Choose Work That Interests You and Attend User Groups to Kick-start Your Career with Damian Brady

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:  Phil's guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Damian Brady. He is a Microsoft Cloud Advocate who specialises in DevOps and MLOps.  He has been a programmer and consultant for more than 20 years across a broad range of industries and he regularly speaks at conferences and other events around the world.        In this episode, Phil and Damian Brady discuss the way MLOps is developing. They talk about how to choose the career path that is right for you. Damian also shares how his writing and public speaking helped him to land h job at Microsoft.    KEY TAKEAWAYS:  (3.39) TOP CAREER TIP  Pay attention to what you do and don´t like. Doing that will help you to settle on a career path earlier and ensure that you end up doing something that you actually enjoy.    Damian noticed that he wanted to know what had happened to his code once it went into production. This made him realise that DevOps was likely to be a good fit for him.    (5.44) WORST CAREER MOMENT  When Damian had just taken on his first project management role, a big customer wanted to discuss an issue. So, he got on the phone. But, asked a more experienced client manager to listen in. Unfortunately, he failed to tell the customer that there was a 3rd person on the call. When they found out, they were very angry. His lack of transparency nearly lost them the account.    (9.03) CAREER HIGHLIGHT  Being approached by Donovan Brown, who was at the time the DevOps Manager at Microsoft, and being asked to join his team is his career highlight. Damian was surprised but very pleased to be noticed and recognised in this way. That is when his writing and public speaking work really paid off.    (11.18) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T  Damian does not see any sign that the pace of change within IT is going to slow. So, working in IT will always be interesting. There will always be something new to discover and learn.    (15.05) THE REVEAL  What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – When Damian was 10, his father gave him an Amiga 500.When he realised he could change a game just by editing two pieces of text he was hooked.  What's the best career advice you received? – Know when it is time to move on.  What's the worst career advice you received? – Stick it out, it´ll be fine.  What would you do if you started your career now? – Get involved in meetups and user groups at an earlier stage. It is a great way to jump-start any IT career.  What are your current career objectives? – Exploring the world of machine learning even more.  What's your number one non-technical skill? – Public speaking.  How do you keep your own career energized? – Damian is lucky enough to work with people who are real experts in their field. Learning about what is going on in their fields helps to keep Damian energized.  What do you do away from technology? – Damian´s 1-year-old keeps him busy. He also enjoys travel and surfing.    (21.15) FINAL CAREER TIP  Get involved in user groups and events. Also, expand your wings a bit beyond your day-to-day work and explore more of what you enjoy the most.    BEST MOMENTS  (4.02) – Damian - "Pay attention to what you like and don't like, when choosing your career path."  (12.34) – Damian - "There's a good chance that the job you'll have in five years time doesn't exist yet."  (15.58) – Damian - "Know when it's time to move on. If you are not enjoying your work, you need to leave."  (17.04) – Damian - "You don´t have to follow the accepted path. If you don´t want to go into management, just say no."  (21.18) – Damian - "Get involved in user groups and events, especially early in your career."    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.  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 – DAMIAN BRADY  Damian Brady is a Microsoft Cloud Advocate who specialises in DevOps and MLOps.  He has been a programmer and consultant for more than 20 years across a broad range of industries and he regularly speaks at conferences and other events around the world.      CONTACT THE GUEST – DAMIAN BRADY  Damian Brady can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:    Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/damovisa  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damianbrady  Website: https://www.damovisa.me