Five tips for a thriving technology career

## Five tips for a thriving technology career

* * *

Texas Linux Fest 2024

[Major Hayden](https://major.io/)

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### First time using reveal.js!

> If something breaks, please don't laugh **too** loudly.

🤭

Note:
Trying new things is a worthwhile endeavor from time to time.

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## Why am I doing this talk?

I mentor a lot of people and they often ask me the same question:

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_"How can I build a successful career in technology?"_

# 🤔

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## Who am I?

Worked in tech for 20 years

Currently focused on RHEL in the public cloud

Traveled down technical and manager career tracks

Survived a period of time in information security

Owner of too many domain names

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🤫 Please don't give me any ideas for more domain names.

(My wife thanks you in advance.)

💕

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## Have questions?

I love questions. 💕

I promise I'll save time for questions at the end!

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# Tip #1

* * *

### Align your work with your interests

# 🪢

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#### It's as simple as it sounds:

Work in roles or on projects that **give you opportunities** to solve problems that match your interests

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#### Curiosity and interests

It's easier to be more engaged about your work
when it's something that interests you and it's
something you're curious about.

Note:
Coming up with ideas, making other people's ideas real, taking apart someone else's work to test it

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#### Be open to new interests, too

Sometimes you'll realize that you're interested in something related to what you're working on

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#### ⚠️ Watch out for passion

I avoid using the word **passion** because it feels awkward when talking about work

Passion makes it difficult to consider new opportunities

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### On that note...

There are also those times where 
you don't seek out the work 
**but the work finds you.**

Note:
You need to find a way to be open to new opportunities at any time, including those that you never considered or would consider.

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### When the work found me:

It all started with a security incident.

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Password resets were needed, but only for employees who were affected.

Nobody from our team was on the affected list. 😌

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Somehow, everyone's passwords were reset at 1PM. 😱

We were right in the middle of a serious unrelated outage. 🔥

All of us were suddenly locked out.

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Luckily, one engineer nearby had cached credentials.

Unfortunately, he had never worked 
on this part of our infrastructure before. 🤦‍♂️

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We piled around his desk looking at log files and giving him lots of instructions.

After a while, everything was running smoothly again.

# 😌

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I decided to write a strongly worded email to the Chief Security Officer (CSO).

️☝️ Pro Tip: I do not recommend writing emails when you are angry.

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📳

Later that evening, my phone dinged.

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📅

### 7:30 AM meeting 1:1 with the CSO

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# 😱 🫣

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He offered me a job in corporate security working on the company's security architecture.

It was a huge promotion.

I would lead a team of three that grew to six.

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It was one of the best _(and most stressful)_ roles I've ever had.

The work aligned with my interests and offered me plenty of room for growth.

_(And I learned how to dress better for work, too.)_

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How did I survive that huge transition?

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## "Fake it 'til you make it"

Always be open to learning.

You won't be an expert on day one.

The only bad questions are the ones that aren't asked. 😜

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## The best roles & projects:

Align with and broaden your interests

Fuel your personal and professional growth

Sometimes find you!

_(Be open to those!)_

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# Tip #2

* * *

### Cut a path for others to follow

# 🚶‍♂️

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## Tribal knowledge

That information that every company has 
but refuses to write down 
in an easily consumable way.

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## Tribal knowledge

Stratifies teams

Slows down development and testing

Limits career growth 
_(Yes, it does)_

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# 🔮

There was once an engineer who was "the oracle" for nearly every Linux problem known to mankind.

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# 🧙‍♂️

You could ask him about a problem, he'd ask you a few questions back, and he somehow always knew the solution.

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Our desks were near each other, so I asked him questions and heard other people ask about things.

He always took time to answer them, but there was one thing that upset him every time:

# 😠

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# 🔥

### When someone asked him the same question twice.

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I started writing down questions I asked and the questions I heard others ask.

I wrote down his clarifying questions and the answers he gave.

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That turned into a basic Wordpress blog where I documented the problems and solutions.

🎉 Still going today, 17 years later!  [major.io](https://major.io)

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Eventually "the oracle" asked me a question:

### _"Did you start that blog with all the stuff people asked me?"_

# 🫣

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# 🫂

> "Thank you for doing that. I love answering questions for people, but I'm so stressed because I can't finish my work. That takes a big weight off me."

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## Spreading knowledge:

Feels good for people who share and receive it.

Breaks down barriers.

Opens up career opportunities for everyone.

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### Spread experience the same way

Mentors use experience and knowledge to lift others up to the next level.

Everyone can be a mentor for someone at any stage in their career.

