TechTak Real Stories Behind Tech Careers

Wiem Zine Elabidine

TechTak is a podcast for everyone who is looking for inspiration, advice and motivation to study and/or work in the tech industry. Through real conversations with tech professionals, you’ll discover how they built their careers, overcame challenges and grew in tech. Whether you're starting your journey, switching careers or looking to level up, TechTak helps you find your path and take the next step. TechTak tackle the inspiration.✨

  1. −3 d

    #49 The Journey of Heba Elayoty

    Heba Elayoty is a Software Engineer at Microsoft and Kubernetes Contributor. In this episode, Heba shares her journey through IBM, ITWorx and Microsoft, the challenges of career transitions, moving to a new country, returning after a career break, and the importance of continuous learning and staying curious. We also talk about her experience as a software engineer, team lead, mentor, and her contributions to the Kubernetes community. She shares valuable lessons about growth, building connections, representing yourself in the tech community, and how every experience can become part of your journey. Listen to the full episode to get inspired by Heba’s experience, learn from the lessons she gained along the way, and discover insights that can help you shape your own career journey. ----more---- 00:00 - Introduction 02:49 - Discovering Her Passion for Technology 04:45 - Preparing for a Career in Computer Science 05:10 - Starting Her Professional Journey & Getting Her First Opportunity 07:33 - The Importance of Guidance Early in the Career Journey 10:06 - Becoming a Mentor and Supporting Others 11:22 - Her Experience at IBM 14:09 - Exploring Different Roles Throughout Her Career 16:21 - Leadership Journey: Becoming a Team Lead 18:05 - Moving to the US: A New Chapter 19:12 - Returning to Work After a Career Break: Challenges & Growth 20:56 - Joining Microsoft: A New Opportunity 24:00 - Career Transitions and Embracing Change 27:11 - The Importance of Continuous Learning 30:00 - "Shut Up and Learn" then You will Get it 33:35 - The Role of a Software Engineer: Product & Customer Perspectives 36:37 - Exploring Different Roles and Experiences at Microsoft 41:00 - Contributing to the Kubernetes Community 41:55 - Mentorship: Helping Others Grow 45:30 - Building Connections and Creating Opportunities 47:21 - Self-Representation and Visibility in the Tech Community 48:08 - Every Experience Has Value: Final Thoughts & Advice ----more---- Podbean link: https://wiemzin.podbean.com/ ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtak/id1732103530?l=en-GB Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zRbfj8S0AKa4EhwyAAvHD?si=906fe22f41904a07 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/o944lr7p iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/135681345 TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/TechTak-p3919993/ Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/techtakpod/ Twitter account : https://twitter.com/TechTakPodcast ------------------------------------- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now License code: 792Y1SKLWOJBWWSP -----------------------------------------

    51 min

  2. 5 maj

    #48 The Journey of Mahmoud Hafez

    Mahmoud Hafez is a Principal Solutions Architect In this episode, Mahmoud shares how he started his career as a medical representative before making a bold decision to transition into tech through ITI. From there, he built a strong foundation in software, moved across different roles and companies, and went on to work with global organizations including AWS, Google, and Databricks. He shares valuable learning experiences. Listen to the full episode to learn more. ----more---- 00:00 - Introduction 02:41 - His Background as a Medical Information System 04:23 - Getting into ITI Egypt 08:13 - Early Career Guidance 09:49 - His first job and his different roles 10:30 - Working in Germany 11:17 - The Path to Amazon (AWS) 14:11 - His experience at AWS 15:23 - Growing From Role to Role 17:43 - Impact as a Source of Motivation 18:24 - How he progress in his career 19:35 - Obstacles During His Time at Google 25:00 - A New Chapter at Databricks 29:57 - The Impact of Your Manager on Your Work 32:08 - Learning Through Hardship 34:37 - Transition to the UAE 37:02 - About His current role 38:25 - Advice ----more---- Podbean link: https://wiemzin.podbean.com/ ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtak/id1732103530?l=en-GB Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zRbfj8S0AKa4EhwyAAvHD?si=906fe22f41904a07 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/o944lr7p iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/135681345 TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/TechTak-p3919993/ Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/techtakpod/ Twitter account : https://twitter.com/TechTakPodcast ------------------------------------- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now License code: 792Y1SKLWOJBWWSP -----------------------------------------

    42 min

  3. 28 feb.

