Category: Personal Blogs

Personal Blogs

A Reflection of VMworld 2018..

sargonkhizeran

We are 38 days away from the very first VMware Explore. Four years ago I had the opportunity to attend my first VMworld. My employer at that time allowed me to go as I was VCP certified and identified as a VMware SME for the enterprise. It was exciting being surrounded by so many like-minded individuals, I probably rubbed shoulders with so many future co-workers & customers I interact with today.

Attending VMworld was life changing for me personally and professionally. Attending sessions by Amanda Blevins would inspire me with how to navigate my career and what qualities to look for in mentors or leaders. I loved attending sessions that involved troubleshooting, it was relevant to my role and although sometimes it was redundant, the delivery was different every time. Some of the settings were intimate and it felt okay to ask questions without the fear of having a spotlight on you. Being able to speak to others and trade war stories was also beneficial.

The sessions were great, the parties allowed folks to break away from the serious stuff and show a different side. As someone I was with eluded to how I would feel “depressed” coming back to work because you see all this amazing technology and the possibilities of innovation and it may not be the vision of your enterprise right at that moment. It should encourage individuals to want to do better, motivate yourself and the people around your workplace.

For 2022, check out VMware Explore, VMware took a couple of years off going digital due to the pandemic but it is back in San Francisco again. Be sure to check out the sessions, the scheduler is live as well. Click on the image below to learn more!

Check out the VMworld 2018 playlist, as someone who keeps their ear to music, I was glad to capture this playlist.

The curated playlist I found on Spotify continues to bring back nostalgic memories of the event.
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VMware Explore 2022

Personal Blogs

More Achievement Unlocked

sargonkhizeran

Growing up in an inner city suburb of New York City, I was troublesome and not quite the studious child while both parents worked full time and grandparents raised me. I was lucky to have family teach me hard work, ethics and surrounded myself by mentors.

Fast forward…..

March 15th 2021 started with VMware as a Technical Account Manager, I’ve been describing this as landing my “dream job”, you may ask “why?”. I wanted to take on a role that will challenge me to independently keep myself up to par with technology and be a resource to our customers and peers. This was also my step at a crossroads from continuing to be an engineer or grow professionally. I drove myself tirelessly reading up about the position, listening to VMware related podcasts, understand the technologies, especially the relevant ones that I worked on day in, day out. This required being immersed in the technology, practicing at home via home lab, pursuing certification and leading the Sacramento VMUG chapter during an unforeseen pandemic in 2020.

I’ve so far successfully wrapped up 2 weeks filled with training, lots of content to cover and genuinely want to bring value to our customers.

Before embarking on this journey, I was also ecstatic to be accepted into earning my first vExpert, never thought I was worthy of applying but I can see the value of how recognition drives me to want to do more to contribute.

Personal Blogs

Here I go

sargonkhizeran

I’m someone that leverages the internet for a lot of things, whether it be working on something around the house, figuring out why something is not working right in my role and general home lab issues I face at home. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some good folks from various companies that I look to as mentors in my field. I try to take note of what they do for professional development and how they market their skills.

I keep sitting at a blank canvas when it comes to either my lab or even this site. Devoting time to talk about myself and keeping humble about it comes with some challenges. I wanted to keep running a site for myself as a way to hold myself accountable and document my journey.

Fast forward to today 8/15/2020 and I have 13 classes to go for my Bachelors Degree, planning on taking a little bit of a break to work towards the Advanced Deploy VMware vSphere 6.7 certification.

Personal Blogs

What are you thinking?

sargonkhizeran

The setting; alone at home, my lovely wife took the kids out for a brisk walk around the park during this 2020 COVID19 pandemic. I’m finished with work and wanted to spend some time on my Algebra I class, yes that’s right, I’m learning Algebra. It never stuck for me in High School, I’m not even sure how I even made it this far in life.

I’m currently depending on lots of online sources and my sister to help me get through this so far, either way, I will get it finished. I legitimately feel frustration but this has not been the first thing I’ve had to tackle in the last year, there have been lots of personal and professional milestones I feel I’ve made.

My first one for 2020, getting a little post started on a site I’ve been trying to get going for multiple purposes.