The I.T. XP

The IT XP
  • 5.0 (3)
  • CAREERS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to The Tech XP – the podcast that takes you inside the dynamic world of Information Technology. Whether you're coding the next big thing, managing enterprise systems, securing networks, or just the go-to "tech person" in your office, this show is for you. Technology is at the heart of every business, and IT professionals are the driving force behind it all. From cloud computing to on-prem solutions, software development to cybersecurity, we uncover the reality of working in IT—beyond the job titles and buzzwords. Ever feel like no one outside of IT understands what you do? Yeah, we get it. Your family might think you just "fix computers," but in reality, you're designing infrastructure, writing top-tier code, or keeping an entire organization's data secure. Whether you're a helpdesk analyst, software engineer, project manager, database admin, or wear multiple hats, this podcast pulls back the curtain on what it's really like to work in tech. Expect insights, stories, and real-world experiences that bridge the gap between enterprise IT and the ever-changing tech landscape. Join us as we break down the challenges, wins, and realities of life in IT—without the corporate jargon.

  1. 12/31/2025

    Stop Being an AI Skeptic: Why IT Pros Can't Afford to Wait

    After 25+ years in IT, Chuck shares his unfiltered 2-year AI journey—from skeptic to AI-first. Why 2026 is the year IT professionals can't afford to wait on AI experimentation. It's December 31st, 2025—the last day of the year and the final episode of 2025 for The IT XP. Chuck gets personal about his two-year journey with AI, from initial skepticism to becoming AI-first in his workflow and content creation. This isn't a polished how-to guide. It's an honest account of experimentation, failures, and lessons learned across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, RunwayML, ElevenLabs, Sora, and emerging agentic AI tools. 🎯 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: - Why experienced IT professionals (25+ years) bring irreplaceable value in an AI-augmented world - The real difference between generative AI and agentic AI—and what it means for your career - How to overcome AI hesitation and start experimenting (even if you're skeptical) - Corporate Hardcore case study: Building a content brand using AI-generated characters and video - Coco Live case study: Managing a high-volume TikTok account with AI automation - The "clarity principle"—why AI reflects your thinking, not replaces it - Custom instructions mastery: How to make AI tools actually useful for your specific needs - Why your judgment becomes MORE valuable, not less, as AI adoption increases 🔥 KEY INSIGHTS: "AI didn't replace me. It freed me to do the work only I can do." Chuck breaks down the 70/30 rule: AI handles 70% of repetitive work, but the last 30%—judgment, context, validation—is where experienced IT professionals prove their value. ⚠️ THE HARD TRUTHS: - Organizations are experimenting with "AI" solutions that aren't actually leveraging AI effectively - Instant gratification culture is killing long-term skill development - Junior engineers don't know what they don't know—experience matters more in an AI world - In 2025, not using AI doesn't make you cautious. It makes you slow. 📊 2026 PREDICTIONS: 1. AI agents go mainstream (it's already happening—Microsoft Ignite was wall-to-wall agents) 2. The IT skills gap flips: Demand shifts from cloud engineers to "AI orchestrators" who can direct AI to solve ops problems 3. Regulatory scrutiny intensifies: "The AI did it" won't fly in regulated industries 💪 THE CHALLENGE: Start January 2nd. Pick ONE task you hate. Let AI take the first pass. You'll either save time or learn something. Either way, you're building the skill that matters most in the next decade. This is a passion-driven episode from someone who's been in the trenches for 25+ years and sees the writing on the wall: experienced IT professionals have a choice. Adapt and leverage AI, or become "too expensive" without demonstrating new value. 🎙️ ABOUT THE IT XP: 10 years of unfiltered career advice, technology insights, and experience points for IT professionals. Not looking for top 10 podcast status—just trying to help one person avoid the mistakes Chuck made over 25+ years in corporate IT. --- 🔗 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: - Corporate Hardcore (@CorpHardcore on TikTok) - Chuck's AI-generated corporate satire series - Coco Live Highlights (@cocolivehighlights on TikTok) - High-volume content automation case study - Tools covered: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, RunwayML, ElevenLabs, Sora, MCP servers 📅 Next Episode: Coming in 2026 If this resonated, share it with one IT professional still on the fence about AI. Let's make 2026 the year IT stops reacting and starts building.

