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Blossoming Technologist

Blossoming Technologist

By Marisa Hoenig

A podcast for young professionals in tech discovering skills, careers, and tips for being in the tech industry. How do you get an internship? Which career paths exist? Every week, Marisa interviews a young professional to learn about their career and path in tech.

Stay updated about new episodes through Instagram and Twitter @blossoming_tech.
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8. Security Doesn’t Need To Be Complicated with Sara Diaz

Blossoming TechnologistJan 25, 2021

00:00
37:13
49. Replay: Landing a Top-Tier Internship with Alexandra Foote

49. Replay: Landing a Top-Tier Internship with Alexandra Foote

How do you get an internship at a top tech company? Once you secure the internship, how do you make the most of that experience?

Meet Alexandra Foote, a product manager at Microsoft and career coach helping students secure internships. During her time studying computer science at Georgia Tech, Alexandra interned at Google, Microsoft, and Bank of America. With her internship experience, she began coaching hundreds of students to land job offers at top tech companies. Now, she continues to coach students through her course "Tech Internship Toolkit" and free masterclass "How to Land an Internship at a Top Tech Company."

In this episode, we dive into how to get internships and why they're so important. We talk about common mistakes students make, how to make the most of your internship experience, and how to prepare for technical interviews.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Connect with Alexandra:

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Connect with Marisa:

Credits:

  • Podcast Production by Marisa Hoenig
  • Social Media Marketing & Episode Cover Art by Lucy Zheng
  • Podcast Logo by Kendal Goodell @goodelldesigns
Sep 26, 202245:50
48. Replay: Security Doesn't Need to be Complicated with Sara Diaz
Sep 19, 202201:11:51
47. Replay: Going to Grad School with Stephen Sam

47. Replay: Going to Grad School with Stephen Sam

Sep 12, 202201:11:51
46. Replay: Shaping Your Software Engineering Career with Victoria Kirst

46. Replay: Shaping Your Software Engineering Career with Victoria Kirst

How do you shape a career you love? Why should you pursue software engineering especially if you don't want to sit behind a computer all day?

Meet Victoria Kirst, an incoming software engineer at The Browser Company, former software engineer at Google for 8 years, former lecturer at Stanford, and most recently the Director of Platform and then VP of Engineering at a startup, Glitch. Victoria is passionate about software engineering and education, and in our conversation, she shares insights about her career journey to help others succeed in software engineering.

In this episode, Victoria discusses what she loves about software engineering, what stops people from choosing software engineering, how to shape your career, choosing the right career, when to leave a job, how to define a startup, differences between working at a big company versus a startup, and the responsibilities of a VP of Engineering. We also talk about her new project that you can get involved in to stay on track with your learning goals: Everybody Study Club.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Connect with Victoria:

Follow Blossoming Technologist:

Connect with Marisa:

Credits:

  • Podcast Production by Marisa Hoenig
  • Social Media Marketing & Episode Cover Art by Lucy Zheng
  • Podcast Logo by Kendal Goodell @goodelldesigns
Sep 05, 202258:55
45. Replay: Prioritizing Mental Health with Mahmoud Khedr

45. Replay: Prioritizing Mental Health with Mahmoud Khedr

How can your job impact your mental health? What can you do to make your mental health a priority? Today's episode features Mahmoud Khedr, the Co-Founder and CEO of FloraMind, an organization that develops tools to guide young people toward positive mental health.

Mahmoud is a proud Egyptian immigrant passionate about empowering underserved communities through mental health education. His career began in tech, with companies like Facebook and Google, which led to his focus on entrepreneurship and mental health. We discuss his experience working in tech and starting companies, with lessons on entrepreneurship and how to prioritize your well-being. We also dive into the inspiration behind FloraMind, stories from teaching mental health workshops to kids, and why toxic positivity is a problem. Get ready to be inspired!

Mentioned in This Episode:

Connect with Mahmoud:

Follow Blossoming Technologist:

Connect with Marisa:

Credits:

  • Podcast Production by Marisa Hoenig
  • Social Media Marketing & Episode Cover Art by Lucy Zheng
  • Podcast Logo by Kendal Goodell @goodelldesigns
Aug 29, 202255:23
44. The Importance of Breaks
Aug 22, 202211:34
43. Getting Started in Healthcare Tech with Gulé Sheikh
Aug 15, 202230:46
42. Engineering Operations & Glue Work with Shannon Jackson
Aug 08, 202243:10
41. Cybersecurity & How to Protect Yourself Online with Lakeidra Smith
Aug 01, 202231:18
40. How to Become a CTO with James Connor
Jul 25, 202228:48
39. Startups: From Recruitment to New Hire with Chase Kocher
Jul 18, 202240:01
38. Explaining Databases and Other Tech Concepts Through Metaphors with Aman Y. Agarwal

38. Explaining Databases and Other Tech Concepts Through Metaphors with Aman Y. Agarwal

Jul 11, 202234:33
37. How to Get Started in Tech
Jul 04, 202218:00
36. Choosing a Great Coding Bootcamp with Jai Bhagat

36. Choosing a Great Coding Bootcamp with Jai Bhagat

Jun 27, 202201:05:18
35. How to Get a Job on LinkedIn with Chloe Belangia
Jun 20, 202247:05
34. Aerospace R&D and Proposals with Sean Hoenig
Jun 13, 202214:42
33. Lessons Learned Interviewing Technologists
Jun 06, 202228:42
32. 7 Lessons from a First-Time Tech Lead
Mar 21, 202234:60
31. Learning Through Side Projects with Justin Higgins

31. Learning Through Side Projects with Justin Higgins

Why should you start a side project? How do you come up with new project ideas?

Meet Justin Higgins, a software engineer and creative programmer based out of Los Angeles. With over ten years of software development experience, Justin has helped companies like Beats Music and Polaroid launch and scale their services to millions of users. Justin is the Founder of 24 Hour Homepage, a website in which every second is a clickable image for advertising. This creative endeavor was an effort to learn sales and marketing while leveraging his software development skills.

In this episode, we discuss Justin's love for side projects, and how he utilizes them to tackle skills he wants to learn. We also discuss ways to learn and come up with ideas and how he utilizes platforms like Twitter to connect with people for his projects.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Connect with Justin:

24 Hour Homepage: 24HourHomepage.com
  • Twitter: @justinprojects
  • Medium: higgins.medium.com
  • Follow Blossoming Technologist:

    Connect with Marisa:

    Credits:

    • Podcast Production by Marisa Hoenig
    • Social Media Marketing & Episode Cover Art by Lucy Zheng
    • Podcast Logo by Kendal Goodell @goodelldesigns
    Mar 07, 202236:41
    30. UX Design Parallels with Mesoamerican Culture with Itzy Ramirez
    Feb 21, 202225:41
    29. Software Engineer to CEO: Building a Business with Trevor Ewen
    Feb 07, 202251:41
    28. Using No-Code To Build an App with Alexandria Tomayko
    Jan 24, 202236:25
    27. Bitcoin: The Most Important Freedom Technology with Alex Dischinger

    27. Bitcoin: The Most Important Freedom Technology with Alex Dischinger

    Jan 10, 202233:44
    26. Designing Logos & NFTs with Arinjay Shekhar
    Dec 13, 202127:53
    25. What It's Really Like to Work in Tech with Jennifer Robertson
    Dec 06, 202133:13
    24. Mobile Development & Necessary Soft Skills with Tim Bornholdt

    24. Mobile Development & Necessary Soft Skills with Tim Bornholdt

    Nov 29, 202143:53
    23. Going to Grad School with Stephen Sam

    23. Going to Grad School with Stephen Sam

    Nov 22, 202101:10:29
    22. Machine Learning Meets Wine with Aubrey Terrazas

    22. Machine Learning Meets Wine with Aubrey Terrazas

    Aubrey Terrazas is an 18-year hospitality professional, Master Sommelier candidate, and co-founder of Palate Club, a digital wine service that uses machine learning to fit the user’s unique taste of wine. Based out of France, Aubrey uses her experience of tasting 100s of wines every year to identify over 200 wine traits, the core data for Palate Club's machine learning algorithm. Aubrey's ideas and disruption to the classic “wine club” model positioned her as one of America’s top sommeliers and wine entrepreneurs.

    In this episode, we discuss the wine industry, giving background on how to become a Sommelier, Aubrey's experience in wine, and why blind taste-testing is such an important part of Palate Club. We also talk about how Palate Club utilizes machine learning, technologies being used in the wine industry (like blockchain!), and parallels between the wine and tech industries.

    Make sure to enter our giveaway for a gift certificate for a blind tasting kit ($59 value): forms.gle/RS6h7bxrMsF2DHCd7

    Mentioned in This Episode:

    Follow Palate Club:

    Connect with Aubrey:

    Follow Blossoming Technologist:

    Connect with Marisa:

    Credits:

    • Podcast Production by Marisa Hoenig
    • Social Media Marketing & Episode Cover Art by Lucy Zheng
    • Podcast Logo by Kendal Goodell @goodelldesigns
    Nov 15, 202130:46
    21. Digital Marketing & Building Your Personal Brand with Lucy Zheng
    Nov 08, 202136:42
    20. Season 2: Welcome Back
    Nov 01, 202113:31
    19. Season 1 Finale

    19. Season 1 Finale

    Tune in for the Season 1 Finale of Blossoming Technologist! In this episode, Marisa reflects on the past season and insights from being a podcaster. She talks about the behind-the-scenes of producing a podcast and the pros and cons of having a platform for content creation.

    Marisa shares some exciting news on how to get involved with Blossoming Technologist (linked below!). She also provides suggestions for other podcasts to listen to and documentaries to watch while the podcast goes on a ~2 month break before Season 2.

    Do you know someone who should be featured on the podcast? Reach out via social media or email to let us know. Thank you for listening to Season 1! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3am1bFb

    Timestamps:

    0:00 Introduction
    01:29 Season 1 Highlights
    02:51 Reflections on Podcasting
    15:20 What's Next
    16:05 Getting Involved
    21:47 Season 2
    22:27 Wrapping Up
    23:16 Podcast/Documentary Recommendations

    Get Involved:

    Mentorship/Research 1:1s: bit.ly/3twYCaC
    Social Media Manager Application (due May 3): bit.ly/3srvL6h
    Volunteer Interest Form: bit.ly/3mX2Aad

    Podcast & Documentary Recommendations:

    Women in Tech Podcast: spoti.fi/3egY8Po
    Ladybug Podcast: spoti.fi/3anxiEd
    Passages Podcast: spoti.fi/3eaJYQ1
    Make Peas Not Beef Podcast: spoti.fi/3suZ4VI
    AppThink Podcast: apple.co/3gsRwQG
    Connecting with Careers Podcast: spoti.fi/2Q5ffvR
    "The Social Dilemma": bit.ly/3glWpeo
    "Coded Bias": bit.ly/2OYd50e

    About Marisa:

    Marisa Hoenig is the host of Blossoming Technologist and a software developer at ThoughtWorks. She graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelors in computer science in 2018. Marisa is passionate about helping others navigate the tech industry and understand different careers.

    Connect with Marisa:

    LinkedIn: /marisahoenig
    Twitter: @marisahoenig
    Instagram: @marisahoenig

    Follow Blossoming Technologist:

    Instagram: @blossoming_tech
    Twitter: @blossoming_tech
    LinkedIn: /blossoming-technologist
    Contact: blossomingtechnologist@gmail.com
    Apr 19, 202126:48
    18. Demystifying Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies with Nicholas Prouten
    Apr 12, 202143:43
    17. Landing a Top Tier Internship with Alexandra Foote
    Apr 05, 202144:44
    16. Software Soft Skills & Writing with Lokajit Tikayatray

    16. Software Soft Skills & Writing with Lokajit Tikayatray

    What soft skills are necessary as a software developer? How can writing in your free time help you advance in your career? Meet Lokajit Tikayatray, an IT Architecture consultant at Dell Technologies from Bangalore, India. With 15 years of experience as a software developer, Lokajit is passionate about helping business users understand requirements, creating optimal solutions, and helping developers implement the best product. In his free time, he writes about software engineering on Medium, helping budding software engineers learn how to succeed in their careers. Several of his articles have gone viral and have been read by thousands of people around the world.

    In this episode, we talk about soft skills necessary in software development and the power of having a good attitude. We also dive into the importance of a hobby like writing in helping your career as well as the specifics of what it's like to write on Medium, a platform with tons of technology content.

    Mentioned in This Episode:

    Medium:
    medium.com
    Medium Bad-Assery Course: medium-bad-assery.teachable.com/p/medium-bad-assery
    Quora: quora.com
    Medium Partner Program: bit.ly/3sxwi7G
    Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun: bit.ly/3m1b7IB

    Lokajit's Medium Articles

    This is Why Software Developers Fail to Succeed in Their Career: bit.ly/39qz6Ma
    Are Senior Developers Worth Their Place in the Team: bit.ly/39qFCCS
    Top 7 Signs of an Inexperienced Programmer: bit.ly/3ruHccX
    5 Most Difficult Programming Languages in the World: bit.ly/3rxOxIT
    How Reciprocity Helps Me Win in My Software Career: bit.ly/2QDK8XU

    Connect with Lokajit:

    LinkedIn: /lokajit-tikayatray-37a59ab
    Twitter: @Lokajit
    Medium: @lokajit-tikayatray

    Follow Blossoming Technologist:

    Instagram: @blossoming_tech
    Twitter: @blossoming_tech
    LinkedIn: /blossoming-technologist
    Mar 29, 202140:45
    15. From the Recruiter's Perspective with Estefania Ortiz
    Mar 22, 202141:08
    14. Shaping Your Software Engineering Career with Victoria Kirst

    14. Shaping Your Software Engineering Career with Victoria Kirst

    How do you shape a career you love? Why should you pursue software engineering especially if you don't want to sit behind a computer all day?

    Meet Victoria Kirst, an incoming software engineer at The Browser Company, former software engineer at Google for 8 years, former lecturer at Stanford, and most recently the Director of Platform and then VP of Engineering at a startup, Glitch. Victoria is passionate about software engineering and education, and in our conversation, she shares insights about her career journey to help others succeed in software engineering.

    In this episode, Victoria discusses what she loves about software engineering, what stops people from choosing software engineering, how to shape your career, choosing the right career, when to leave a job, how to define a startup, differences between working at a big company versus a startup, and the responsibilities of a VP of Engineering. We also talk about her new project that you can get involved in to stay on track with your learning goals: Everybody Study Club.

    Mentioned in This Episode:

    Code In Place Call for Teachers:
    codeinplace.stanford.edu/teach
    Ashley C. Ford Quote (Twitter): bit.ly/2OnJeOM
    "Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir" by Ashley C. Ford (preorder): amzn.to/2OmLaHg
    "What the Hell is a Startup Anyway" Techcrunch Article: tcrn.ch/3tkHJ2j
    "The Manager's Path" by Camille Fournier: bit.ly/2OxpRm9

    Connect with Victoria:

    Twitter: @heyvrk
    LinkedIn: /victoriakirst
    Everybody Study Club: everybodystudy.club

    Follow Blossoming Technologist:

    Instagram: @blossoming_tech
    Twitter: @blossoming_tech
    LinkedIn: /blossoming-technologist
    Mar 15, 202157:22
    13. Intro to Cloud Computing with Joshua "TechDev" Walker

    13. Intro to Cloud Computing with Joshua "TechDev" Walker

    Mar 01, 202133:50
    12. Product & Project Management with Trevor Newberry

    12. Product & Project Management with Trevor Newberry

    What's the difference between product and project management? Where does Scrum fit into that? Learn from Trevor Newberry, the Owner of Newberry Consulting, Co-Founder of AppThink, and Director of Product Delivery at Harmony Venture Labs. Hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, Trevor uses his experience as a consultant, product manager, and project manager to help non-technical and first-time founders build amazing software products.

    In this episode, we dig into several roles in tech including (but not limited to) product manager, project manager, and scrum master. If you're looking to get into these roles, this is the perfect episode to find out what it's like from someone who does it everyday and who started with a not-so-typical background. We also discuss problems that first-time founders face that can be solved with product management, best ways to learn, the power of community, and the importance of hobbies.

    Mentioned in This Episode:

    The Product Book by Product School:
    bit.ly/3k4MPMM
    INSPIRED by Marty Cagan: bit.ly/3bq937Z
    Measure What Matters by John Doerr: bit.ly/3azIcqU
    Seth Godin: seths.blog
    Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller: bit.ly/3pzIpyF
    The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell: bit.ly/3qD8XjL
    Hooked by Nir Eyal: bit.ly/3dwDJHI
    The Lean Startup by Eric Ries: bit.ly/3k3IrxP

    Connect with Trevor:

    LinkedIn: /trevor-newberry

    Follow AppThink

    Website: appthink.io
    Instagram: @appthink
    Facebook: /appthink
    LinkedIn: /appthink
    Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/appthink/id1552894462

    Follow Blossoming Technologist:

    Instagram: @blossoming_tech
    Twitter: @blossoming_tech
    LinkedIn: /blossoming-technologist
    Feb 22, 202143:24
    11. Freelancing for Small Businesses with Arjun Chopra
    Feb 15, 202129:26
    10. Technology's Environmental Impact with Lilly Tong

    10. Technology's Environmental Impact with Lilly Tong

    How does your everyday use of technology impact the environment? What can you do as a technologist to fight climate change? Lilly Tong is a Toronto-based iOS Engineer at VICE Media and the host of Make Peas Not Beef, a podcast about climate change, sustainability, technology, and more. It's all about deepening our relationship with ourselves. In this episode, we dive into mobile development: why it's the future and its unique challenges for developers. We discuss the double-edged sword of technology—how it helps us but also impacts our environment. We also cover what clean tech means, why climate change is the biggest problem in the world right now, what tech companies are doing to fight climate change, and how you can get involved.

    Mentioned in This Episode:

    Episode 10, Make Peas Not Beef, "Side Hustles, Building Your Dream Career, Leading with Compassion with Marisa Hoenig": spoti.fi/3jzIukz
    Episode 4, Make Peas Not Beef, "How Can Technology Help Solve Climate Change?": spoti.fi/2MKCdq7
    "Inconspicuous Consumption" by Tatiana Schlossberg: bit.ly/36UhPtL
    On Fire -Naomi Klein - "This Changes Everything" by Naomi Klein: bit.ly/3aDH0li
    Work On Climate, nonprofit: workonclimate.org/

    Follow Make Peas Not Beef:

    Make Peas Not Beef Podcast, Spotify: spoti.fi/3rxM7dG
    Instagram: @MakePeasNotBeef

    Follow Blossoming Technologist:

    Instagram: @blossoming_tech
    Twitter: @blossoming_tech
    LinkedIn: /blossoming-technologist
    Feb 08, 202144:05
    9. Designing Products People Love with Chelsi Alise Cocking
    Feb 01, 202137:42
    8. Security Doesn’t Need To Be Complicated with Sara Diaz
    Jan 25, 202137:13
    7. Finding the Perfect Mentor with Alex Berry, PMP
    Jan 11, 202138:29
    6. Prioritizing Mental Health with Mahmoud Khedr
    Jan 04, 202154:16
    5. Electrical Engineering & Solar Energy with Mason Mahaffey
    Dec 28, 202046:47
    4. Building a Viral Side Project with Benji Bear
    Dec 21, 202037:05
    3. Imposter Syndrome, Microaggressions, and Inclusivity with Katie Ho
    Dec 14, 202038:59
    2. Mastering the Software Engineering Pipeline with Clayton Lawrence
    Dec 07, 202039:21
    1. Mapping Your Skills Into Your Dream Job with Madeline Helmstadter
    Nov 30, 202037:33
    0. Hello World: Introduction
    Nov 30, 202014:44