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Career Downloads

Career Downloads

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 Manuel Martinez hosts the Career Downloads podcast where he interviews a different guest each episode to learn about their individual and diverse backgrounds, job history, and techniques they use to manage their career. So plug in and download the knowledge.Copyright © 2024 by Career Downloads All Rights Reserved. Economía Exito Profesional
Episodios
  • From Teaching Kids to Tech Consulting: Jessica Parker’s Career Resilience Secrets | Ep038

    From Teaching Kids to Tech Consulting: Jessica Parker’s Career Resilience Secrets | Ep038
    Jul 8 2025
    Episode Information Show NotesWhat if moving 18 times before your 18th birthday could become your greatest career asset? In this conversation, Jessica Parker reveals how early life challenges shaped an unshakeable approach to career resilience that’s kept her employed for over three decades.Jessica’s path from aspiring computer scientist to elementary educator to tech consultant illustrates the power of strategic pivots and continuous learning. Her story challenges conventional wisdom about career planning, showing how flexibility and adaptability often trump rigid goal-setting.This Episode Covers:Strategic Career Navigation Jessica discusses her approach to building multiple skill sets across project management, quality assurance, and business analysis. She explains how diversifying capabilities creates options during uncertain times and why having “Plan B, C, and D” matters more than perfecting Plan A.The Contract Work Advantage Contrary to popular belief about job security, Jessica makes a compelling case for contract positions as career accelerators. She breaks down the mindset shifts needed to thrive as a contractor and how to leverage temporary roles for skill building and network expansion.Learning as a Core Competency With a habit of reading 300+ books annually, Jessica shares her methods for rapid knowledge acquisition and retention. The conversation explores practical note-taking strategies and how to synthesize information from multiple sources for real-world application.Professional Relationship Building From Toastmasters to industry associations, Jessica explains how authentic networking creates career opportunities. Her “volunteer mindset” approach to workplace collaboration offers a fresh perspective on getting the best from professional relationships.Career Resilience Workshop Insights Jessica developed a custom workshop on career resilience for graduate students, distilling decades of experience into actionable frameworks. She shares key principles around transferable skills, strategic planning, and maintaining employability across economic cycles.Key Takeaways:Document your work thoroughly to avoid becoming indispensable in the wrong wayBuild relationships before you need them, not during crisis momentsDevelop skills that transfer across industries and rolesEmbrace feedback as a gift for professional growthConsider contract work as a strategic career move, not a last resortGuest Background: Jessica Parker is a technology consultant specializing in cybersecurity and AI research. She’s currently completing her doctoral dissertation while running a consulting practice that helps small businesses solve complex technology challenges. Her career spans multiple industries including healthcare, finance, and technology, with experience in project management, quality assurance, and organizational leadership.Resources Mentioned:VitalSmarts “Crucial Conversations” seriesProject Management Professional (PMP) certificationToastmasters InternationalSociety for Information Management (SIM)Connect with Jessica: Find Jessica’s career resilience workshop and research publications on ResearchGate.https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-parker-pmp/Career Downloads explores the real journeys of technology professionals, uncovering practical advice for managing your own career with greater success. Host Manuel Martinez brings you authentic conversations about the wins, challenges, and lessons learned along the way.Listen on your preferred platform: [Apple Podcasts] | [Spotify] | [YouTube Music] | [YouTube]Subscribe for new episodes every Tuesday featuring diverse voices from the technology industry. TranscriptionManuel: Welcome everyone, my name is Manuel Martinez and this is another episode of Career Downloads. For each episode, I basically hit the refresh button, bring on a different guest to really learn more about their career and their experiences with the goal to help uncover any actionabl...
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    1 h y 33 m
  • From Rural Mexico to Cybersecurity Success: Estela Baca’s Inspiring Career Journey | Ep037

