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How I Invest in My Career: Podcasts

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Staying relevant in a sea of constant change is a challenge that as an IT professional I face every day. The technology industry is constantly evolving and changing around me and requires that I keep my skills evergreen and my mind open. If I don't, I may find myself without a chair when the music stops playing.

Over the last year I have discovered a whole new medium for keeping up with my technical readiness – and that's through podcasts. I subscribe to a dozen or so podcasts via my smartphone that consist of audio or video recordings that last anywhere from 5 minutes to 60 minutes. I have developed a new habit of rather than listening to music while walking the dog, or working out (or even while sitting on an airplane) – I listen to these podcasts. It's a great way to quickly stay up to date on various topics.

Here's a list of podcasts that I subscribe to, that are professionally produced by Microsoft in either video or audio form (click the URL to see the iTunes podcast site to subscribe to)

Azure:

Azure Friday (video):
Join Scott Hanselman every Friday as he engages one-on-one with the engineers who build the services that power Microsoft Azure as they demo capabilities, answer Scott's questions, and share their insights. Follow us at: friday.azure.com.

Microsoft IT:

Microsoft IT Showcase (video):
Get an insider's view of the Microsoft enterprise IT environment. See how Microsoft uses technology to solve specific business problems and manage its own global environment.

Everything Microsoft:

Microsoft Mechanics:
Made for tech enthusiasts and IT professionals. Expanded coverage of your favorite technologies across Microsoft; including Office, Azure, Windows and Data Platforms. We'll even bring you broader topics such as device innovation with Surface, machine learning, and predictive analytics.

Microsoft 365:

Modern Workplace: Modern Workplace Podcast is a thought-leadership series that features expert perspectives from some of today's most successful visionaries, entrepreneurs, industry experts, and thought-leaders. From issues ranging from privacy to data security to tackling how millennials are changing the collaboration styles of the workforce, Modern Workplace provides insights on how organizations can stay ahead of an ever-evolving workplace.

Office 365 Update Series: Office 365 is under a constant state of change and keeping up-to-date can be a challenge. The Office 365 Update series covers recent or planned changes to the service (and related offerings). The complete written transcripts along with links to all the content referenced are available at https://aka.ms/o365update-transcripts.

Additionally, here are other technology focused podcasts I enjoy subscribing to:

Windows Weekly:
A weekly look at all things Microsoft, including Windows, Windows Phone, Office, Xbox, and more, from two of the foremost Windows watchers in the world, Paul Thurrott of Thurrott.com and Mary Jo Foley of All About Microsoft. Records live every Wednesday at 2:00pm Eastern / 11:00am Pacific/ 19:00 UTC.

The Vergecast:
The Vergecast is your source for an irreverent and informative look at what's happening right now (and next) in the world of technology and gadgets. Hosted by Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn, alongside a cavalcade of tech luminaries, Vergecast is the only podcast you need to make sense of the week in tech news. And your life.

TedTalks Technology:
Some of the world's leading inventors and researchers share demos, breakthroughs and visions onstage at the TED conference, TEDx events and partner events around the world. You can also download these and many other videos free on TED.com, with an interactive English transcript and subtitles in up to 80 languages. TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.

What podcasts do you subscribe to? Let me know in the comments below.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    December 01, 2017
    Hi Matt,I totally agree with you. Technology is changing very fast and we as an IT professionals have to keep ourselves updated with all the new technical changes happening around us to stay relevant. Indeed, Podcasts are very helpful when it comes to getting up to date with the recent stuffs. Out of the list you have shared in your article, I have only subscribed to the TedTalks Technology podcast. Based on your recommendations, I would subscribe to 1 or 2 more podcasts this week.
    • Anonymous
      December 02, 2017
      Fantastic! If you come across additional podcasts please do let me know!