Craft a Path Podcast

Tyler Michalek
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Careers
  • Updated Biweekly

Ever wonder what people actually do all day at work? Each episode, we sit down with someone doing a job you might not have known existed, or one you've always been curious about. We dig into how they got there, what the day-to-day really looks like, the highs and the headaches, how AI is changing the way they work, and what advice they'd give someone who wants to follow a similar path. No fluff, just real conversations about real work.

Episodes

  1. Apr 8

    Teaching English is no joke - Stand-up Comedian, Vince

    Vince is an American Expat who makes a living: Teaching EnglishTraining LLMsDoing Stand Up Comedy In this episode we talk about how he got started in each of his three jobs, expat life, and how all of these are affected by the times. Check out Vince's comedy on IG

    31 min

  2. Mar 31

    How to Start a Coworking Space: Lessons from Prague's Oldest Community Workspace

    Mathias is a Belgian expat who runs one of Prague's oldest coworking spaces. In this episode, he walks us through Locus Workspace, talks about what it's really like to run a physical community business, and shares his advice for anyone thinking about starting a coworking space: start with people, not a place. We cover: What it's like to buy a business during a pandemicThe daily reality of running a coworking space (yes, including fixing toilets)How Locus builds community with 11+ events per weekWhy charging for a free event actually increased attendanceHis advice for anyone thinking about starting a coworking spaceThe future of remote work and neighborhood workspaces🔗 Locus Workspace: https://locusworkspace.com 📍 Vinohrady, Prague

    21 min

  3. Mar 23

    From Translation to Travel: Designing a Career Without a Master Plan

    What if the best career path isn’t planned at all? In this episode, Eva shares how studying languages in Spain led her to unexpected opportunities across Europe and Canada, including landing a role as a tour coordinator for international school trips and building community in a coworking space. We talk about the value of experimentation early in your career, the reality of working holiday visas, the perks and pressures of planning travel for hundreds of students, and how AI is beginning to reshape knowledge work. Eva’s story is a reminder that meaningful careers are often built step-by-step, not through perfectly mapped plans, but through curiosity, adaptability, and the willingness to try something new. Topics covered: Why your first job doesn’t define your futureWorking abroad and building an international careerWhat it’s really like planning trips for schoolsRemote work, flexibility, and lifestyle designAI’s impact on hourly workThe power of coworking communities

    25 min
  4. Crunching Numbers: Banking, Work Culture, and the 4-Day Week with Jakub

    Mar 16

    Crunching Numbers: Banking, Work Culture, and the 4-Day Week with Jakub

    Jakub is good with numbers, a skill that he parlayed into a career as a banking consultant. In this episode we talk about work culture in Prague vs. London, a 4 day work week, and, of course, the daily life of someone in the role.

    44 min

  5. Mar 9

    Brady, DevOps Engineer: The Bridge Between Code and Chaos

    Brady is a DevOps engineer at a VPN company in Prague, but his path started in restaurant kitchens in Omaha, Nebraska. In this episode of Craft a Path, he walks us through how a tech support gig and a self-taught AWS education turned into a career managing deployments across the globe. We get into what DevOps actually is (and how it differs from regular software engineering), what happens when you accidentally break production and trigger 45 minutes of alerts, how AI is reshaping the role of the engineer, and why moving to Europe completely changed his perspective on work, money, and life. Sections: Intro / warming upWhat Brady does and how he got into techFrom restaurant work to tech support to freelance codingSoftware engineering vs. DevOps explainedThe two week sprint: planning, firefighting, and documentationStrategic vs. tactical workA day in the life in PragueRemote work vs. return to officePerks of the jobChallenges: people, complexity, and breaking productionAI in software engineering and how it's changing the roleThe future of the developer roleAdvice for getting into the industry nowLife as an expat, European salaries, and rethinking what matters

    37 min

  6. Mar 7

    DIDIT - How Marcela Turned Prague's To-Do Lists Into a Business

    We all have that never-ending list, the car inspection, the address change, the trip to the authorities that eats up half your day. The founder of DIDIT saw that problem and built a solution: a service that simply does it for you. In this episode, we talk about what running a business in New York taught him about the value of time, why Czech bureaucracy is ripe for disruption, and how DIDIT grew from a simple idea into a go-to lifeline for hundreds of people in the Czech Republic expats and locals alike. If you've ever said "I just don't feel like dealing with this," this conversation is for you. Learn more at https://didit.cz/

    46 min
  • 6 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Ever wonder what people actually do all day at work? Each episode, we sit down with someone doing a job you might not have known existed, or one you've always been curious about. We dig into how they got there, what the day-to-day really looks like, the highs and the headaches, how AI is changing the way they work, and what advice they'd give someone who wants to follow a similar path. No fluff, just real conversations about real work.

Information

  • Creator
    Tyler Michalek
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Tyler Michalek
  • Show Website
    Craft a Path Podcast