    1 hr

  2. 12/25/2025

    Enterprise to Startup: The GitHub Recruitment Path

    After 17 years at a large utility company managing decade-long waterfall projects, Don Freeman made a radical pivot into the fast-paced world of Web3 startups—without ever applying for the job. In this episode of The IT XP, Don shares how his contributions to the Ethereum Foundation's web3.py library caught SonarX's attention and led to a complete career transformation. We explore the stark contrast between enterprise and startup life, from 10-year projects to 10-day sprints, and why Don believes your GitHub commits might be worth more than your next certification. This isn't about quitting your job for crypto—it's about the power of learning in public and taking initiative. Key Takeaways: The shift from 10-year waterfall projects to 10-day startup sprints (06:49) How documentation PRs evolved into a job offer from SonarX (04:30) Why "I've never found something I couldn't dig into and learn" is the ultimate career philosophy (07:42) The real difference between enterprise "decision trees" and startup autonomy (24:15) Why crossing team boundaries is the question enterprise people are afraid to ask (41:31) About Don Freeman: Don Freeman is a software engineer who transitioned from designing power lines and managing enterprise systems at a utility company to contributing to open source Web3 projects. His journey from Linux enthusiast in the '90s to startup engineer showcases the power of continuous learning and public contribution. Connect with Don: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-freeman/ GitHub: https://github.com/dbfreem

    44 min

  3. 12/10/2025

    Why 94% of Gen Z Won't Become Your Boss

    A 2025 Deloitte survey of 23,000 workers across 44 countries found only 6% of Gen Z aspire to senior leadership. Chuck—upper-middle management for over a decade—unpacks the real math behind the 94% rejection rate, shares war stories on emotional labor, and previews next week's dive into AI replacing managers entirely. Homework: map your role to IC vs. management paths and share what you find.

    48 min

  4. 12/01/2025

    Microsoft Ignite 2025 Observations

    Chuck breaks down his first-ever Microsoft Ignite experience in San Francisco—from navigating the massive Moscone Center venue to cutting through the "Copilot everything" sales pitch. If you've wondered whether mega-conferences like Ignite are worth the hype (and the $400+/night hotel bill), this episode delivers the unfiltered reality check. What You'll Get: Conference logistics reality: 20,000 attendees, government ID checkpoints, buses to Chase Center for the keynote, and the eternal search for the Marriott Marquis session rooms Talk quality assessment: Why "advanced" sessions felt disappointingly high-level, and when sales-focused content actually serves smaller orgs better than enterprise teams already deep in Microsoft partnerships Azure AI Foundry & security focus: Chuck's key takeaways from the tracks that mattered most—plus what the vendor floor really delivers (spoiler: lots of socks) The Copilot/Agent saturation problem: How Microsoft's 2025 strategy mirrors Dell Tech World '23's AI frenzy, and what it means for your actual infrastructure work Bonus War Story (starts ~47:00): Chuck dissects a multi-day production outage where AI-armed stakeholders derailed troubleshooting—and shares the diplomatic strategies that kept tempers in check while solving the real capacity management issue. Critical lessons on handling aggressive personalities during high-pressure incidents, even when "Big Dick Todd" and "Big Dick Mary" show up with ChatGPT-fueled theories. Who This Is For: Sysadmins, infrastructure engineers, and IT leaders who need to separate conference theater from actionable intelligence—and who've ever dealt with non-technical stakeholders "helping" during outages. Key Timestamps: 00:00 – Ignite overview & Copilot saturation 02:15 – Venue logistics & San Francisco hotel costs 06:27 – Session quality: beginner vs. "advanced" 47:00 – Production outage war story: IOPS, firewalls & managing egos 52:21 – Handling aggressive personalities during incidents Subscribe to The I.T. XP for weekly unfiltered advice on navigating IT careers, industry shifts, and the real stories behind the buzzwords.

    56 min

  5. 10/30/2025

    AWS US-East-1 Goes Down — Why DNS Still Rules the Internet

    When Amazon Web Services' US-East-1 region went dark in October 2025, half the internet felt it. In this episode of The IT XP, Chuck breaks down what really happened — from the DNS and DynamoDB race condition that triggered the AWS outage to the cascading effects across global systems. He explains the technical side of DNS at scale in plain language, then connects it to bigger lessons for IT professionals: why multi-cloud strategies matter, how infrastructure teams can partner better with the business, and what aging technologists must do to stay relevant in the era of AI. Whether you manage cloud platforms, build resilient architectures, or just want to understand why "it's always DNS," this is a must-listen.

    31 min

  6. 10/16/2025

    Back to Basics

    The I.T. XP Returns: Navigating IT Careers in 2025—AI, Layoffs, and Staying Relevant After a six-month hiatus, The I.T. XP podcast is back with unfiltered insights for IT professionals navigating today's rapidly changing tech landscape. Chuck returns to the audio format to tackle the biggest challenges facing sysadmins, IT engineers, and technology managers in 2025. What You'll Learn in This Episode: In this no-nonsense discussion, Chuck addresses the realities IT professionals face today: ongoing tech layoffs, AI transformation pressure from leadership, constant organizational restructuring, and the skills gap between operations and engineering roles. Whether you're a systems administrator, network engineer, or IT manager, this episode delivers actionable career advice for staying competitive. Key Topics Covered: AI in IT careers: Why learning AI and automation is as critical now as cloud computing was ten years ago Offshoring myths vs. reality: What's actually happening with remote work and global IT teams Ageism in technology: Navigating career longevity as an experienced IT professional Proving your value: How to demonstrate human judgment and expertise in increasingly automated environments Career transition strategies: Moving from IT operations to engineering roles Chuck also introduces his new project, Corporate Hardcore—a satirical take on workplace culture that uses humor to teach real IT career lessons. Perfect for: IT professionals experiencing burnout from constant change, anyone concerned about job security in the age of AI, and technology workers looking for honest career guidance without the corporate spin. Ready to hear the truth about IT careers in 2025? Listen now and join the conversation—share your own experiences and connect with IT professionals who keep the infrastructure running. Subscribe to The I.T. XP for authentic conversations about real IT careers.

    40 min

  7. 03/20/2025

    Season 11 Starts today!!!

    We're kicking off Season 11 with an homage to legacy media where we read reddit questions and answer them live!

    55 min

  8. 07/25/2024

    Fail.con 2024

    The Crowdstrike Falcon issue was an eye opener for a lot of IT organizations on the readiness of their BCP or DR plans. This isn't the first time we've seen this, but it's been a while where such a large outage has been seen across a number of different industries. I discuss how you can leverage this as an opportunity for you to be more visible within your organization and finding opportunities to get ahead in your career. Crowdstrike PIR: https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/falcon-content-update-preliminary-post-incident-report/ What is a post incident review: https://www.cybereason.com/resources/post-incident-review

    1h 1m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Tech XP – the podcast that takes you inside the dynamic world of Information Technology. Whether you're coding the next big thing, managing enterprise systems, securing networks, or just the go-to "tech person" in your office, this show is for you. Technology is at the heart of every business, and IT professionals are the driving force behind it all. From cloud computing to on-prem solutions, software development to cybersecurity, we uncover the reality of working in IT—beyond the job titles and buzzwords. Ever feel like no one outside of IT understands what you do? Yeah, we get it. Your family might think you just "fix computers," but in reality, you're designing infrastructure, writing top-tier code, or keeping an entire organization's data secure. Whether you're a helpdesk analyst, software engineer, project manager, database admin, or wear multiple hats, this podcast pulls back the curtain on what it's really like to work in tech. Expect insights, stories, and real-world experiences that bridge the gap between enterprise IT and the ever-changing tech landscape. Join us as we break down the challenges, wins, and realities of life in IT—without the corporate jargon.

Information

  • Creator
    The IT XP
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2025
  • Episodes
    139
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    The I.T. XP