Journey From Mexico to IT Management with Jose Esparza | Episode 007

Episode Information Show Notes Episode Description: In this captivating episode of Career Downloads, host Manuel Martinez sits down with Jose Esparza, an IT professional who shares his inspiring journey from Mexico to the United States and his rise through the tech industry. Discover how Jose’s passion for video games led him to a successful career in IT, and learn valuable insights for your own professional growth. Show Notes: Introduction to Jose Esparza and his background Jose’s move from Mexico to Southern California at age 14 How video games sparked Jose’s interest in technology Early experiences with CCNA classes and computer electives in high school Attending DeVry University and pivoting from coding to system administration First IT job: Building servers from scratch Transitioning to Help Desk roles and developing critical thinking skills Moving up to Level 2 support and gaining technical depth Challenges and rewards of working for a managed service provider Transitioning to enterprise-level IT and managing thousands of users The importance of communication skills in IT Learning to share knowledge and help others grow Balancing work-life and valuing time in one’s career Overcoming shyness and cultural barriers in the workplace The power of positivity and helpfulness in career growth Key Takeaways: Embrace challenges and continuous learning to advance your IT career Develop strong communication skills to complement your technical expertise Share knowledge with colleagues to foster a collaborative work environment Maintain a positive attitude and helpful demeanor to open new opportunities Balance work responsibilities with personal life for long-term career satisfaction Featured Guest: Jose Esparza Connect with Jose on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esparzajose/ Resources Mentioned: CCNA certification DeVry University Call-to-Action: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. Don’t forget to subscribe to Career Downloads for more inspiring tech career stories and valuable insights. Join our community: Website: https://careerdownloads.com YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@careerdownloads X/Twitter https://twitter.com/@careerdownloads TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@careerdownloads LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/career-downloads Instagram https://www.instagram.com/careerdownloads FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/people/Career-Downloads/61561144531249 Have a question or topic suggestion? Message us on any of the social platforms Remember to use #CareerDownloads when sharing your favorite moments from this episode! Transcription Manuel: Welcome everybody. So my name is Manuel Martinez and this is another episode of Career Downloads where each episode I basically hit the refresh button, bring on a different guest to really understand a little bit more about their background, their job history, any tips and tricks that they may have picked up along the way that they’re willing to share and just understand how they navigated through their career and how they continue to do that now. So for today, I have with me Jose Esparza. So we worked together for a little while. I obviously know a little bit about his background, so we’re going to kind of touch in to that and there’s a couple topics that I really want to make sure to discuss. So with that, thanks for coming Jose. Jose: Yeah, thank you for having me. Manuel: Appreciate it. Jose: It’s been, you know, I’ve known you for a bit and with me being new to Vegas, I enjoyed getting to know you and you showed me a little bit more about the area and really the profession out here, which is tech, IT, given that you’ve been out here for quite some time. Manuel: Yeah, I mean born and raised, so I would say it’s been a little while. Jose: Yeah. Manuel: Yeah,