Please share a little bit about your educational background and which educational opportunities made the biggest impact on your tech career.
I earned a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering with Computer Science from University of NSW in Sydney. This was one of the first universities to be on the internet, outside of the US! I also did a lot of self study.
I make use of numerous online courses and certifications as well as *some* great resources on YouTube. Beware of YouTube because the S/N ratio can be quite low so Caveat Emptor!
What would you like to learn more about?
I’d like to learn more about Site Reliability Engineering to become a more well-rounded DevOps Engineer. Additionally, I’m interested in Golang.
I’d also like to explore ways to improve having difficult conversations, as well as how to lead and inspire others.
What led you to pursue a career in tech?
I’ve enjoyed programming and tech since I was young. I’ve especially enjoyed teaching and helping others.
I think I got it from my dad who started programming in the late 1950s. Having to explain binary arithmetic to my 4th class teacher when I was nine was a highlight!
How has your skillset evolved over the course of your career?
I started out using various languages at Uni. Then, in my career I saw the common aspects across languages, which made picking up new languages quite easy.
Working on a project for Qantas and BA introduced me to Continuous Integration before the term DevOps was coined. It also made me a firm believer in the approach so my skillset has evolved from being Dev focused to being DevOps/ARE focused.
If you choose to specialize in one area, what was it and why?
I have chosen to focus on DevOps/SRE to enable solutions providing high-quality feedback to developers in a timely manner. Quick, timely feedback massively improves a developer’s working experience and attitude. I can confirm this through my own personal experience!
Is your new role different from previous ones?
I have moved away from consulting (telling and showing companies how to do something) to actually designing and implementing for a company (being hands-on!).
What are some of the things you’re most excited about in your new role or company?
I’m looking forward to contributing to a company and product responsible for so much of the internet and its continued smooth operation. I’m excited to actually build and run things as opposed to telling people how to build and run things.
What was your job search experience like before you joined Hired?
A lot of roles were quite scattergun. They were not really suitable for a DevOps professional. Hired brought a lot more focus so all requests were more tailored to what I was looking for in my next role.
What’s your best advice for job seekers registered on the Hired platform?
Keep your resume up-to-date. Use tools like Calendly to advertise open time slots for your availability to have chats.
Accept requests for interviews even though you may initially think the role is not quite what you are looking for. You never know where you may actually end up after your initial chat with HR.
Hired is a great platform to connect tech talent to high-quality companies. I highly recommend it!
Any general advice you’d like to give other tech professionals?
Never stop learning. The day you stop learning is the day you start dying! There are great online courses through Udemy, and other various suppliers such as AWS, Hashicorp, etc. I also recommend *some* tech channels on YouTube. TechWorld with Nana has a very high S/N ratio, and there are many channels from suppliers and conferences.
Congrats on the job, Robert! Interested in landing a great role in the UK like Robert did? Complete your free profile on Hired today!
About Cisco
Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible. Founded in 1984, Cisco has 5,001+ employees and is headquartered in San Jose.
Tech Stack
Python, Spark, Javascript, React, AWS, Kubernetes, Java, Go, Docker, Microservices, Kafka, iOS, Android, Kotlin, Kibana, Datadog, Terraform
Benefits
Health/dental/vision/life/disability insurance, 401k plan/matching, tuition reimbursement, paid time off, stock options, employee discount programs, job training, and more.
Source: Talent Acquisition - hired.com
