Episode 408 | Michael Szul

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Michael Szul talks with Dave Rael about technology, family, education, chat bots. social interaction among geeks, and making an impact as a technologist

Michael Szul has spent two decades in software engineering in industries as diverse as insurance, energy, travel, and higher education, including consulting with companies such as AIG and Conde Naste. He has worked in both application and product development, as well as framework creation, code generation, API building, and machine learning. Szul is a blogger, podcaster, and Microsoft MVP, and he publishes the monthly Bots and Beer email newsletter. Currently, he is the principal software engineer for the University of Virginia's School of Medicine. You can reach him on Twitter @szul, or at https://codepunk.io.

Chapters: 0:29 - Dave introduces the show and Michael Szul3:43 - Information Technology at a university medical school7:03 - Pushing edges in medical education and technology10:53 - Technology in medical clinical practice14:18 - The value of schooling18:02 - Michael's experience with podcasting with Bill Ahern23:42 - How Michael stays current with what he needs to know25:17 - Michael's experience with the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional program32:12 - Michael's story of failure - building a product from scratch, not finding the right core right away, personal pain, and not finishing the product37:30 - Micahel's book recommendations41:17 - Michael's top 3 tips for delivering more value43:46 - Keeping up with Michael

Resources: Codepunk Codepunk Podcast Michael's Bots and Beer Newsletter University of Virginia School of Medicine Bill Ahern AssemblyScript Joe Darko Richard Taylor on Developer On Fire Alvin Ashcraft Jeff Fritz on Developer On Fire Dave Voyles Daniel Moore on Developer On Fire ("second 90%") Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone - Satya Nadella

Michael's book recommendation: Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions - Brian Christian This Might Get Me Fired: A Manual for Thriving in the Corporate Entrepreneurial Underground - Gregory Larkin

Michael's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Know your customer Exercise your empathy Do less