258: Refocus Regularly to Stay Relevant and Shoot for the Top with Joe Carson

<p>Phil’s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Joe Carson. Joe is a cybersecurity professional with over 25 years’ experience in Enterprise Security & Infrastructure.  He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, an active member of the Cyber Security Community, and a frequent speaker at Cyber Security events around the world.</p> <p>He is currently the Chief Security Scientist at Thycotic.</p> <p>In this episode, Phil and Joe Carson discuss how to keep your skills fresh and relevant. Joe explains that it is not just about learning new languages. He shares how he uses physical experiences to help him to identify the right way to approach projects.</p> <p>Joe also identifies several areas of technology that are set to take off, in the near future. They also discuss how to get started in the cybersecurity field.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>KEY TAKEAWAYS:</strong></p> <p><strong>(5.38) TOP CAREER TIP</strong></p> <p>Never stop learning. Being a continuous learner ensures you do this and keep moving. It is now normal to have to switch roles and tech every five years or so. Knowing when to let go of a technology you love and move onto other things is important.</p> <p>Joe explains how he works out what the trends are and stays ahead of the curve. As you will see from the podcast, that does not always mean learning a new programming language.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>(11.26) WORST CAREER MOMENT</strong></p> <p>In 1999, Joe was working on the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service system, which is clearly a critical system. Naturally, around that time they were preparing for the year2K switchover. So, they had to take the system down completely and restart it from scratch.</p> <p>When they did, the screen was blank. A truly awful, heart-stopping moment. In the podcast, Joe shares the strange reason behind that situation.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>(15.39) CAREER HIGHLIGHT</strong></p> <p>In the early days of TEDX, Joe was asked to speak. He enjoyed the experience. But the highlight came after