Head in the Cloud? You Bet!

Written by Sam on August 6, 2019

Hello Clouders,

I know I have been a bit slack not having posted a blog since April 2019, but I have some great news to share. My career change from being an Acoustic Consultant has been successful as I finally landed my first role as a Solution Architect working at Capgemini UK.

Getting to this point was not easy and was extremely testing mentally. It is not for the faint-hearted when money and your self-esteem are starting to erode rapidly, but my toolbox contained a hefty amount of determination and faith and all I could do was to try my best to land my dream job.

So, how did it happen? Apart from getting certified as an AWS Solutions Architect and getting a VMWare Associate – Digital Business Transformation certification (both took a lot of effort), I continuously kept on learning and reading about the cloud and the current fourth industrial revolution movement.  I also started to network with people in the digital and physical realms and signed up to copious amounts of job boards. I did have an extra hurdle or two of explaining why I wanted to change careers from Acoustics to IT, but there are some similarities in working methodology. Both roles involve being analytical, creative and innovative in finding solutions. One is finding solutions for noise and the other in technology to put it simply. The key was making a connection between these roles from a soft skill prospective and knowing that working as a consultant, whatever the industry involves refining and developing the mix of skills, knowledge and behaviours one has. An empathic mindset is important too. You become motivated based on the needs of the customer/client. Empathy is the real binding agent that strengthens and develops relationships. Emotional intelligence is becoming just as important as IQ intelligence in this agile and collaborative world we are working in. But obviously it is not just about soft skills.

As we know, technology is changing at an alarming rate. To get an understanding of the IT world we are in right now, I submerged myself as a starting point in AWS. It was at an AWS Summit in London where I became transfixed with the cloud and subsequently got myself certified, but I soon realised there is so much research to be undertaken. Ultimately, reading different publications, books and meeting people became my weapon of choice. The following is by no means an exhaustive list.

Signing up to blog sites such as:

and IT consultancy websites like Capgemini, Accenture, HPE and IBM.

Books of notable choice include:

  • The Fourth Industrial Revolution by Klaus Schwab (Founder and Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum). This is a welcoming eye opener on how technology is combining the digital, physical and biological realms.
  • Ahead In The Cloud by Stephen Orban (Global Head of Enterprise Strategy at AWS). A great insight into cloud migration in general and how “old money” companies made their transition to the cloud. As identified in this book, one of the main reasons that makes a digital transformation successful or not is culture/behaviour.
  • Extreme Innovation by Sandy Carter (VP at AWS) If you are passionate about inspiring others and forging an innovative path then this book is a must to read.
  • The Big Switch – Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr. It’s over ten years old but still a worthy ready. His awareness of how the Cloud as a model would transform the information technology industry as well as people and organisations is fascinating.

Attending Meetups in London:

  • Cloud Native London
  • AWS User Group UK
  • Women Who Code London

Arming myself with knowledge over eight months, of course did not make me an authority on the subject but it gave me some confidence to be able to converse at conferences and to test my critical thinking of what I understood of cloud and emerging technologies and how a solution architect should be thinking. This was an important step for me in preparation for a job interview. Not having worked as a solution architect was the main sticking point but with reading, starting my blog site and creating a website using AWS services helped in getting attraction from recruitment agencies and organisations. Most of the interactions with these communication streams were unsuccessful when they realised, I did not have any commercial experience, but it got my name out there and an increase of profile views in LinkedIn due to the connections I was making with people from recruitment agencies and organisations.

In this case though, securing a solution architect role at Capgemini was also down to timing and good old-fashioned luck. The recruitment agency I dealt with had superb experience in older folk like myself with a diversified career and Capgemini fortunately for me at the time were looking for people like myself. So here I am at Capgemini, loving every moment and so grateful for the job I have. What next? I keep on learning, contributing and being inspired by the wonderful colleagues that I get to interact with daily at Capgemini. My final advice. Never give up in terms of what you want to achieve in your career and/or in your life. Yes, circumstances may not be perfect. Yes, you may fall down several times, but you just have to pick yourself up and dust yourself off and try to keep on going but essentially, it’s the fire in your belly that will keep your dreams alive.

Contact me:

Website: www.auberginebleu.com

Linkedln: www.linkedin.com/in/samcjliu

Twitter: www.twitter.com/earme76



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