308: Be Open To Opportunities and Let The World Know What You’re Capable Of with Shruti Balasa

<p>In this week’s show, Phil talks to Shruti Balasa, a full stack developer. She has developed and delivered more than 200 websites over the last 9 years, ranging from static to fully-fledged networking and eCommerce sites.</p> <p>She is now focused on creating tutorials and courses to simplify web development for beginners.</p> <p>Shruti talks about why we should always try to remain open to new possibilities in our IT careers. She also discusses the importance of effective networking in order to let the world know what we’re capable of.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>KEY TAKEAWAYS:</strong></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>TOP CAREER TIP</strong></p> <p>We should be open to any opportunities, especially earlier in our IT careers. Even the pathways that may seem alien to us can often allow us to gain new skills that take us in new directions.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>WORST CAREER MOMENT</strong></p> <p>Shruti developed a piece of software that was subverted by a single user, who hacked the system due to a hidden backdoor. This made Shruti feel the weight of an error, but also spurred her on to be more attentive subsequently.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>CAREER HIGHLIGHT</strong></p> <p>At the beginning of her career, Shruti was interviewed and assessed by Microsoft without any expectations. As she was about to leave, she was advised that she had done far better than she had expected.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T</strong></p> <p>Shruti is constantly excited by the eternal state of learning in the IT sector. The excitement comes in the fact that we must always be developing in order to stay afloat.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>THE REVEAL</strong></p> <p><strong>What first attracted you to a career in I.T.?</strong> – The fact that IT itself is built around problem solving – Shruti’s main strength.</p> <p><strong>What’s the best career advice you received?</strong> – To start a YouTube channel</p> <p><strong>What’s the worst career advice you received?</strong> – Shruti was advised against joining a s