a self-taught front-end developer who enjoys solving complex problems under pressure. And he regularly tweets about what he’s doing and shares what he’s learnt along the way. Devin talks about the power of networking and how it can accelerate your career. He also discusses why resilience is the key to learning, and how to overcome rejection.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Many believe that you should have lots of projects going on at the same time. However, it is far better to have a variety of projects ongoing, as this will demonstrate your flexibility and breadth of knowledge.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Having failed to check a process, Devin found that a crucial error was made, which taught him the value of always making sure not to rush, especially when it comes to quality control.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Devin’s current work, involving building something that will make a huge difference to the way people engage with his platform.   THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Jack Domleo, a front-end developer who loves working with web technologies and creating things for users to interact with. He has a particular passion for UX, accessibility and self-development. He is also the author of “Level-Up Your Career Today: Developer Edition” as well as a blogger and a speaker. Jack talks about the importance of diversifying when it comes to projects. He also discusses why we must not make excuses, and put the work in to get the things we truly want in life and in our careers.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Many believe that you should have lots of projects going on at the same time. However, it is far better to have a variety of projects ongoing, as this will demonstrate your flexibility and breadth of knowledge.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Jack was made redundant from his apprenticeship. After six months, the company went bankrupt, and at such a young age, he initially believed that his career had been irretrievably affected.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Being

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Michelle Barker, a Lead Front End Developer for Atomic Smash and the author of front-end blog CSS In Real Life. She likes to build fun, creative websites and side projects that are also performant and accessible. She has written articles and regularly speaks about front end development at web conferences and meetups, covering topics such as CSS Grid Layout and CSS Custom Properties. Michelle talks about the value of community and how it can energise your career development. She also discusses why learning should always be fun, and the value of taking time out to realign with what lights you up.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Find a community – online or offline – and allow the people there to help and guide you. This can greatly accelerate your personal development and growth.   WORST CAREER MOMENT When returning from maternity leave, Michelle an extra sense of pressure in terms of proving herself, along with being exhausted and overwhelmed by new parenthood. Since then,

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Rob Rastovich, the Chief Technical Officer at ThingLogix, a provider of Internet of Things solutions, solution components and advisory services. He has been actively involved in technology for nearly 30 years including what is now known as Amazon’s AWS IoT. As CTO of ThingLogix he is the chief architect behind the company’s ground-breaking IoT platform that eliminates the need for code. Rob talks about the importance of continual learning and how it can advance our IT career paths. He also discusses why we must never feel boxed in by the career we choose, and why it’s okay to follow our passions into other fields.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP We must always be learning. The IT industry is never static, and so we must endeavour to keep abreast of what’s new, and master the skills and tools that push us forward.   WORST CAREER MOMENT While working on a job, Rob accidentally deleted some invaluable information on a server. It taught him to always make sure that he is aware

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Leila Singh, a tech industry career coach who works with high-achieving career professionals who may be feeling stuck, frustrated and undervalued. She has a passion for bringing out the best in others which she does through the mi-brand academy. She is also a TEDx & Keynote Speaker, an Author and host of the mi-brand HQ podcast. Leila talks about why hard work is only part of the reason you’ll advance in your IT career. She also discusses why you need to be remembered for the right reasons to the people who matter.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Hard work alone is not enough to succeed in your career. You also need to make yourself know, and to stand out in order to advance.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Upon joining a new organization, Leila quickly began to realise that the culture was not compatible with her own values. It also taught her the value of standing out for the right reasons.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Leila counts her entire career trajectory as her career highlight, w

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Fernando Doglio, who describes himself as a fulltime geek. He’s an experienced Software Development Manager and architect with a background in Web Development and Big Data architectures. He also writes technical articles and is a published author, his latest book being ‘Codes Well with Others’ which is being published by Manning. Fernando talks about why we must continue to learn throughout our careers. He also discusses why it’s okay to ask questions in order to make sure we do the job well.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP You must always learn how to learn. Development is the key to a long and successful career in IT, which is always changing and always growing.   WORST CAREER MOMENT Early in his career, Fernando deleted the homepage belonging to a client due to a minor error. Luckily a fellow worker had kept a backup, but it taught Fernando the value of taking care to back up at every moment.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT The current position being held is one that brings great sa

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Alan Pope, an Engineering Manager and Developer Advocate for InfluxData, the creator of InfluxDB which is an open-source time series database. He is also a podcaster and he describes himself as a through and through geek. Alan talks about why it’s okay to move on when the time is right in your career journey. He also discusses why it’s important to take people’s advice with a pinch of salt.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP It’s okay to move on in your career when the time is right. Never feel as though you are chained to a position for your entire career. Being comfortable is often not a place where we challenge and grow.   WORST CAREER MOMENT When transitioning to a new company, Alan was confronted by HR who advised him that if he left, it would damage his career journey. It was a time of anxiety, but their threats came to nothing.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Alan trained many aspiring IT professionals, so when it came to looking for a position of his own, his reputation was alread

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Neil Day, who has more than 30 years of experience in the industry having started his career as a coder with Apple. He went on to manage online systems for Walmart and Sears before creating the successful start-up MediaMaster. He is now the Chief Technical Officer for R-Zero. Neil talks about why the search for new initiatives may not always like in your immediate vicinity. He also discusses the value that can be found in building a great team.   KEY TAKEAWAYS:   TOP CAREER TIP Don’t always look for problems to solve within the world of IT only. Broaden your search and the solutions you will find may surprise you.   WORST CAREER MOMENT While working for Walmart, Neil’s team had been rushed to finish a web solution, but when the product was released, it was found to be lacking in many areas. Subsequently, Neil and the team were hurried back into action to enact a fix, which proved very challenging.   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Neil is extraordinarily proud of the achievements he attain

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Jessica Chan, a self-taught web developer who provides practical tips and tutorials for beginners in web development which she shares through blog posts and her YouTube channel, ‘Coder Coder’. Jessica talks about why communication skills are so important in an IT career. She also discusses the importance of patience when it comes to setting life goals.   KEY TAKEAWAYS: TOP CAREER TIP Communication skills are equally as important as the technical skills we need, in order to have a successful IT career.   WORST CAREER MOMENT While working on a website redesign, Jessica mistakenly deleted a huge amount of work and was unable to retrieve it. While it was touch and go for a while, Jessica learned to keep backups!   CAREER HIGHLIGHT Being able to quit her full time job as a developer and focus on content creation, teaching others how to engage with coding and fulfilling her ambitions to become more independent.   THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The growth of developer advocate roles,