Career Downloads

What do you say when Microsoft asks why they should hire the guy with a hammer? Victor Aldana grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Las Vegas after high school. He wanted to be a lawyer or an archaeologist. He spent five years at CSN changing majors, worked full time the whole way through, and finished a business degree at UNLV. His first jobs were at a travel company and at Target, where he ended up building processes and leading a team. A recruiter's phone call pulled him into staffing at Eastridge. That turned into construction staffing and utility scale solar projects across the country, including days that started at 4 a.m. in a Conex box in Colorado. When COVID hit and a Microsoft opening came up, he interviewed without any cloud experience and got the job. WHAT VICTOR ALDANA DOES NOW: Victor is a Senior C-SAM at Microsoft. He works with customers on where they want to be in a year and how to get there, from deploying AI and agents to moving old code to the cloud. At night he teaches an applied AI and cybersecurity course at UNLV, where he earned his master's degree in cybersecurity. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS CONVERSATION: Be careful what you measure A metric at Target taught Victor that people change their behavior to protect the number, even when it hurts the customer. Business skills transfer He got hired at Microsoft by showing he could talk to a C-suite and a welder in the same day. Lead for commitment, not compliance Curiosity about why someone works the way they do gets you further than telling them to do it your way. Explain it in a way the audience cares about He teaches authentication and authorization with an airport and cybersecurity basics with a locked car door. Say yes and be willing to be uncomfortable A phone call in a parking lot led to Eastridge, and saying yes to invitations later took him to teach AI and cyber in Kenya. TOPICS COVERED: What a Senior C-SAM does at Microsoft, and how it compares to a Technical Account Manager at AWS Wanting to be a lawyer or an archaeologist and finding the common thread in puzzle solving Working full time while going to school full time Why Victor left Target and what he was feeling when the recruiter called The metric that taught Victor to ask what behavior a number rewards The billboard test a professor gave him for making decisions Staffing, construction, and OSHA safety work on utility scale solar projects Interviewing at Microsoft without cloud experience Translating the same message for a worker and for upper management Commitment versus compliance How a library poster led to teaching cybersecurity to seniors and students Building a LinkedIn presence and helping the next person up the ladder WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR: Career changers who feel like they do not have the "right" background for tech People in retail, staffing, or construction thinking about a move into technology Managers who want to lead through curiosity instead of authority Customer-facing professionals in account management and customer success roles Anyone thinking about teaching, speaking, or mentoring in their community Students and working adults going back to school for a degree or a master's CONNECT WITH VICTOR ALDANA: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorhaldana/ Website: victoraldana.ai ABOUT CAREER DOWNLOADS: Career Downloads explores technology careers through conversations with professionals who share their journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice. Hosted by Manuel Martinez, each episode exposes listeners to different technology roles and helps them manage their own careers more successfully. New episodes release every Tuesday. Connect with Career Downloads: Website: https://careerdownloads.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/career-downloads YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@careerdownloads TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@careerdownloads Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careerdownloads FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Career-Downloads/61561144531249

What happens when a bank doesn't know what to do with you, so it puts you in a chair and tells you to "look busy"? For Joshua Leavitt, that chair became the start of an entire career in technology. Joshua Leavitt grew up in Las Vegas working construction, paper routes, and gas station shifts before landing a job as a coin vault clerk at a local bank making $7 an hour. After organizing coworkers over a bonus that never materialized, management labeled him a "problem child" and shuffled him into an office job with no real title. Bored, he taught himself Excel macros from a coworker, which eventually got him noticed by the IT department, who pulled him upstairs and never let him leave. From there, Josh built a career through Windows NT certifications, a Chief Information Officer role at Maverick Helicopters, a return to school in his 40s, and a stint leading a coding school where he says he failed for the first time. Today he runs Tech Alley, a nonprofit tech community now active in six cities, and Intagly, a marketplace connecting people who need 3D printing with community members who own the equipment. WHAT JOSHUA LEAVITT DOES NOW: Josh is the founder and CEO of Tech Alley, a nonprofit that brings together entrepreneurs, developers, and tech professionals through free, community-run meetups in Las Vegas, Henderson, St. George, Denver, and New York City. He is also the founder and CEO of Intagly, a two-sided 3D printing platform. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS CONVERSATION: No job is beneath you Josh moved from construction to a gas station to a bank coin vault without hesitation, and each job taught him habits that carried into his tech career. Boredom can build skills Given nothing to do in an unofficial office job, Josh taught himself Excel macros, which became the foundation for his entire technology career. "No" is a starting point, not an answer Josh learned at the bank that most people default to rejecting new ideas, so he treated every no as the first step in a longer negotiation. Failure teaches you more than success Leading a coding school in a state resistant to post-secondary programs brought Josh his first real experience with failure and imposter syndrome. Community accelerates careers Josh credits much of his growth to organizations like SIM (Society for Information Management) and to surrounding himself with entrepreneurs who think differently about risk. TOPICS COVERED: Growing up in a Las Vegas construction family in the 1970s and 80s Working a Texaco gas station job as a teenager Getting hired as a bank coin vault clerk for insurance coverage Being labeled a "problem child" after organizing coworkers over a missing bonus Teaching himself Excel macros out of boredom in an unofficial office role Getting pulled into IT after being accused of "hacking" internal systems Earning an MCSE certification during the shift to Windows NT Becoming Chief Information Officer at Maverick Helicopters Surviving repeated rounds of corporate layoffs Getting involved with the Society for Information Management (SIM) Identifying gaps in Nevada's technology workforce pipeline Going back to school at Western Governors University in his 40s Leading a coding school and learning to handle failure Founding Tech Alley and launching Intagly WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR: Anyone who feels like they fell into their career instead of planning it Aspiring or current IT leaders navigating layoffs and reorganizations People considering going back to school later in their career Nonprofit or community builders looking to grow a grassroots initiative Entrepreneurs figuring out how to turn a rejected idea into a business Career changers who worry they don't have the "right" background CONNECT WITH JOSHUA LEAVITT: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejoshualeavitt/ ABOUT CAREER DOWNLOADS: Career Downloads explores technology careers through conversations with professionals who share their journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice. Hosted by Manuel Martinez, each episode exposes listeners to different technology roles and helps them manage their own careers more successfully. New episodes release every Tuesday. Connect with Career Downloads: Website: https://careerdownloads.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/career-downloads YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@careerdownloads TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@careerdownloads Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careerdownloads FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Career-Downloads/61561144531249