    #47 The Journey of Susan Barrance

    Susan Barrance is a Senior Commercial Director at Signify Technology. In this episode, she shares her professional experiences that shaped her journey, highlighting the different roles she stepped into and how each stage contributed to her growth as a director. She also offers practical advice for engineers navigating their job search and building their careers. Listen to the full episode to gain insights from her experience and journey! ----more---- 00:00 – Introduction 02:48 – How she started her journey 04:00 – The beginning of her career in recruitment 06:45 – How to identify the right candidate for a role 10:06 – Her role working with candidates 10:53 – Her role working with clients 12:55 – Challenging situations she faced in her role 17:12 – How to help junior engineers land their first job 20:10 – AI and its impact on recruitment 22:20 – The business of Signify Technology 24:43 – Her current role at Signify Technology 26:12 – What’s next 27:30 – Advice ----more---- Podbean link: https://wiemzin.podbean.com/ ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtak/id1732103530?l=en-GB Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zRbfj8S0AKa4EhwyAAvHD?si=906fe22f41904a07 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/o944lr7p iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/135681345 TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/TechTak-p3919993/ Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/techtakpod/ Twitter account : https://twitter.com/TechTakPodcast ------------------------------------- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now License code: 792Y1SKLWOJBWWSP -----------------------------------------

    29 min

  4. 2025-11-30

    #46 The Journey of Jon Pretty

    Jon Pretty is an open-source developer. In this episode, he shares about his education path and his professional experiences that shaped his journey in Tech, especially in Scala. We talked about the risks he took throughout his career, the challenges he faced along the way, and the lessons he learned from his career journey and open-source work. We also discussed his current new project using Scala 3: Soundness. Listen to the full episode to gain insights from his experience and journey! ----more---- 00:00 - Introduction 03:57 - Discovering the Passion for Programming 07:20 - Educational Journey 09:45 - First Steps into the Professional World & Scala 11:40 - Entrepreneurial Beginnings: Starting from Scratch 15:42 - Challenges and Lessons Learned 21:45 - How He Entered the Scala Open-Source World 25:49 - Traveling the World to Attend Conferences 28:40 - How He Progressed in Open-Source Work 29:24 - The Changing Job Market for Scala Developers  31:18 - Why Scala? 33:27 - About his current open-source project: Soundness 36:20 - Make Soundness Accessible 38:24 - Advice 39:32 - The Impact of Jon in the Scala community 42:03 - Imposter Feelings in New Developers 44:00 - Welcoming Newcomers: Making It Easier to Join ----more---- Podbean link: https://wiemzin.podbean.com/ ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtak/id1732103530?l=en-GB Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zRbfj8S0AKa4EhwyAAvHD?si=906fe22f41904a07 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/o944lr7p iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/135681345 TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/TechTak-p3919993/ Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/techtakpod/ Twitter account : https://twitter.com/TechTakPodcast ------------------------------------- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now License code: 792Y1SKLWOJBWWSP -----------------------------------------

    45 min

  5. 2025-10-03

    #45 The Journey of Fabian Thiele

    Dr. Fabian Thiele is a Group Director, Technology, Data and BI, Data & AI at ECCO. In this episode, Fabian shared his journey from academic research and a PhD in particle physics to building a career in Tech. We talked about how he approaches learning from reading and lectures to learning by doing and how experimenting and trying things out can be one of the most effective ways to grow. We also discuss why code reviews matter, even when working with AI-generated code. We highlight the value of team building and what makes a strong engineering culture. Listen to the full episode to learn from his experience and insights! ----more---- 00:00 - Introduction 02:07 - What Drew Him Into Tech 03:43 - His Education Path 04:20 - Learning Through Curiosity 06:37 - Academic Transition: Embracing Physics Without a Formal Degree 10:15 - How He Approaches Learning 15:52 - About His First Job 20:44 - The Transition From Academia To Industry 23:23 - About his Role as Data Scientist 25:45 - About his Role as a Team Lead 33:35 - About his Current Role 39:50 - About AI Coding Tools  40:25 - The Importance of Critical Review 43:28 - How about AI Review? :D 46:13 - Advice ----more---- Podbean link: https://wiemzin.podbean.com/ ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtak/id1732103530?l=en-GB Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zRbfj8S0AKa4EhwyAAvHD?si=906fe22f41904a07 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/o944lr7p iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/135681345 TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/TechTak-p3919993/ Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/techtakpod/ Twitter account : https://twitter.com/TechTakPodcast ------------------------------------- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now License code: 792Y1SKLWOJBWWSP -----------------------------------------

