Mark Dunn on Developer Retirement - Episode 75

This week on the podcast, Jeffrey Palermo had the pleasure of visiting with Mark Dunn to record today's show! Mark is a long-time developer and software architect who was an original co-host on the .NET Rocks podcast that started back in 2002. Mark is a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Application Developer, Solution Developer for .NET, and Database Administrator; and has over 30 years of experience in the disciplines of Software Engineering, Database Administration, and Project Management.    Since 2003, Mark has been awarded MVP (Microsoft Most Valuable Professional) status for his contributions to the Visual Studio and .NET Community. He has also traveled all over the world delivering training in the areas of .NET and Database Development, Project Management and Client-Side Development. Outside of the tech industry, Mark owns an Angus cattle farm in Alabama and is often found playing the drums!   In Jeffrey's and Mark's conversation today they discuss what a developer's retirement looks like! Mark considers himself currently 'semi-retired' with the goal of fully retiring 3 years down the line. He provides training and mentoring through his company, Dunn Training, teaching courses on Azure, Modern Web Development, ASP .NET, .NET Programming, Databases, Java, and more. Mark also takes listeners down memory lane, reminiscing about the progress in the industry, his career as a programmer, and the changes he's seen in DevOps.   Topics of Discussion: [:39] Be sure to visit AzureDevOps.Show for past episodes and show notes. [:48] About today's guest, Mark Dunn! [2:20] Jeffrey welcomes Mark to the podcast. [3:09] Mark provides some background on his career and shares some highlights! [4:50] What the industry was like when Mark was just starting out as a programmer. [11:36] Mark speaks about what a longtime programmer's retirement looks like (as someone who is currently 'semi-retired'!) He also shares what his goals are for the future and what he's currently up to. [16:07] A word from Azure DevOps Podcast's sponsor: Clear Measure. [16:34] Jeffrey gives some quick announcements. [18:22] With the perspective of having seen so many paradigms of software, how has that colored Mark's view of the modern DevOps movement? [22:30] Mark reads a lot of books as a trainer… but has he authored any books? [23:54] Mark speaks about some of the aspects of training and teaching his courses. [25:20] Mark speaks about recording .NET Rocks Podcast and the joys of interviewing people in the industry. [26:22] Mark gives his predictions on what he thinks is most likely to happen in the industry of custom software and what will become more and more important for current programmers to know/learn. [29:09] Does Mark find that the technology landscape is starting to contract after exploding? [31:11] Mark shares his plan for the next few years and what his transition into retirement will look like. [33:16] How long will Mark be keeping up his mentoring service? [34:40] What Mark hopes to do in retirement. [35:31] Mark gives some parting advice to new programmers to have a successful career. [38:01] Jeffrey thanks Mark for joining him in this episode!   Mentioned in this Episode: Azure DevOps Clear Measure (Sponsor) .NET DevOps for Azure: A Developer's Guide to DevOps Architecture the Right Way, by Jeffrey Palermo — Available on Amazon! bit.ly/dotnetdevopsebook — Click here to download the .NET DevOps for Azure ebook! bit.ly/dotnetdevopsbookforcommunity — Visit to get your hands on two free books to give away at conferences or events! Jeffrey Palermo's Youtube Jeffrey Palermo's Twitter — Follow to stay informed about future events! [email protected] — Email Jeffrey for a free 30-point DevOps inspection (regularly priced at $5000!) — Spaces are limited! Dunn Training (Mark's Company) .NET Rocks Podcast Dan Appleman's Books Selenium The Art of Unit Testing: with examples in C#, by Roy Osherove Pluralsight Udemy Scott Guthrie   Want to Learn More? Visit AzureDevOps.Show for show notes and additional episodes.