Zero to SRE

Being able to transform a junior engineer into an excellent mid, then senior engineer is a competitive advantage for any company. Unfortunately, there aren’t many entry-level SRE job postings, and if your company hasn’t hired juniors before, you’ll need to make changes in order to create an environment where they can thrive.

This talk is the story of a junior Web Developer turned SRE. I’ve been able to successfully transition into my role because my company has embraced junior engineers by creating a ‘Culture of Error,’ encouraging all engineers to be mentors, and ensuring that all employees take time during the day to learn new skills. We’ve made some mistakes, too, but we’ve learned a lot in the process.

By end of this talk, I’ll share the specific details of how to support junior engineers during their first day, month, 90 days and year, including:
* How to create a learning plan with your junior engineer on their first day
* Strategies for getting your new engineer to contribute to your code base or infrastructure during their first week
* A description of the company-wide attitudes and mindsets that have allowed these practices to flourish

Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wiTfNh9pnY&list=PL3xK3UeH8dyZsM56-bYQlbLwXbtKSulca

Transcript

1. Zero to SRE Kim Schlesinger Devops Days Rockies April 2019 @kimschles
2. Your company can transform a junior engineer to a mid-level engineer within one year. @kimschles
3. Kim Schlesinger @kimschles
4. @kimschles
5. @kimschles
6. My Journey to Site Reliability Engineering @kimschles
7. @kimschles
8. Zero to SRE @kimschles
9. Agenda 1. Your company's culture 2. Prepare for the junior SRE's day one 3. Provide them personalized resources and ongoing support @kimschles
10. @kimschles
11. What should be true about your company before you hire junior engineers? @kimschles
12. @kimschles
13. Guarantee 20% Time for Learning @kimschles
14. @kimschles
15. Create a Culture of Error @kimschles
16. Expect Error and Praise Risk Taking @kimschles
17. Make engineering teams, not individual engineers, critical to your bottom line. @kimschles
18. Guarantee 20% Time for Learning Create a Culture of Error Leverage teams, not individuals @kimschles
19. @kimschles
20. First Day @kimschles
21. First Week @kimschles
22. First 90 Days @kimschles
23. First Year @kimschles
24. First Day @kimschles
25. Clear and Measurable Expectations @kimschles
26. Engineering Leveling Doc @kimschles
27. @kimschles
28. @kimschles
29. @kimschles
30. Novice Is not yet ready to undertake work for a client. Should pass through this level quickly. Advanced Beginner Able to work as a junior engineer on a client team with more or less help from senior Trussel on team. truss.works @kimschles
31. @kimschles
32. Attempts to characterize and resolve roadblocks through 5-15 min Google searching before reporting. truss.works @kimschles
33. Breaks moderately-sized tasks down into smaller units of work upon request and reviews break- down with senior engineers. truss.works @kimschles
34. @kimschles
35. First Day @kimschles
36. Prepare a technical learning plan that is aligned with the day-to- day work of your engineers. @kimschles
37. Example Topics for the Learning Plan: • git and linux commands • yaml • VPC with AWS and GCP • Docker and Kubernetes @kimschles
38. Your junior engineer should independently complete large and small projects as part of their technical learning plan. @kimschles
39. Develop systems of support and accountability for your junior SRE. @kimschles
40. ReactiveOps Apprentice Learning Plan https://github.com/reactiveops/apprentice-learning-plan @kimschles
41. First Day @kimschles
42. Integrate your new hire into their team on day one. @kimschles
43. Be explicit about your desired timeline for the junior SRE's first independent contribution. @kimschles
44. First Week @kimschles
45. Pairing and Real Work @kimschles
46. @kimschles
47. People learn concrete-to-abstract, not abstract-to-concrete. kylecoberly.com @kimschles
48. Concrete kubectl get services -n kube-system kubectl get pods -n kube-system kubectl get pods -n kube-system -o wide @kimschles
49. Abstract @kimschles
50. Regular one- on-ones with their manager @kimschles
51. First 90 Days @kimschles
52. 90 Day Trial Period @kimschles
53. Review the new engineer's progress as compared against your leveling doc. @kimschles
54. @kimschles
55. Encourage formal learning through exam prep, a book club, or an online course. @kimschles
56. Hire more junior engineers! @kimschles
57. @kimschles
58. First Year @kimschles
59. Review the new engineer's progress as compared against your leveling doc. @kimschles
60. Promote your SRE when they've leveled up! @kimschles
61. @kimschles
62. Your company can transform a junior engineer to a mid-level engineer within one year. @kimschles
63. Agenda 1. Your company's culture 2. Prepare for the junior SRE's day one 3. Provide them personalized resources and ongoing support @kimschles
64. Credits • Photos by WOCinTech Chat • Culture of Error by Doug Lemov • Steve Kinney • Kyle Coberly • Truss Leveling • ReactiveOps Apprentice Learning Plan @kimschles
65. We're Hiring! https://reactiveops.com/careers @kimschles
66. kimschlesinger.com @kimschles @kimschles