7 Tips for a Successful IT Career Without Getting Fired

Do you want to get ahead in your career? Do you want more money, a bigger office and a better title? Well, this presentation won't promise you any of that but it will present some tips that will make you more valuable in the marketplace all without getting fired. It will also show you how to get noticed and how to learn the newest technologies. Along the way, I'll also share some personal insight and stories from my own career journey.

Transcript

1. Richie Rump Jorriss LLC @Jorriss www.jorriss.net
4. Learn How Projects Work
5. • Why? I thought we’re in IT not project management. • Projects are everywhere. • Projects are constantly being completed and created.
6. • What can we learn? • How to estimate work. • How to plan. • What motivates people.
7. • Get familiar with traditional project management methodology. • Initiating -> Planning -> Execution -> Monitoring and Controlling -> Close • It’s still used by many, many companies
8. • Newer project methodologies such as Agile are becoming more popular. • These frameworks allow for change more easily and speed the time to delivery. • Scrum • Kanban
9. Get Involved in Community
10. • YOU CAN’T KNOW IT ALL. • But you can know people that are experts in a subject. • When you get involved in a community you have access to the combined knowledge of the community.
11. • You also get exposed to new ideas and technologies. • The relationships you create could lead to career opportunities in the future.
13. • Local User Groups / Meetups – dotNet Miami – South Florida SQL Server – WordPress – Ruby – Refresh Miami – Slew of others
14. • Conferences – South Florida Code Camp – WordCamp – SQL Saturday – About a billion others
15. Don’t Lose Your Cool
16. Learn Constantly
17. “Five years from today, you will be the same person that you are today, except for the books you read and the people you meet.” Charlie Jones
18. • Create a learning plan – Determine the skills you want to learn. – Plan your time and what you want to learn daily. – Creates goals and a timeline.
19. • Technical Books • Business Books • Coursera, iTunes U • Pluralsight • Blogs • Podcasts
20. Have an Online Presence
21. • Twitter • Linked In • Blog • Forums • Stack Overflow • Github
25. Have a Sound Financial Plan
26. • Get rid of consumer debt • Have 3-6 months emergency fund • Invest 15% for retirement • Have the right amount of insurance
27. • Removes fear • Gives flexibility • Opens opportunities
29. Get Fired
30. Fire Yourself
31. • Replace yourself – Share your knowledge and skills. • Share credit with others – If you worked with a team give them credit too. • Don’t play the Blame Game – Nobody wins.
32. Richie Rump @Jorriss http://jorriss.net http://slideshare.net/jorriss http://dotnetmiami.com