Ask the NetApp Tech ONTAP Podcast!

If you’re familiar with the NetApp Tech ONTAP Podcast (http://techontappodcast.com/), then you know we talk about a wide array of things concerning NetApp, whether it involves existing products like Cloud ONTAP or SnapCenter, technology trends like Docker or OpenStack, or new ONTAP releases.

In Episode 21, we made a call to action for listeners to submit questions for the podcast and we’d answer them on a future show. We’re still interested in hearing from you, so please submit your questions to podcast@netapp.com!

This is the opportunity to leverage some of the subject matter experts at NetApp, on NetApp technologies. Got a FlexPod, PowerShell or Microsoft application question? Glenn Sizemore (@glnsize) is your man. Want to know more about Docker, OpenStack or automation? Ask Andrew Sullivan (@andrew_NTAP). Need to know more about multiprotocol NAS, NFS, CIFS, or clustered Data ONTAP? Justin Parisi (@NFSDudeAbides) may know.

Got a question that stumps us? That’s fine! We know people. Lots of people. And we can have them come on to the show and answer your question, or get their answers and deliver them to you!

This is a great way to get real people to answer your real life questions. If you have been leveraging the NetApp Communities and can’t seem to get an answer, feel free to ask us!

And if your question is selected for the podcast, we’ll send you a Tech ONTAP Podcast sticker and possibly other NetApp gear (as supplies last).

It’s a win-win!

 

Nine years? Yeesh. That’s a long time!

I logged into LinkedIn today and saw that I have been at NetApp for NINE years. At first, I thought it was a mistake. I sometimes have been known to lose track of time. For instance, it was a running joke between my wife and I that my cat that I’ve had since 2001 was always 5 years old when anyone asked.

So, I went into our payroll and, yup… 9 years. Official start date: May 14, 2007.

Wait… May? How is that so?

Well, I didn’t start at NetApp as an official employee. I was hired in January as a temp-to-hire contractor in the support organization as a level 2 Technical Support Engineer. I was a phone jockey – answering calls and routing cases if I couldn’t fix them.

But that wasn’t very much fun to me. I liked to fix things and loved the satisfaction of solving problems. So, I expanded my job description a bit and started working on things that some might have passed on.

By May, I was converted to a full time employee and the rest is history. 9 years is a long time – the longest I spent anywhere in my work career. It’s a testament to how much I’ve learned here at NetApp, as well as how good it’s been working here. I’ve gotten opportunities to grow, learn, travel to places I’ve never been and have fun while doing it.

Have there been challenges? Sure. You see a lot in 9 years at a place and experience a wide array of people. But, in my experience, the challenges I’ve faced here would be present at any company. So I tend to focus on the positives I’ve had.

I covered the path to my current career in a blog post called “How to Start a Career in IT” on DatacenterDude.com. Then, I expanded the topic to “How to Advance in Your IT Career.”

Where my career takes me from here, who knows. But the past 9 years have been pretty good.