CloudSkills.fm

Latest Episodes:

109: Brianna McCullough on Engineering at Google, Work-life balance, & Professional Networking Mar 03, 2021

Show notes

Mike is joined by Brianna McCullough who has had a very interesting career journey in the tech industry and who currently works for Google. You’ll want to listen to this one, especially for insights about how to up your networking game.

In this episode, we talk about…

Brianna’s background, how she got into the tech industry, and why Minnesota is surprisingly a great place to launch a career.
The importance of community and networking throughout your career, but especially when starting out.
How Brianna was able to learn loads of skills on the job, which is a good lesson for folks who want to change career paths but don’t yet have the background they need.
How Brianna got into public speaking and how it has furthered her career.
Why going to conferences is so valuable in terms of keeping your communication skills sharp, refining your elevator pitch, meeting mentors, developing interview skills, and more.
Work-life balance while working at Google, how the 20% time policy works, and the culture of Google’s workplace (which is very autonomous and encourages everyone to be a leader).
The importance of getting really good at something before trying to move on to something else. Don’t look for shortcuts.
The best career advice Brianna has ever gotten, which is that feelings are not facts and that everyone’s race is their own to run.

Resources from this episode:

Follow Brianna on Twitter
Check out Brianna's Blog

108: Cyber Security and Career Progression with Chris Ray and Jake Rajnovich Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

Today Michael is chatting with two guests at once! He’s got Chris Ray, a Chief Information Security Officer, and Jake Rajnovich, Director of Product Development at Syntervision. They’ve been building an exciting new cybersecurity product called Oasis, and they have lots of interesting things to share about it.

In this episode, we talk about…

XDR Platforms and why they’re worth investing your time.
The fundamentals of security hygiene.
How Oasis works and how to interact with it.
How Oasis has grown with the needs of their customers over the years as the guys learned more and implemented changes.
How everything within Oasis is custom-built, and therefore very tightly integrated.
How Chris got to where he is within cyber security and his advice for those who want to get there.
The value of being willing to say yes to new opportunities -even if it’s a skill you don’t yet have. You can put in the time to learn it and make yourself indispensable.
Why you should follow what interests you -the field is so broad that there is a niche for you out there.
How Jake got to where he is within platform integration and his best piece of career advice.

107: Michael Cade on Cloud Data Migration, Backup, and Disaster Recovery Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

Mike is sitting down to chat today with vExpert and Cisco Champion Michael Cade, a senior global technologist over at Veeam. Michael has spent the last 18 months or so diving deep into the Cloud, and he’s a great resource for folks looking to expand that skill set.

In this episode, we talk about…

Michael’s experience with Azure versus AWS.
What Michael has been working on at Veeam -which has been seeing a huge shift of many more people moving over into the public cloud.
Several interesting use cases for data migration projects Michael has worked on, and what he learned from them.
How Veeam works efficiently to back up data for its customers.
Why Michael has been geeking out over educating families who aren’t able to afford computers to learn about technology like raspberry pi that helps folks who need to get online for virtual work or remote learning.
The best career advice Michael has ever gotten -which is that the feeling of imposter syndrome isn’t always a bad thing.

Resources from this episode:

Follow Michael on Twitter
Check out Michael's Blog
Check out Veam

106: Steve Buchanan on Cloud Native, DevOps, GitOps, Kubernetes, and Azure Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

Previous guest Steve Buchanan is back to chat with Mike about a whole host of skills you can add to your toolbox to level up your career. Steve is a Director for Avanade, a large consulting organization, who works in cloud transformation. Since his last appearance on the podcast, he’s been staying busy with DevOps, Kubernetes, and Azure, so he has lots of great insights to share.

In this episode, we talk about…

Steve’s thoughts on how skills in GitOps and Kubernetes are critical to technologists in today’s world. Large companies are using them or planning to implement them soon.
How Dice.com has named these skills as the most important tech skills, so you should start learning them if you haven’t yet.
The difference between Git and GitOps and what it means for you as someone who needs to learn the skills.
Where to go if you want to get started learning GitOps.
The importance of diversity and inclusion in the tech industry.
How there are many opportunities for a great career within SAP, which is becoming easier to break into than it was previously if you also have cloud skills to bring to the table.
The best career advice Steve has ever gotten, which is centered around the importance of networking.

Resources from this episode:

105: Developer Advocacy and Specialization with Tom Granot Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

For many, the industry is seeming a lot more complex these days, and a lot of folks are feeling pressured to have to learn everything. In fact, you could say that generalization is the new specialization! On today’s podcast, Michael is sitting down with Tom Granot, a Developer Advocate at Lightrun, to discuss what to do about this new trend.

In this episode, we talk about…

Tom’s journey to the tech world, after his very diverse background of different careers, and how he ultimately ended up in advocacy.
Why Microsoft Excel is still considered King in much of the finance world, but how Tom felt he could build better software, and it drove him into software development.
Why advocacy is a fantastic career direction for folks who love talking to people and the social side of working in software.
How Lightrun works to mitigate the gap between software devs and ops.
Tom’s opinion on generalization vs specialization in the tech field, and how to decide what’s best for you.
Tips and strategy if you’re looking to specialize in something but don’t know where to begin or feel overwhelmed.

