1:1 with Erin Scott Adams – balancing work and school, packaging professional experience, AI tools

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Erin Scott Adams–Senior User Interface Software Engineer–joins us for this episode of The 1:1 Podcast.

We talk about juggling grad school with a full time job, packaging professional experience, and AI tooling.

Takeaways:

  • AI is not replacing developers but rather augmenting their capabilities. Developers who fail to integrate AI tools risk being left behind.
  • Maintain a “brag sheet” to track accomplishments for self-promotion and career advancement.
  • Conduct informational interviews to explore potential career paths.

0:00 – Intro

1:57 – Balancing full time work with grad school

6:13 – Time management tricks

8:47 – What’s next?

11:04 – Pursuing engineering management 

14:09 – Packaging transferrable skills

15:20 – Maintaining technical skills as an engineering manager

18:50 – Whack-a-mole!

20:17 – Deciding whether to take a non-technical role

23:02 – Keeping a brag sheet

23:54 – About Computer Human Interaction

28:55 – How does AI impact a Computer Human Interaction career?

30:53 – Bresdin and Rusty’s takes on Generative AI

33:40 – ChatGPT productivity tips

35:36 – AI resource usage

37:47 – Favorite things from community involvement

46:22 – Networking tips

48:00 – Self-actualization advice

49:47 – Final thoughts