How Gwyneth Pena-Siguenza became a Cloud Engineer with no college degree

How Gwyneth Pena-Siguenza became a Cloud Engineer with no college degree Gwyneth's Contact Info: Twitter: https://twitter.com/madebygps YouTube: https://youtube.com/madebygps Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/madebygps LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gwyneth-pena/ Microsoft Bio: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/advocates/gwyneth-penasiguenza Gwyneth's Bio: Hi, I'm Gwyn! Regional Cloud Advocate at Microsoft and YouTuber. I started in tech at a help desk role, this is where I was introduced to cloud computing and the learning hasn't stopped since then. My favorite topics are .NET and Azure Functions and I'm always down to try out new things. I'm passionate about introducing others to the cloud, creating friendly and concise content, and my family. When I'm not doing Advocate things, you can find me playing video games (Big fan of Days Gone, Far Cry, and Sleeping Dogs), hanging out with my family, or eating mint chocolate chip ice cream. --------- Contents of this interview -------- 00:00 - Intro 04:56 - Interview starts 07:08 - How long have you been in IT? 07:18 - Did you go to college or certifications; how did you get in? 08:02 - What was your first job in IT? 08:34 - How do you get priority? 10:25 - What made you get interested in the cloud? 12:44 - How long did it take you to find a job? 14:23 - How long did it take you to get tired of being on the helpdesk? 14:46 - Did you experience any burn out? 17:26 - What advise do you have for someone that may be looking to get into helpdesk or that may already be in helpdesk? 19:43 - How was the transition going from the technical side to the cloud infrastructure side? 21:44 - When things don't click, did you find that stressful? And if so, how did you manage the stress? 23:55 - What's you your thought on engineering vs advocacy? 25:21 - Which cloud vendor should you get certification in? 26:39 - West coast or east coast for cloud jobs? 27:03 - What's the entry level tittle people should be looking for in cloud jobs? 27:56 - You talk a lot about those job descriptions on your channel 28:45 - What are some of the skills you need to learn as a DevOps Engineer or Systems Administrator that works in the cloud? 29:46 - When it comes to learning those skills, what training platforms do you recommend? 31:53 - You mentioned YouTube university - as someone who is new in IT, how do you vet what's good information and who to follow? 33:51 - Did you have a mentor becoming a cloud engineer? 36:07 - Now that you're doing cloud advocacy at Microsoft, how is Microsoft like? 36:39 - Can you walk through how YouTube has been a part of your journey? 41:54 - How long does it take to do the cloud resume challenge? 43:28 - What sparked your interest in the cloud as opposed to software engineer or network engineering? 44:24 - Do you enjoy programming? 44:49 - As a cloud engineer/DevOps/SRE, how important is it to have software development skills? 45:55 - Can you get by being a cloud engineer without scripting? 46:45 - If you were to get into cloud computing, would it be worth getting a network security cert? 47:45 - What was the process like making yourself put out videos continuously? 50:33 - What should be expected of technical demonstration interview entry level roles in the cloud? 52:50 - How important is it to have code and documentation on your GitHub when applying for a cloud role? 54:13 - Do you think someone can make the type of content you're talking about without showing your face on camera? 56:20 - If you could do it all again, would you do your path exactly the same? What would you do differently? 57:30 - When you first got in, did you know already know you should focus on one cloud? 58:34 - When it comes to doing tutorials on cloud or software development, do you follow along? 01:00:42 - GPS, do you wanna take us out? 01:01:24 - Outro 📚Python Books: Python Crash Course: https://amzn.to/3msr2Ce Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: https://amzn.to/3msk2F6 Mastering Python Networking: https://amzn.to/3msRzzg Python for Kids: https://amzn.to/2XSl1nZ Grokking Algorithms: https://amzn.to/3Db2nrB 📚Books I am reading: Black Fortunes:https://amzn.to/3jaPc1N Deep Work: https://amzn.to/3j9qRcI A Man and His Watch: https://amzn.to/3j9kAO5 Basquiat: https://amzn.to/2WiUMqm Black Titan: https://amzn.to/3jhbaAx ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Du'An Lightfoot on Social Media: https://twitter.com/labeveryday DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support! #LabEveryday #madebygps #CloudEngineer