Phil’s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is James Ward. He is a software developer who shares what he learns with others through presentations, blogs, demos and code. He is a self-proclaimed Typed Pure Functional Programming zealot but often compromises on his ideals to just get things done.
And as well as being the co-author of “First Steps in Flex” and the creator of the first Java hosting service back in 1997, he helped to launch the Reactive Manifesto.
In this episode, Phil and James Ward talk, at length, about the best ways to get involved in the IT community, help others and grow your reputation within the industry. They also discuss how to be effective at influencing decision-makers.
James also talks about how to go back to basics when explaining things to beginners. A skill you need when building a team.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
(4.26) TOP CAREER TIP
Find a community you want to be a part of and work to improve it. Everyone benefits when you do that, including you. In time, you become well known and people start to recognise your efforts and what you have to offer.
You can contribute in all kinds of ways. Write blog posts, put together documentation, provide code samples and more besides. Use forum and social media to uncover what people are struggling with, and then provide something to help them to meet those challenges.
(7.10) WORST CAREER MOMENT
James worked at Adobe, in particular on Flex. When HTML, CSS and the web started growing, he realised that it would have a significant impact on how relevant Adobe Flex was. At that stage, James wanted to develop Flex in a way that enabled people to port their applications easily to the web.
Unfortunately, he was unable to convince the management of the need to do this. It led to him leaving a job he loved because he knew the tech he was working on was going downhill. The experience taught James that he needed to work on his influencing skills.
(11.34) CAREER HIGHLIGHT
James’ career highlight was TypeSafe the company behind Scala. He enjoyed being able to simplify things to the point where people could actually get started with using the tech.
First, they created activator which made everything easier to install and provided templates. Later, they provided hundreds of pieces of sample code, which made things even easier.
(15.46) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T
There is so much happening right now. It is almost overwhelming. But, this is a good thing because it means that the possibilities are endless.
James has a lot of fun learning the new technologies and playing around with the latest tech gadgets. He shares details of his rocket related project with the audience.
(17.29) THE REVEAL
What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – James describes himself as being a nerd, even as a young kid, so for him taking up a career in I.T was a natural step.
What’s the best career advice you received? – You need to work on your dependability. In the podcast, James explains how he overcame his own flakiness.
What’s the worst career advice you received? – James has been lucky with his advisors, so did not have a worst piece of career advice to share.
What would you do if you started your career now? – Get involved in machine learning, AI and data dynamics.
What are your current career objectives? – James really wants to improve developer journeys and experiences. Right now, he is focused on using Java Spring in Google Cloud to do this.
What’s your number one non-technical skill? – His desire to learn. At this stage he talks about a couple of his side projects he is involved in, including WebJars.
What do you do away from technology? – James loves spending time in the mountains in Colorado. He is a keen hiker, biker and skier.
(25.21) FINAL CAREER TIP
Share what you know. Everyone has something unique to share with their community, so make sure you do. You never know how many people you can end up helping by doing so.
BEST MOMENTS
(4.29) –James - “Find a community you like and participate. Working to make that community better will get you known.”
(11.20) –James - “Take people on a journey when trying to influence them. Build your arguments slowly over time.”
(18.22) –James - “Be dependable. When you say you will deliver something, make sure that you actually do.”
(19.33) –James - “Learn not to over commit. If you are a people pleaser, learn to say no a little more.”
(25.22) –James - “Share what you know with your community. Everyone has something unique to share.”
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 Ward
James Ward is a software developer who shares what he learns with others through presentations, blogs, demos and code. He is a self-proclaimed Typed Pure Functional Programming zealot but often compromises on his ideals to just get things done.
And as well as being the co-author of “First Steps in Flex” and the creator of the first Java hosting service back in 1997, he helped to launch the Reactive Manifesto
CONTACT THE GUEST –James Ward
James Ward can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/_JamesWard
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesward/
Website: https://www.jamesward.com/
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