Data & Dev with Jon and Mel Data & Dev with Jon and Mel

To cap off Season 2, Jon and I spoke to what many might consider a tech success story.  Daniel Vassallo is no stranger to tech Twitter, but in case he is a new name to you, Daniel is a former Amazon Software Engineer who now makes a living with a portfolio of small bets.   He made his way to Seattle by way of Ireland, working for 7 years at Amazon before leaving the corporate world for the freedom of self-employment.  I (Melissa) love Daniel's story, largely because I long to replicate his portfolio of small bets approach to work. 

This was a wonderful conversation. I appreciate Daniel's transparency and authenticity.  Have a listen to hear:


Daniel's path into amazon
Correspondence college, long before remote schooling was a thing
The interview process
Navigating coding challenges over the phone -- these were pre-Zoom/Skype/Facetime days!
Moving from Ireland to Seattle
How his role and job scope changed over time
Salary numbers over time
The process of self-reflection through his time at Amazon
Leaving amazon to pursue a portfolio of small bets

Whether your goal is to work in tech for 30 years, or grind for 5 with an eye on early retirement, Daniel is worth a follow.  The best place to connect is on Twitter


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Kexin's story is a great demonstration that sometimes building a career in tech is more about seeing and taking the opportunities placed before you rather than having a pre-planned series of steps to follow.  In this episode we talked about:


Intro and College in Australia
Freelancer
Learning in Industry
Machine Learning at scale
Distributed Computing
Hiring for Distributed Computing roles
Culture: China, Australia, USA
Role of Software Architect
Advice on finding the first role
Closing Questions



You can find and follow Kexin on LinkedIn, Twitter and Github




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Get to know your podcast hosts.  After interviewing a dozen or so amazing technologists, Jon and I figured it might be good to interview each other!  We flip the script, and ask each other questions about how we got into tech.  Hands down, being the interviewer is far easier than being the interviewee.

Tune in for:

Jon
College and getting into ML
Microsoft, Krux, and Salesforce
Leading ML at Spectrum Labs
Closing Questions for Jon


Mel
From Wharton to MCIT
Flexibility in contracting in industry
Finding your own path and pace
Closing questions


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Nikhil pursued a career in Product Management through the route of an MBA.  In this conversation we talk about whether an MBA is required for a PM career, traits that make for a good PM, and more.  Listen in to hear:

Life at Adobe
Role of Product Manager
Squashing Bugs vs New Features
PM/Eng org structure
Decision making
Traits for a PM
Is an MBA required?
Interview advice
Product Manager vs. Project Manager
What does a PM career path look like?

Connect with Nikhil via LinkedIn

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Notes from Nikhil on Compensation:

"Couple of notes on the compensation figures. Firstly, the numbers on  levels.fyi are heavily skewed towards SF Bay Area where salaries are  much higher than the rest of the USA. Secondly, these numbers refer to  total compensation, which includes both fixed compensation (i.e. base  salary) and variable compensation (i.e. bonus and equity). With each  increasing level of seniority, variable compensation accounts for a  larger percentage of total compensation. At my level at Meta variable  comp is roughly 40% of my total comp, at the manager level it is roughly  60%, and at the director level and above variable comp is 80%+ of total  comp. Variable compensation varies significantly based on individual  performance, the company's performance, and overall stock market  performance. For example, in the first half of 2022 Meta's stock value  dropped by over 50%, leading to a significant decrease in employee  compensation across the board."


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Rocco started his career in the game industry. He shares the good, and the bad, of that area of tech, his experience as an entrepreneur, and how he ended up at Meta.  In this episode we cover:

Started in gaming
Moved to CA
Gliffy, diagraming software
Imposter Syndrome, life-long learning
His company, simmer.io
Working at Meta
How you 'fit' with a company

Connect with Rocco via LinkedIn or his personal website


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Brenda has taken a circuitous route into Software Engineering.  She served her country in the Air Force before leaving active duty to be at home with her children. She eventually chose to re-enter the workforce via Software and opted to pursue a Master's degree to that end. Brenda's story is a great one.  Tune in to hear:


- ROTC route into the Air Force.

- Life as a Space Operations Officer in the air force

- Leaving active duty and going reserves to raise children

- Recruiting role with Air Force Academy and ROTC

- Funding undergraduate studies with ROTC

- Re-entering the workforce - thought process and plan

- Deciding where to gain a software education

- Penn MCIT program

- Strengths and weaknesses of the MCIT program

- Resources for military folks to get into tech

- MSSA program

- The job hunt

- Life as a new Microsoft engineer

- Onboarding

- Imposter syndrome



Connect with Brenda via LinkedIn

Learn about the MSSA program Brenda talked about.

And find a Vets In Tech group near you!


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