How to Become a Tech Professional

Support Silicon Dojo at: https://www.donorbox.org/etcg http://www.silicondojo.com/ How to Become a Tech Professional TRIGGER WARNING… IT’S NOT MAGIC Don’t Listen to Stupid People Why You Are HIRED -To Solve Problems -To Make the Company More Profit -To Make Your Bosses Job Easier -To Comply with Regulations Your Boss is HUMAN -Pretend that your boss is a human just like you and has their own wants, needs, fears, and issues -Bosses are nicer to employees that are nice to them and do their jobs -Learn about your bosses life outside of work and talk about non work things -Build a relationship and then ask how you can make their jobs easier Education Types -Certifications -Bootcamps -College Degrees -Self Study -Each type of education has a purpose, a place, and works differently for different people. -Many people will end up doing all (I have degree, certifications, attended a bootcamp, and continuously self study) Certifications -ASK YOUR BOSS -Certifications are for Specific Products -Some vendors give benefits if employees have certifications -Government contracts may require certifications -Test Prep takes as long or Longer than learning material -Certifications cost significant money Bootcamps -Good for tech professionals that need to retrain -Short Training Time -Good to get started quickly -Bad for retention and understanding -Employment stats are misleading, for not complete lies -Spend a month learning before starting a Bootcamp College -Gives students time to learn and find their place Easy to get funding Be realistic about debt and educational value Community college transfer programs Degrees are good further into your career as you move into management Take internship/ volunteer opportunities Self Study Great for if you know what you need to learn and why Can become a dead end if not paired with experience or additional training Online Education Good for disciplined, self starters, who have a workable plan Bad for almost everyone else Getting Experience Experience shows that you both can, and want to do the work Volunteer, Internship, fixing grandmas computer can count I once got a job by having a crappy website on my resume that had existed for 2 years… Be a “consultant”… (Grandma’s can be rough clients…) Geography of Jobs There need to be OPEN JOBS to be hired I love Custer SD, but there are 9000 people and no tech jobs Different Geographies specialize in different technology Microsoft on East Coast, Novell on West Coat PHP on East Coast, Ruby on West Coast Washington DC still needs COBOL coders because on Government Systems Portfolio of Work Github for Coding Spiceworks Projects for IT https://community.spiceworks.com/people/elithecomputerguy/projects Blog Publish or Perish Publish Blog Posts Publish YouTube Videos Getting Hired vs. CPM If you publish about niche topics future employers are likely to run across your work. Write / Record about all things that might seem valuable DON’T publish too many specifics about your enviornment (Hackers) Social Media Tag and @ companies and people on social media when you use their products of advice Keep the social media accounts clean and professional Applying for Jobs Apply for jobs you want Apply for jobs you are under qualified for Employers hire the best AVAILABLE applicant Generally stay in a job 2 years, but… It takes up to 6 months to get a new employee up to speed Be careful about padding your resume Negotiations Know what you need, want and the market can handle Networking for Jobs Meetups Interviewing What do you want to do? Why do you want to work for this particular company? Learn about company and who is interviewing you. Have questions ready Corporate vs. Startup Jobs Corporate world has more stability Startups offer more experience * be careful of “Fake” Startups Company Cultures The same job in different companies can make you feel different Side Hustles Would you be better off improving yourself for current job? SHOULD You Be a Tech Professional There’s an actual job to do… …and it kinda sucks much of the time… Tech jobs are not some type of utopia, and there are other ways to make a lot of money. “Passion” is a buzzword… seek fulfillment… tech can be soul destroying… Be Careful of… Offers of Equity instead of salary - most equity will be worthless Beer Taps and Arcade Games - This means they don’t want you to go home even to drink beer Company Culture - Brogrammers are a real thing, Activist employees are a real thing, and parents who want to do 9-5 and then go home and coach little league are real too. They generally do not work for the same companies. If the CEO works the day after their parent dies don’t think they’ll expect different from you. The industry ebbs and flows, it is in regular flux and you need to plan/ budget for down times It’s All a Gamble It’s more or less educated, but you do have to roll the dice Think of success on a decade frame