337: Continually Learn and Never Settle For Less with Don Pezet

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Don Pezet, the CTO and Lead Edutainer at ITPro.TV. He has been working in the IT industry since 1997 and has been training others since 2001. He is a certified trainer with many vendors including Microsoft, CompTIA, Google and Cisco.

His combination of real-world experience, textbook knowledge, and a questionable sense of humour have helped him to entertain and educate thousands of people.

Don talks about why it’s vital that we are continually learning throughout our IT journey. He also discusses we should never settle when it comes to our IT career.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

 

TOP CAREER TIP

Always do your best to be continually learning and developing, even in your spare time, which can provide a fun and experimental time. Make IT your passion and always look at what is possible.

 

WORST CAREER MOMENT

Don worked with a student who did not correctly implement a server and its functionality. This led to a huge loss of data.

 

CAREER HIGHLIGHT

Don has overseen the implementation and creation of many systems from scratch, taking advantage of new technologies and helping to found new ways of working that have lasted.

 

THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T

The stability of the IT sector. IT is not going away, and will only ever grow stronger and more robust as a sector.

 

THE REVEAL

What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The potential for experimentation and creativity.

What’s the best career advice you received? – To apply for jobs you’re not qualified for.

What’s the worst career advice you received? – TO get out of IT as it’s not stable.

What would you do if you started your career now? – Don would focus on cybersecurity as it’s become far more important.

What are your current career objectives? – Making the training product that he wished had existed when he first began in IT

What’s your number one non-technical skill? – Reading and communication.

How do you keep your own career energized? – By always learning something new.

What do you do away from technology? – Reading and experimenting with technology.

 

FINAL CAREER TIP

Never settle when it comes to your career. Some find a comfortable niche and don’t like to be challenged. But the world of IT is one that provides endless possibilities in areas you’re passionate about.

 

BEST MOMENTS 

(6:55) – Don – “It used to be enough to say that you wanted to get into IT – now there are all types of specialisations”

(8:14) – Don - “A good IT pro is always learning!”

(16:50) – Don – “We’re constantly having to evaluate the field to determine if we’ve got the right training to set people up to be successful”

(19:36) – Don – “What’s exciting about IT is the experimentation – that you can try different things”

 

ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS

Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organizations to design, develop, and implement software solutions.  Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers.  And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey.

 

CONTACT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS

Phil can be contacted through the following Social M