    49 min

  6. 2025-06-16

    #44 The Journey of Ali Saleh

    Ali Saleh is a Site Reliability Engineer at Google. In this episode, Ali shares his journey from studying and doing research, to working as a .NET developer, then moving into data engineering, machine learning, and finally site reliability engineering. He talks about the challenges he faced along the way and what he learned through each step. Listen to the full episode to learn from his experience! ----more---- 00:00 - Introduction 01:44 - What inspired his Tech Career 03:46 - Behind the Hype: The Reality of Computer Science 05:15 - From Student to Professional 07:43 - The challenges he has faced 10:04 - Getting into Machine Learning Research 11:15 - The Transition After the Revolution 12:37 - Balancing a Master’s in Germany with a Software Job 17:06 - His Interest in Research 20:25 - His Job at Zalando 23:40 - His Job at MOIA  27:58 - His Job at Delivery Hero 28:50 - His Job at Google 36:30 - Skills Needed to Be a Site Reliability Engineer 37:53 - Knowing what you want to Do? 39:23 - Advice ----more---- Podbean link: https://wiemzin.podbean.com/ ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtak/id1732103530?l=en-GB Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zRbfj8S0AKa4EhwyAAvHD?si=906fe22f41904a07 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/o944lr7p iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/135681345 TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/TechTak-p3919993/ Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/techtakpod/ Twitter account : https://twitter.com/TechTakPodcast ------------------------------------- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now License code: 792Y1SKLWOJBWWSP -----------------------------------------

    41 min

  7. 2025-05-06

    #43 The Journey of Rim Sqalli

    Rim a skilled Scrum Master shares her educational background, career path, and practical advice from her experience in Agile environments. Listen to the full episode for helpful tips on teamwork, project flow, and succeeding in an Agile role. ----more---- 00:00 - Introduction 03:10 - About her education background 03:42 - How Her Career Journey Led Her to Become a Scrum Master  05:58 - How to Prepare and Train for a Scrum Master Role 07:34 - How to Land Your First Job as a Scrum Master 09:49 - How Her Previous Job Helped Her Build the Skills to Become a Scrum Master 11:48 - The Challenges and Rules of Being a Scrum Master 13:45 - A Typical Day of A Scrum Master 15:48 - How a Scrum Master Coaches and Supports the Team 17:12 - The Definition of Ready vs The Definition of Done 18:28 - Knoweledge Sharing Idea 21:07 - Advice ----more---- Podbean link: https://wiemzin.podbean.com/ ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtak/id1732103530?l=en-GB Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zRbfj8S0AKa4EhwyAAvHD?si=906fe22f41904a07 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/o944lr7p iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/135681345 TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/TechTak-p3919993/ Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/techtakpod/ Twitter account : https://twitter.com/TechTakPodcast ------------------------------------- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now License code: 792Y1SKLWOJBWWSP -----------------------------------------

    23 min

  8. 2025-02-22

    #42 The Journey of Mouna Amarou

    Mouna is a Scala Backend Engineer. In this episode, she discusses her experiences navigating the challenges in both her studies and career. Mouna also offers valuable insights and tips on how to maintain a healthy work-life balance, all while pursuing success in the tech industry. Additionally, she shares practical advice on preparing for job interviews and highlights the importance of connecting with people to advance in your career.   Listen to the full episode and learn about her inspiring journey! ----more---- 00:00 - Intro 01:45 - How she got into computer science 02:52 - Her educational path 03:35 - Her first internship 04:45 - Gender Gap in Computer Science: The Experience from Education to Career 08:20 - The obstacles she faced during her studies 10:05 - Tech is for everyone, and people should accept that 11:25 - Making an effort to create a safe environment 12:36 - Her experiences before landing her first job 13:33 - How she figured out which direction to take 14:44 - How she got into learning Scala 17:05 - Working on projects as proof that helps in getting a job 20:11 - Which resources she used to learn Scala 21:37 - Tips for job interviews 26:05 - Be open and flexible to new ideas 27:21 - Her impact on the team 28:26 - Be expressive and kind 29:25 - Celebrate 30:06 - About her current job 31:50 - Her learning experience 34:35 - How to balance work and life 36:39 - Advice ----more---- Podbean link: https://wiemzin.podbean.com/ ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtak/id1732103530?l=en-GB Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zRbfj8S0AKa4EhwyAAvHD?si=906fe22f41904a07 Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/o944lr7p iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/135681345 TuneIn: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/TechTak-p3919993/ Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/techtakpod/ Twitter account : https://twitter.com/TechTakPodcast ------------------------------------- Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-now License code: 792Y1SKLWOJBWWSP -----------------------------------------

    38 min
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TechTak is a podcast for everyone who is looking for inspiration, advice and motivation to study and/or work in the tech industry. Through real conversations with tech professionals, you’ll discover how they built their careers, overcame challenges and grew in tech. Whether you're starting your journey, switching careers or looking to level up, TechTak helps you find your path and take the next step. TechTak tackle the inspiration.✨

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