312: Communication Skills Are Essential and Life Goals Are A Marathon, Not A Sprint with Jessica Chan

IT Career Energizer

In this week’s show, Phil talks to Jessica Chan, a self-taught web developer who provides practical tips and tutorials for beginners in web development which she shares through blog posts and her YouTube channel, ‘Coder Coder’.

Jessica talks about why communication skills are so important in an IT career. She also discusses the importance of patience when it comes to setting life goals.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

TOP CAREER TIP

Communication skills are equally as important as the technical skills we need, in order to have a successful IT career.

WORST CAREER MOMENT

While working on a website redesign, Jessica mistakenly deleted a huge amount of work and was unable to retrieve it. While it was touch and go for a while, Jessica learned to keep backups!

CAREER HIGHLIGHT

Being able to quit her full time job as a developer and focus on content creation, teaching others how to engage with coding and fulfilling her ambitions to become more independent.

THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T

The growth of developer advocate roles, in which developers are asked to create content, is fascinating and is pushing the industry forward.

THE REVEAL

What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Jessica taught herself coding and programming and developed a love for computers from an early age.

What’s the best career advice you received? – Always keep your audience in mind.

What’s the worst career advice you received? – To become a teacher, which was not a fit for Jessica’s personality or skill-set.

What would you do if you started your career now? – Jessica wishes she had seen the potential in an actual career in IT a lot sooner.

What are your current career objectives? – To make Coder-Coder financially sustainable.

What’s your number one non-technical skill? – Anticipating the needs of others.

How do you keep your own career energized? – Jessica tries not to let things stagnate too much She is always learning and trying new things.

What do you do away from technology? – Camping and spending time in nature.

FINAL CAREER TIP

Life goals are a marathon and not a sprint. Don’t get too discouraged if you don’t get instant results.

BEST MOMENTS

(4:40) – Jessica - “Communication will make you someone that people want to work with, as opposed to someone that people try to avoid working with”

(7:30) – Jessica - “It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s not okay to sit on that mistake”

(9:15) – Jessica – “Being able to be a part of someone’s story is so transformative”

(21:55) – Jessica – “Life goals are a marathon, not a sprint”

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 Media platforms:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_PhilBurgess

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess

Instagram: https://instagram.com/_philburgess

Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact

Phil is also reachable by email at [e-mail] and via the podcast’s website, https://itcareerenergizer.com

Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer

ABOUT THE GUEST – JESSICA CHAN

Jessica Chan is a self-taught web developer who provides practical tips and tutorials for beginners in web development which she shares through blog posts and her YouTube channel, ‘Coder Coder’.

CONTACT THE GUEST – JESSICA CHAN

Jessica Chan can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecodercoder/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecodercoder/

Website: https://coder-coder.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCoderCoder