DEV Community

Developer on Fire

Episode 277 | Justin James - Impactful Activities

Justin James talks with Dave Rael about involvement, speaking, volunteering, mentors, and making a difference in a large organization and communities

Justin is a Microsoft MVP, DevOps Evangelist, Web developer and Professional Speaker who loves to code, teach, and share his knowledge with others to help them grow in their careers. He specializes in making the complex simple and easy to understand. Justin has worked at Intel for over 20 years in various groups leading software development projects, being an Agile advocate and most recently has taken on a role as a DevOps Evangelist. Justin's new role as a DevOps Evangelist is the perfect marriage of his love of development and teaching. Justin frequently speaks at conferences, meetups, and community events. He has been a guest on the .NET Rocks podcast (episodes 1158 and 1390) and the Angular Air Videocast (episode 105). To hear his thoughts on software development and public speaking, follow his website at http://digitaldrummerj.me, subscribe to his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDMvOL1XSKclxwplUT0fzLA or subscribe to his Twitch channel at https://www.twitch.tv/digitaldrummerj. In his limited free time, Justin is an organizer for the Arizona Give Camp and a Chief Science Officer (CSO) Jedi Mentor.

Justin's top 3 tips for delivering more value:
  1. Ask yourself if the solution is needed, if it's the simplest solution, and if it will deliver business value
  2. If you teach something, you'll learn way more than you thought you would
  3. Comparing ourselves to others is folly - I'm not better or worse than you, we're just at different points in our timeline

Episode source