1 hr 6 min
P2P Series: Laurel from Photography to InfoSec The Introspective Developer
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- Technology
She claimed to have terrible luck. But in InfoSec, a healthy dose of paranoia became her advantage on the path to Staff Engineer.
Laurel impressed me with her patience and dedication to building trust. After her start in the IT department, Laurel became a developer through an internal upskilling program for women. Her stunning nature photography reveals her eye for life's fragility. It's also a surprising advantage in her approach to building a career.
Today, Laurel Rivers (Photography) stays intentionally private while she secures the critical assets of a major US media company.
In our chat, we talk about the importance of health care, COBOL coming and going, risk aversion, and how to keep an open mind in a hostile world.
This episode is packed with insights about:
(00:03:55) Company had a special program to upskill women
(00:06:18) How to detect aptitude?
(00:08:14) Tech career can change lives
(00:12:02) Build your network, vitamin B
(00:15:58) Volunteer for projects to improve your orbit/visibility
(00:17:25) Politics: Building good systems requires building good organizations
(00:24:55) Backup and look at the whole picture sometimes
(00:29:53) Be motivated, ambitious, and willing to learn
(00:33:58) Pay attention to the personal risk security ratio
(00:38:36) Turn vulnerability into strength
(00:40:21) Learning is reading, doing, and adapting
(00:43:55) Mentoring is bidirectional growth
(01:01:13) Branch out of just tech: communication, writing, collaboration
(01:02:50) Working in customer service helps with soft skills
Check blog.introspectivedeveloper.com for transcripts and show notes.
Zeke Arany-Lucas is a principal engineer, coach, and consultant from Seattle, living and working in Berlin since 2014. He has been in the tech industry for over 25 years, starting with web browser development in the 90s, including long stints at Microsoft and Amazon in multiple leadership roles. You can also follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
Artwork by Emre Aydogan & Laura Diezler — ©️2022 Zeke Arany-Lucas
She claimed to have terrible luck. But in InfoSec, a healthy dose of paranoia became her advantage on the path to Staff Engineer.
Laurel impressed me with her patience and dedication to building trust. After her start in the IT department, Laurel became a developer through an internal upskilling program for women. Her stunning nature photography reveals her eye for life's fragility. It's also a surprising advantage in her approach to building a career.
Today, Laurel Rivers (Photography) stays intentionally private while she secures the critical assets of a major US media company.
In our chat, we talk about the importance of health care, COBOL coming and going, risk aversion, and how to keep an open mind in a hostile world.
This episode is packed with insights about:
(00:03:55) Company had a special program to upskill women
(00:06:18) How to detect aptitude?
(00:08:14) Tech career can change lives
(00:12:02) Build your network, vitamin B
(00:15:58) Volunteer for projects to improve your orbit/visibility
(00:17:25) Politics: Building good systems requires building good organizations
(00:24:55) Backup and look at the whole picture sometimes
(00:29:53) Be motivated, ambitious, and willing to learn
(00:33:58) Pay attention to the personal risk security ratio
(00:38:36) Turn vulnerability into strength
(00:40:21) Learning is reading, doing, and adapting
(00:43:55) Mentoring is bidirectional growth
(01:01:13) Branch out of just tech: communication, writing, collaboration
(01:02:50) Working in customer service helps with soft skills
Check blog.introspectivedeveloper.com for transcripts and show notes.
Zeke Arany-Lucas is a principal engineer, coach, and consultant from Seattle, living and working in Berlin since 2014. He has been in the tech industry for over 25 years, starting with web browser development in the 90s, including long stints at Microsoft and Amazon in multiple leadership roles. You can also follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
Artwork by Emre Aydogan & Laura Diezler — ©️2022 Zeke Arany-Lucas
1 hr 6 min