236: Why Altruism Really Pays as Does the Right Work-Life Balance with Simo Ahava

Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Simo Ahava. He is a recognised expert on customizing web analytics and tag management solutions to improve the entire "life cycle" of data collection, processing and reporting.   His main areas of expertise lie with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager, and Google has appointed him as a Google Developer Expert in these fields.   He is also a partner and co-founder at 8-bit-sheep, a prolific blogger and an experienced conference speaker.   In this episode, Phil and Simo Ahava discuss how helping others sharpens your skills and keeps you in touch with the fundamentals. They also talk about how compromising your personal values usually have a negative impact on your career.   Simo also shares how to prepare for entrepreneurship and when to make the switch from being an employee.   KEY TAKEAWAYS: (4.36) TOP CAREER TIP Find a community around a topic you are good at or would like to become good at. Share, guide and be proactive in that community.   You will gain a reputation for being altruistic. This in itself comes with a big payback but helping others will also enable you to stay proficient and appreciate the importance of the fundamentals. In the podcast, Simo shares a hidden benefit of doing this.   (7.01) WORST CAREER MOMENT When Simo first started public speaking, he felt he needed to get some experience under his belt. As a result, he took on work that he now regrets doing.   The problems were interesting. But he was working for payday loan and alternative medicine companies. Both are industries he is extremely ambivalent about. Worse, looking back, he now realises that working for them was completely unnecessary.   (10.06) CAREER HIGHLIGHT Becoming an entrepreneur instead of being an employee. At the time he made the move, he was scared out of his pants. Fortunately, it has turned out to be a great journey.   Partly because he had put a lot of hard work into his career before making the move. Building a good reputation and a strong network. In the podcast, Simo explains how he prepared himself for becoming an entrepreneur.   (13.14) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T The fact that there will always be a new technological challenge to surmount excites Simo. There is a lot going on in virtually every field, especially quantum computing, IoT, AR, VR, AI, electric cars and autonomous vehicles. With this constantly developing blue ocean of possibilities in front of us, there will be challenges. The fact we are facing some huge problems like climate change adds even more. What is exciting is that we have the potential to solve these with computation or technology.   (16.40) THE REVEAL What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The opportunity to turn his hobby into a profession. What's the best career advice you received? – As soon as you feel you cannot learn anything else, it is time to move on. What's the worst career advice you received? – Work hard, maybe in 5 years you will be promoted to management. What would you do if you started your career now? – Simo would work towards becoming an entrepreneur faster. What are your current career objectives? – Becoming a more effective problem solver by learning even more skills. What's your number one non-technical skill? – Blogging has opened far more doors than anything else he has done. How do you keep your own career energized? – Having a healthy life. A happy family, hobbies, friends and enjoying other activities all of gives him energy. What do you do away from technology? – Simo plays board games, cooks, plays guitar and the ukulele. He loves spending time with his family.   (20.53) FINAL CAREER TIP Help others. It is a really effective way to hone your own skills. You can do this in all kinds of communities, including those that cater to the tools you use. Opportunities are everywhere.   BEST MOMENTS (4.50) – Simo - "Find a community for a topic you are proficient at and help others to sharpen your skills and gain a good reputation." (8.28) – Simo - "Choosing profit over your personal values is never a good idea. It leads to regrets that stay with you." (14.21) – Simo - "A career in IT could mean that you're actively and proactively taking part in solving some of the world´s biggest problems." (17.04) – Simo - "When you feel you can't learn anything new in your current position, it is time to move on." (19.27) – Simo - "I attribute 95% of my current career success and trajectory to my blog."   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 [email protected] 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 – SIMO AHAVA Simo Ahava is a recognised expert on customizing web analytics and tag management solutions to improve the entire "life cycle" of data collection, processing and reporting.   His main areas of expertise lie with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager, and Google has appointed him as a Google Developer Expert in these fields.   He is also a partner and co-founder at 8-bit-sheep, a prolific blogger and an experienced conference speaker.   CONTACT THE GUEST – SIMO AHAVA Simo Ahava can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimoAhava LinkedIn: http://fi.linkedin.com/in/simoahava Website: https://simoahava.com