Change Is the Only Constant

Change makes the fire burn.

Welcome to the 21st issue of Zero to Hero Highlights.

Fire burns continuously and without interruption. It is always consuming fuel and always liberating smoke. Everything is either mounting upwards to serve as fuel, or sinking downwards after having nourished the flame. It follows that the whole of reality is like an ever-flowing stream, and that nothing is ever at rest for a moment. — Heraclitus

Yes, everything flows; everything changes and nothing is stationary.

Personal… News?

Well, it’s about time to spill those beans (at least to the devoted readers of this newsletter 🙂). Everyone will learn in a few weeks anyway.

Because of some of the surrounding changes, I paused content creation for a while. And now I’m back again 💪.

So what happened? Well, if you don’t know Silly Cone Valley technical interviews, it will be harder to help you visualize how brutal they are. Preparing for them is equivalent to preparing for a Bar Examination, SAT, or something. I’m not kidding. It’s flocking hard!

I have been interviewing for the last few months, and my main focus and energy were on the interview preparation. Since that process has ended, now I can share my “personal news” with you.

Farewell Cisco 🐬; Hello VMware 👋

VMware.

Hello world. Hello stars. Hello universe.

As of mid-April (2022), I’ll have my last day at Cisco.

I’ve been at Cisco for the last seven years: That’s a long time to learn a lot. I enjoyed every single moment of it.

That being said, I also believe it’s time for the next steps in my career journey.

I’m moving to VMware as a Staff Engineer.

In my new job, among many things, I’ll initially be responsible for 5G Edge Non-Realtime Radio Access Network APIs, Cloud Architecture, and Orchestration. I know, it’s a bit mouthful, yet it’s exciting. There are so many new things to learn.

So, in case you are curious about whether your 5G cellular reception enhances after you get those vaccines, I’ll soon figure it out 😀.

Ah, I’ll be Kuberneting as usual too; nothing has changed in that part 😀.

This new opportunity will be technologically, conceptually, and architecturally “on the edge”. I just cannot wait to get started.

How Will This Change Impact… Well… Everything

Honestly, I don’t know. This new job is very demanding, and I’ll have to learn a lot, at least initially. Radio Access Edge Networks will be my main focus. This also means I’ll move my focus away from some of the things I have been doing, at least until I get comfortable with my new environment.

To accommodate for the time that need for this transition, here are the things that I’m phasing out or changing my cadence:

FizzBuzz Pro: It was fun to create an application around data structures and algorithms and teach how to think algorithmically. However, it takes a considerable effort, which I cannot find time for right now. So I shut down the service. Of course, I have all the source code, and I may repurpose it for other things later.
Twitch Stream: I will do screencasts every now and then, but I won’t tie them to a schedule. It will be more like whenever I feel like it. You can follow me on Twitch to get notified whenever I’m online.
Zero to Hero: I have to manage my time well, and my current job will be my primary focus. I will continue to create content. Yet the content will be more byte-size and practical rather than involved and instructional. So expect to see more tips and fewer lectures here.
OpsBeacon: I’ll continue to add value to OpsBeacon, and I’ll share my progress here and on my screencasts. I don’t foresee any changes in that alley.

That’s more or less how I see things will pan out. As I said, in time, if I can allocate more time, I sure will provide more content. But, at the end of the day, content creation is something that I do have fun with. I love explaining concepts, and I’ll continue doing that as long as I have time available.

Random Thought of the Week

Every success story that I’ve been a part of involved some luck factor.

Some people say that “serendipity is not in your control,” but that’s not entirely true. You don’t get lucky; you build your luck.

Here is a way to build luck into your career:

Serendipitous Networking

I don’t know if there is a different name for it. What I mean by “serendipitous networking” is to connect with people just for the sake of connecting. You’ll be amazed how useful some of those weak ties you created will be to lift you up.

Connect with people to get to know them, with no intention to leverage them as a career slingshot. Instead, merely connect with them to find common ground. Learn their perspectives; learn their stories; know them.

Ask them questions about how they discovered their passion and what they like or dislike about their role or industry.

First, what you learn can motivate you to lead yourself to your next career move. And more importantly, you’ll have someone to discuss related things once you want to make a life-changing decision.

Don’t Fear Change

Yes, change is risky. Yes, change is unknown. Yes, change is uncomfortable.

Changes that feel out of your control can feel scary. Yet, try to see them as opportunities. What can you learn from that change? What aspects of it are under your control? And what part of it should you better let go with the flow?

Change is good.

Remember, there is always an opportunity to capitalize when there is a disruption.

Observe the change, and trust that new opportunities will arise within time.

Look What I’ve Found

Here are the things that grabbed my attention this week.

I typically don’t share these anywhere else.

Exclusively hand-picked for you 👌. Enjoy.

Thanks a Lot ❤️

That’s all for this week. Next week, I’ll gather more unique content and resources.

So, until next time… May the source be with you 🦄.