Resources from this episode:

Follow Tom on Twitter
The Hacker’s Diet by John Walker

104: John Lunn on Remote Work, Live Streaming, and Learning Cloud Feb 09, 2021

Show notes

Today, Mike is sitting down with John Lunn, aka Johnny Chipz! John has been working with Microsoft technology for about 15 years as an IT pro, and now is big into the Azure live-streaming world. He’s got all sorts of great takes on the current state of the industry and how everyone can best focus their attentions to gain new skills they’ll need in the coming years.

In this episode, we talk about…

John’s background and journey into the live-streaming world and how he has been growing his channel (and home office setup!) over the last few months.
How John has been encouraging other folks to get involved with streaming, too.
The #100DaysofCloud Challenge, which is a commitment to learning something new for one hundred days.
John’s take on the transition to GitOps and the learning a lot of folks are having to do now to keep up as the industry evolves.
Different specific things John has been studying and learning to prepare for the new direction the industry has been taking.
How John joined a user group in Wales with like-minded people that focuses on Azure.

Resources from this episode:

Follow John on Twitter
John on YouTube
#100DaysofCloud Challenge
Join the Welsh Azure User Group

103: Artificial Intelligence with Simon Crosby Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

Artificial Intelligence is becoming more and more important to the world we live in. Mike’s guest today is Simon Crosby, the CTO at Swim.ai. Swim builds digital twins that are always learning because if you rely on an approach where you store data first and then analyze it later, you’re always behind. Swim is revolutionizing the AI landscape by analyzing the data and making predictions before the data gets stored.

In this episode, we talk about…

Various reasons why analyzing data on the fly in today’s world is so necessary (ie traffic patterns in a city being sent to a company like Uber needs to be done in real-time, not later)
How the big question in the AI Ops world is about how to build a model, train it, and deploy it.
How Swim works to build a model as the data comes in, analyze it, and then stream those predictions to their customers.
The refresh rate on these Swim web agents that are continuously learning. Other models might respond to a user query, but this one is constantly working, so it just sees the data.
How Simon got into AI, and the best direction for someone to move if they want to get into AI today.

Resources from this episode:

Follow Simon on Twitter
Check out Swim.ai

102: Learning Application Security with Tanya Janca Feb 02, 2021

Show notes

Tanya Janca, who was on the podcast last year, is back! Since the last time we talked, she’s been very busy founding her own company, We Hack Purple. Tanya’s an expert on App Security, and through her company, she’s sharing those skills with online on-demand courses.

In this episode, we talk about…

Tanya’s new community centered around her online academy, which has been a positive and kind space for discussing related topics.
Why, if you’re a software developer, you should learn about app security and have a strategy to talk to management to get what you want and legitimize your job.
Tanya’s book and how she teaches each lesson within it several different ways to make it accessible for various learning styles.
Tanya’s current free mini-course offering about scaling your security program and security team.
The best career advice Tanya has ever gotten.
The importance of mentors in everyone’s careers and why it’s very important to build a community.

Resources from this episode:

Follow Tanya on Twitter
Check out the We Hack Purple Academy
Read Tanya's new book: Alice and Bob Learn Application Security
Join the We Hack Purple Newsletter

101: Windows Virtual Desktop with Travis Roberts Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

In this episode we're catching up with Travis Roberts to chat about all things Windows Virtual Desktop, Azure, and a lot more.

In part due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020 saw the use of Windows Virtual Desktop soar. Many companies are in the process of switching their networks over to the Cloud. Mike’s guest today is Travis Roberts, the Senior Networking Systems Administrator at RBA Consulting. Travis has a background of working in corporate IT for over 20 years, but he made a switch when he realized he wanted to focus less on management and more on consulting. He has lots of experience with Windows Virtual Desktop (and more) and creates content online to help others learn how to better utilize this technology.

In this episode, we talk about…

Travis’s background, how he got into consulting, and what the transition was like coming to that from corporate jobs.
How Azure has been ramping up and is currently neck and neck with AWS.
Why, at this point, most Systems Administrators are essentially Cloud Developers, as well.
How you have to think a bit differently when using ARM templates and PowerShell.
Why moving to the Cloud can save a business a lot of overhead expenses.
The mindset shift involved in maintaining a server rack with manual switches and buttons, versus working within Azure.
Why setting up a virtual network within Windows Virtual Desktop is so much faster than the traditional means.
Why you need to continuously learn given the way technology is shifting now -and how if you learn it sooner, you can help others as they shift to the Cloud during the next decade.
How building a brand can help you, and if you’re interested, you should start writing a blog or making Youtube videos.
The importance of Source Control and how Travis has been using Github.
The switch from using JSON to using HCL.
How Travis has been seeing that he’s been needing to learn more about Continuous Integration.

Resources from this episode:

Travis on Twitter
Travis onYouTube
Travis on LinkedIn
Udemy Course Discount: Zero to Hero with Windows Virtual Desktop

100: Cloud Career Tips & Strategy for 2021 Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

In this episode I’m sharing by best career tips & strategy for 2021. What should you focus on? What do you need to think about to start building a successful career in the cloud? Those are some of the questions we answer in this episode, along with Q&A with a live audience.

In this episode, we talk about…

2021 industry predictions from Forester & Gartner
How to become multi-dimensional as an engineer
Soft skills you need to be building, in addition to hard skills
How to run experiments to gather data
How to get more hands-on experience
Q&A with a live audience

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected