34 min
Refocus Regularly to Stay Relevant and Shoot for the Top with Joe Carson IT Career Energizer
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- Technology
Phil’s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Joe Carson. Joe is a cybersecurity professional with over 25 years’ experience in Enterprise Security & Infrastructure. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, an active member of the Cyber Security Community, and a frequent speaker at Cyber Security events around the world.
He is currently the Chief Security Scientist at Thycotic.
In this episode, Phil and Joe Carson discuss how to keep your skills fresh and relevant. Joe explains that it is not just about learning new languages. He shares how he uses physical experiences to help him to identify the right way to approach projects.
Joe also identifies several areas of technology that are set to take off, in the near future. They also discuss how to get started in the cybersecurity field.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
(5.38) TOP CAREER TIP
Never stop learning. Being a continuous learner ensures you do this and keep moving. It is now normal to have to switch roles and tech every five years or so. Knowing when to let go of a technology you love and move onto other things is important.
Joe explains how he works out what the trends are and stays ahead of the curve. As you will see from the podcast, that does not always mean learning a new programming language.
(11.26) WORST CAREER MOMENT
In 1999, Joe was working on the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service system, which is clearly a critical system. Naturally, around that time they were preparing for the year2K switchover. So, they had to take the system down completely and restart it from scratch.
When they did, the screen was blank. A truly awful, heart-stopping moment. In the podcast, Joe shares the strange reason behind that situation.
(15.39) CAREER HIGHLIGHT
In the early days of TEDX, Joe was asked to speak. He enjoyed the experience. But the highlight came after he had given his speech and sat back down.
At that point, he looked at the list of people were speaking with him and was blown away when he realized that he was in the company of people who had achieved amazing things. Olympians and quite literally rocket scientists. Until that moment, he had not really appreciated how far he had come and what he had achieved.
(18.23) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T
Joe is excited by the pace of change. Provided we embrace things like AI, with responsibility, he believes that our lives will improve in unimaginable ways.
The other thing that Joe talks about is the way in which humans interact with technology is changing. We will soon be using our brains rather than our fingers or voice to interface with all kinds of devices. So, right now the fascinating areas of data, cognitive, and neuroscience are especially hot.
(22.59) THE REVEAL
What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Joe´s love of gaming is what ultimately lead him to a career in IT.
What’s the best career advice you received? – Don´t be a perfectionist.
What’s the worst career advice you received? – You need to be prepared to relocate to be successful.
What would you do if you started your career now? – Joe says he would not want to change much.
What are your current career objectives? – Learning more about RFID, radio frequencies, and IoT.
What’s your number one non-technical skill? – The ability to simplify things and explain complex things to practically anyone.
How do you keep your own career energized? – Joe is always trying new things, which keeps his career energized.
What do you do away from technology? – Joe enjoys photography, scuba diving, and travel.
(30.27) FINAL CAREER TIP
Shoot for the top. You do not necessarily have to take baby steps to get to your ultimate goal. Often, you can take a big leap and get there far faster than you think is possible.
BEST MOMENTS
(6.03) – Joe- “Keep moving forward and motivated. Embrace new ideas and never think it is too late to learn something fresh.”
(8.11)
Phil’s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Joe Carson. Joe is a cybersecurity professional with over 25 years’ experience in Enterprise Security & Infrastructure. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, an active member of the Cyber Security Community, and a frequent speaker at Cyber Security events around the world.
He is currently the Chief Security Scientist at Thycotic.
In this episode, Phil and Joe Carson discuss how to keep your skills fresh and relevant. Joe explains that it is not just about learning new languages. He shares how he uses physical experiences to help him to identify the right way to approach projects.
Joe also identifies several areas of technology that are set to take off, in the near future. They also discuss how to get started in the cybersecurity field.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
(5.38) TOP CAREER TIP
Never stop learning. Being a continuous learner ensures you do this and keep moving. It is now normal to have to switch roles and tech every five years or so. Knowing when to let go of a technology you love and move onto other things is important.
Joe explains how he works out what the trends are and stays ahead of the curve. As you will see from the podcast, that does not always mean learning a new programming language.
(11.26) WORST CAREER MOMENT
In 1999, Joe was working on the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service system, which is clearly a critical system. Naturally, around that time they were preparing for the year2K switchover. So, they had to take the system down completely and restart it from scratch.
When they did, the screen was blank. A truly awful, heart-stopping moment. In the podcast, Joe shares the strange reason behind that situation.
(15.39) CAREER HIGHLIGHT
In the early days of TEDX, Joe was asked to speak. He enjoyed the experience. But the highlight came after he had given his speech and sat back down.
At that point, he looked at the list of people were speaking with him and was blown away when he realized that he was in the company of people who had achieved amazing things. Olympians and quite literally rocket scientists. Until that moment, he had not really appreciated how far he had come and what he had achieved.
(18.23) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T
Joe is excited by the pace of change. Provided we embrace things like AI, with responsibility, he believes that our lives will improve in unimaginable ways.
The other thing that Joe talks about is the way in which humans interact with technology is changing. We will soon be using our brains rather than our fingers or voice to interface with all kinds of devices. So, right now the fascinating areas of data, cognitive, and neuroscience are especially hot.
(22.59) THE REVEAL
What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Joe´s love of gaming is what ultimately lead him to a career in IT.
What’s the best career advice you received? – Don´t be a perfectionist.
What’s the worst career advice you received? – You need to be prepared to relocate to be successful.
What would you do if you started your career now? – Joe says he would not want to change much.
What are your current career objectives? – Learning more about RFID, radio frequencies, and IoT.
What’s your number one non-technical skill? – The ability to simplify things and explain complex things to practically anyone.
How do you keep your own career energized? – Joe is always trying new things, which keeps his career energized.
What do you do away from technology? – Joe enjoys photography, scuba diving, and travel.
(30.27) FINAL CAREER TIP
Shoot for the top. You do not necessarily have to take baby steps to get to your ultimate goal. Often, you can take a big leap and get there far faster than you think is possible.
BEST MOMENTS
(6.03) – Joe- “Keep moving forward and motivated. Embrace new ideas and never think it is too late to learn something fresh.”
(8.11)
34 min