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## Cutting a path

Share knowledge and experience with others in an easily consumable way.

Mentor others and be mentored.

Build a well-worn path for others to follow.

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# Tip #3

* * *

### Speak up!

# 📣

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### A wise manager once asked me:

What is the **most valuable thing** you can give someone?

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# ⏳

# Your time

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## Your time

Is your most valuable asset.

Cannot be bought with more money.

Is something that only you can protect.

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Suffering in silence while your time wastes away

#### **is one of the worst things on Earth!**

(But most of us do this fairly often.)

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## How do we make this better?

Speak up to defend your time!

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## Block time in your calendar

For meals.

For learning.

For non-work hours.

For reviewing documents.

For those moments where you need a break to breathe.

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## Handle meeting invitations with contempt

Just kidding. 🤭

(But not really.)

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## Meeting invitations

* * *

_No agenda included?_

**Ask for an agenda.**

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## Meeting invitations

* * *

_More than 3 people are invited?_

Ask why you need to be present and ask what experience or perspective you are expected to provide.

Note:
If they say they want you there to listen, just ask for a copy of the notes or slides to review later.

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## Meeting invitations

* * *

_Have a conflict at that time?_

Delegate to someone in your team to take your place. It could be a great growth opportunity for someone if you are senior to them!

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## Meeting invitations

_Still don't want to go?_

Then decline the invitation!

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## Efficient aynchronous communication

When you ask someone for something asynchronously (Slack, e-mail, etc),
give them everything they need to write a meaningful reply with **less back-and-forth.**

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## Don't ask to ask, just ask!

Avoid this:

```text
<them> Can I ask you a question?
~~ lots of time passes ~~
<me> Sure, what?
~~ a weekend passes ~~
<them> When do we need to finish that proposal?
```

Check out 
[nohello.net](https://nohello.net)

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## Don't ask to ask, just ask!

Do this:

```text
<them> We're meeting with XYZ Bank to share that
 hosting proposal on Friday. When does it
 need to be ready for the internal review?
~~ lots of time passes ~~
<me> Wednesday by end end of the day. Let's meet
 tomorrow at lunch to finish it up.
```

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### Tell people as early as possible if:

Something is blocking you from delivering on time

You're unsure of what you need to deliver

There's a chance you'll deliver something late

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## Speaking up

* * *

Protect your time.

Communicate concisely.

Communicate early.

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# Tip #4

* * *

### Take care of yourself

# 🌴

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Just like protecting your time, you are the only person who can defend your work/life balance.

# 🤟

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Find some hobbies that you enjoy.

Get some exercise.

Read books.

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I love reading about history and other complex topics to better understand cultures and traditions.

Some of these even give me new ideas for strategies at work.

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# 📻

Amateur (ham) radio is a great way to mix technology with communication.

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# 🏃‍♂️

My calendar has time blocked at lunch for me to run.

(It keeps me out of the kitchen.) 😜

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# 🏄‍♂️

Companies give you time off for a reason.

Be sure to use it!

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# Tip #5

* * *

### Build a path to "yes"

# 🤝

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### A path to "yes"

Helps other people meet their goals

Ensures their changes meet your requirements

Makes others feel that you are vested in their success

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## Example

You work on a security team and developer needs to deploy a new application.

However, the application doesn't meet the company's secure development requirements.

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### Instead of saying no...

_"Here's a static security scan tool to go through your application for security issues."_

_"I see a problem here. This team had the same problem. They can help you solve it."_

_"We can make an exception for the beta, but the GA version needs this change."_

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It's all about finding middle ground and 
working under the assumption that everyone has the best intentions.

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Sometimes it means getting to what someone really needs and avoiding the [X/Y problem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_problem).

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### X/Y problem

```text
<them> How do I get the last 3 characters
 of the file name? 👋

<me> Hmm, just the last three? Or are you
 looking for the file extension,
 like JPG or PDF? 🤔

<them> Yes, that's what I need! The extension! 👏

<me> Okay, good, because not all extensions
 are three characters long! 😜 Let me
 send you some sample code...
```

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A path to "yes" does not mean becoming a yes-man or yes-woman.

* * *

That's not helpful to anyone.

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It means remembering the goal of why you come to work everyday: the customers.

Find a way to deliver the best possible experience for your customers by enabling others to do their best work.

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Look for the win-win outcomes.

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## RECAP: Five tips

1. Align your work with your interests

2. Cut a path for others to follow

3. Speak up!

4. Take care of yourself

5. Build a path to "yes"

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# Thank you! 💕

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Major Hayden

major@mhtx.net

[major.io](https://major.io)
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