How to Grow in IT Career Improving These Four Pillars

The IT area is challenging and pushes the professionals to be continually updating their skills.

But nowadays, not only technical skills are enough to achieve success on the field.

Ned Pyle, a Principal Program Manager at Microsoft, presented on Microsoft Ignite 2019 the talk “Accelerating your IT Career.”

It was not a technical speech, but more focused on soft skills. The principles presented by Ned inspired me to write this article, sharing my point of view addressing the factors that can help us in the improvement process of a career in IT.

Discipline

Be a Sponge

One of the challenges of working in IT is that everything is changing every time. New frameworks, programming languages, concepts, and methodologies arise and force us to keep learning.

So be a sponge, absorb as much as you can, be open to new ideas and new concepts, learn continuously, and don’t wait for a situation to force you do go after a subject that you don’t know. Do it because it is fun. There is nothing to lose.

Multi-Talented

For some professionals, good is enough. Usually, this type of professional is very accommodated, doesn’t like changes, and doesn’t think outside his comfort zone.

But knowing the average will only make you be an average professional. It doesn’t mean that you must know all about everything. In this area, this is impossible.

But focus on being amazing in a couple of things and, then, you can be good enough at rest.

Integrity

We all make mistakes; that’s a fact. There is always something we wish we had made different decisions that we feel sorry. And that’s normal.

We shouldn’t be judged by others on our mistakes, but we know we are. But also we wouldn’t worry about the judgment of others.

But our peace of mind depends on a crucial factor: our integrity. Our believes and principles when taking actions must be there.

When failures and mistakes happen, admitting it when we acknowledge them is the first step to move on. And moving on is crucial to let it go, understanding that mistakes happen and that you could learn something about it.

Cool

Get a grip. It’s never as bad as you think

Be worried, but on the right amount. When facing a problem, stressful situation, or an issue that is starting giving you headaches, step back, and cool down for a moment.

The stress and pressure that we put ourselves in sometimes are too much more than the situation needs. And under stress, we tend to behave on survival instincts, which is not a bad thing but can be a problem when it overcomes rational thinking for solving the problem.

Determined

Never surrender when facing a challenge situation. Push yourself, find new sources for research, contact peers, and ask for help.

Don’t give up.

Technical Power

Memory

Figure out what are the techniques that make you remember and store information in the long term.

We are different from each other, and some strategies might work better from one to another. Use diagrams, write, record audio, create vision boards, and structure the information on a way that is better for your understanding/

And have a good night of sleep. A night of good sleep helps your brain to save short term memories into long term memories.

Lab

Be able to run and reproduce scenarios. Theoretical knowledge is good, but being able to create labs, demos, and proof of concepts is the way to demonstrate the theoretical knowledge in practice.

Dependencies

Know your dependencies, what direct and indirect affects your project.

Manage it, make sure the components you depend on respect the license model you’re working.

Keep it up to date and always scan for vulnerabilities.

Networking

Understanding the basics of networking, how it works, IP addressing, ports, subnet, and isolation.

Nowadays, with cloud technologies, virtual networks can be easily created to support and isolate applications.

This knowledge is fundamental to the architect and directs the security of applications.

Furthermore, understand concepts of firewall, routing, and network layers.

Automation

Infrastructure as Code is a thing and having an environment created from a code template is a common scenario.

Learn at least one scripting language.

UI is friendly and easy to navigate, but for scaling procedures and guarantee repeatability, automation through the command line is fundamental.

Search

You don’t need to know every detail of everything, and this would be impossible. But you must be capable of research and get the information you need for specific problem-solving.

It’s important to know what questions to ask, which will produce valuable results. Also, it is essential to be able to analyze, interpret, and judge the results.

Communication

Conversation

Learn how to engage in a conversation, not just talk. Expose your ideas, structure information, speak to different people, and be open to varying points of view.

Find a mentor, someone you can share your ideas, and that can give you honest and constructive feedback.

Teaching and Presenting

When you are interested in a specific subject, create presentation material, and teach about it.

You are not only sharing the content but also pushing yourself to master on the subject, to learn, and to become an expert. And you are helping others.

Learn the techniques to be a presenter, to like an audience. It will be productive and helpful not only for your presentation but to any situation where you must present an idea or defend a topic.

Positivity

Expect the positive outcome and have confidence that things will be all right. This confidence is contagious.

We are surrounded by energy, and thinking with positivity will align our energy with excellent results.

Control

Be a leader, be dominant, but without domineering.

Confidence and knowledge will make others listen to you, making yourself a natural leader.

Have control of the situation; don’t let the situation controls you.

Legacy

Share

Share everything. Keeping the information to yourself to be essential and indispensable, making others depending on you, it’s an old fashing thing and not well perceived by others.

We are in times of Meetups and conferences where the important thing is to share and grow together.

It’s common to see folks from different companies, such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, talking and sharing thoughts on conferences and out of the workplace.

Remains

What is your legacy? What do you want to leave registered in the future?

Be a professional, a reference, an example to others. Think about your IT career in the long term, analyze your decisions, and stick to your beliefs.

About 20 years ago, when I was starting on the IT career, we often relied on technical books and reference guides, and having solid technical knowledge was enough for success.

But with the advance of the internet, the technical information is easily searchable and available to everyone.

Investing and practicing soft skills is fundamental for success, and the IT professional that realizes that IT is not only knowing about technical implementations anymore but also mastering soft skills will have a considerable advantage in this competitive field.