    From Rural Mexico to Cybersecurity Success: Estela Baca’s Inspiring Career Journey | Ep037
    Jul 1 2025
    Episode Information Show Notes What does it take to transform from a farm girl in rural Mexico to a cybersecurity solutions engineer at a leading tech company? In this episode, Estela Baca shares her remarkable journey of defying expectations, overcoming setbacks, and building a thriving career in technology. Estela’s story begins in Teziutlán, Mexico, where she grew up with her grandmother in a family where education wasn’t expected for women. After moving to Los Angeles at 15 without speaking English, she navigated high school, earned a computer science degree (while pregnant), and eventually found her way into cybersecurity through marketing and technical roles. Key Topics Discussed: – Early Life and Foundation – Educational Journey – Career Development – Professional Growth Strategies – Cybersecurity Transition – Life Lessons and Philosophy – Networking and Community Key Quotes: – “Action conquers fear” – “Every time somebody tells me no, something switches in my brain” – “I refuse to call it imposter syndrome. It’s the real deal syndrome” – “You can literally start as a marketer and end up as a VP if you understand transferable skills” Resources Mentioned: – “The DevelopHer Playbook” by Lauren Hasson – “Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You” by Cal Newport – Google Analytics and digital marketing certifications – Local networking groups and tech communities About the Guest: Estela Baca is a Solutions Engineer specializing in cybersecurity and log management. She leads employee resource groups, volunteers in her local tech community, and mentors others looking to break into technology. Her expertise spans digital marketing, technical account management, and cybersecurity solutions. Connect with Estela: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/estela-baca-07b02b6b/ Episode Highlights: This conversation offers practical insights for anyone considering a career change, breaking into tech, or looking to advance in cybersecurity. Estela’s story demonstrates that non-traditional backgrounds can become significant advantages when combined with determination, strategic thinking, and continuous learning. Whether you’re just starting your career journey or looking to make your next move, this episode provides actionable strategies for professional growth, relationship building, and turning challenges into opportunities. Subscribe to Career Downloads: Available on all major podcast platforms. New episodes release every Tuesday featuring real conversations with technology professionals who share their career journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice for professional success. Transcription Manuel: Welcome everyone, my name is Manuel Martinez and this is another episode of Career Downloads where each episode I basically hit the refresh button, bring on a different guest to really learn more about their background and their experiences, to help uncover any actionable advice that you can use as you’re managing your own career. So for today’s episode, I have with me Estela Baca and I had followed her on LinkedIn, saw a lot of the posts, a lot of what she was doing, kind of dug into her background. Eventually I reached out to her and she was very gracious and decided to come on and share her experiences. So I’m very excited, she has a very interesting background, there’s a lot of challenges there and there’s gonna be a lot of good information and a lot of good storytelling for you to kind of listen and learn along the way. So with that, I’ll go ahead and introduce Estela. Estela: Hi, Manny. Manuel: Hello. Again, I appreciate you coming in and talking about your experiences and kind of how you’ve managed your career over time. So if you wouldn’t mind just telling us kind of what your current role is and some of those responsibilities and we’ll take it from there. Estela: Perfect, sounds good. Well, again, Estella Baca, I am currently a solutions engineer for a company that doe...
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    1 h y 31 m
  • From Student to Aspiring Tech Professional: Paola Mendiola on Building a Career in Cybersecurity | Ep036

    From Student to Aspiring Tech Professional: Paola Mendiola on Building a Career in Cybersecurity | Ep036
    May 20 2025
    Episode Information Show NotesIn this episode of Career Downloads, host Manuel Martinez interviews Paola Mendiola, a promising digital forensics student at CSN who shares her journey into technology and cybersecurity.Episode SummaryPaola takes us through her tech journey, beginning with the transformative moment when her father brought home their first computer. This experience allowed her to connect with family in Mexico through video calls – a pivotal event that sparked her passion for technology. As a first-generation tech enthusiast, Paola discusses navigating educational opportunities, from her high school IT and cybersecurity program to her current studies at CSN.Throughout the conversation, Paola candidly shares her experiences with high school robotics competitions, her valuable training at Tech Impact, and how she’s building her professional network as a newcomer to the industry. She provides thoughtful insights about overcoming shyness, establishing a professional presence on LinkedIn, and the crucial importance of finding mentors who can guide your career path.What makes this episode particularly valuable is Paola’s fresh perspective as someone actively entering the field. Her story of recently speaking to young women in tech and her aspirations to become a cybersecurity educator highlight her commitment to helping others following in her footsteps.Key Moments in This Episode02:38 – How Paola’s tech journey began when her dad brought home a computer11:55 – Paola’s experience in high school robotics competitions16:24 – Getting hands-on IT experience through Tech Impact29:20 – Transitioning from shy student to LinkedIn networker44:30 – Speaking to young women about tech and coming full circle52:54 – Paola’s aspiration to become a cybersecurity teacher01:02:40 – Advice for people looking for opportunities in techConnect with PaolaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paolamend/Resources MentionedTech Impact: Non-profit organization providing IT trainingSIM Las Vegas: Society for Information ManagementNCWIT: National Center for Women in Information TechnologyNew episodes of Career Downloads are released every Tuesday. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform to catch all our career conversations with professionals across the tech industry!Join our community on the social platforms:Website: https://careerdownloads.comLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/career-downloadsYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@careerdownloadsX/Twitter https://twitter.com/@careerdownloadsTikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@careerdownloadsInstagram https://www.instagram.com/careerdownloadsFaceBook https://www.facebook.com/people/CareerDownloads/61561144531249#CareerDownloads #Cybersecurity #TechCareers #WomenInTech #DigitalForensicsReleased: May 20, 2025 TranscriptionManuel: Welcome everyone. My name is Manuel Martinez and this is another episode of Career Downloads. Where each episode I basically hit the refresh button, bring on a different guest to really learn more about their experiences and how they’re managing their career over time. With the ultimate goal to be able to uncover any actionable advice that you can use as you’re managing your own career. So I’m excited for today’s episode. I have with me, Paola Mendiola. And I’m bringing her on because this is gonna be a slightly different conversation. So most of the times I bring on different guests who are already in the industry, have been in for a while and are explaining the different things that they’ve used throughout their career. So the reason that this one’s exciting for me is I have seen a lot of the posts, a lot of the activities that Paola has been doing, you know, on LinkedIn. I reached out to her, we had a couple conversations and I thought it would be beneficial. She’s somebody that’s new and kind of entering into the field. So I think it’d be perfect time to kind of get the perspective from somebody new who’s starting in.
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    1 h y 5 m
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