What happens when the career your family picked for you isn't the one you actually want? Iana Relampagos grew up in a Filipino household where the path was already decided. Be a nurse. Be a doctor. Chase the stability. So she enrolled in pre-nursing at UNLV, even though her favorite classes had always been computer classes. Two years in, her grades started slipping and her heart wasn't in it. She switched to computer science, then eventually dropped out of school entirely while working full time to pay for it herself. From there her path went sideways more than once. She tried real estate school right before COVID shut down the housing market. She took a job as a security officer with no IT team on site, and started asking the tech every question she could think of just to understand how the cameras and badge readers worked. That curiosity led her to a free bootcamp called Tech Impact, a 16 week program that paired her with a mentor, placed her in an internship, and helped her land her first help desk job. WHAT IANA DOES NOW: Iana currently works as a PSOC Technician in a physical security operations center. She recently moved into the role for a pay raise after her help desk position wasn't financially sustainable, and she's using the shift to build relationships with cybersecurity professionals while she continues working toward her long term IT goals. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS CONVERSATION: Family Expectations Aren't Always the Right Fit Iana separated what she wanted from what her family expected of her, and that's what made switching majors possible. A Step Back in Title Isn't a Step Back in Career Taking the PSOC role felt like leaving IT behind. Instead it taught her how physical security and cybersecurity depend on each other. Imposter Syndrome Doesn't Disappear, You Learn to Work Through It A mentor gave Iana a book on the topic that she still references before interviews and meetings. Curiosity Is a Skill You Can Practice Asking "how does this work" turned a security officer job into an IT education, one shadowed task at a time. Community Changes What's Possible Her Tech Impact cohort studied together, supported each other, and nearly all 20 members passed their certification. TOPICS COVERED: Growing up with a tech-savvy dad and floppy disks as a kid Choosing nursing because of family and cultural expectations Leaving pre-nursing at UNLV for computer science Working full time while attending school full time Trying real estate school before COVID changed everything Becoming a security officer with no on-site IT support Teaching herself how cameras, badge readers, and servers connect A coworker reciting port numbers that led her to Tech Impact What a 16 week bootcamp cohort and mentorship program look like Landing a help desk job at a large hospitality company Taking a pay raise into a physical security operations center role Why she calls herself a "jack of all trades, master of none" WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR: Anyone weighing a career change against family expectations Early career professionals dealing with imposter syndrome People curious about the overlap between physical security and IT Job seekers wondering if a tech bootcamp like Tech Impact is worth it Anyone who feels like a step back in title might actually be a step forward CONNECT WITH IANA RELAMPAGOS: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iana-relampagos-b5004828a/ ABOUT CAREER DOWNLOADS: Career Downloads covers technology careers through conversations with professionals who share their journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice. Hosted by Manuel Martinez, each episode exposes listeners to different technology roles and helps them manage their own careers more successfully. New episodes release every Tuesday. Connect with Career Downloads: Website: https://careerdownloads.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/career-downloads YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@careerdownloads TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@careerdownloads Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careerdownloads FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Career-Downloads/61561144531249

What happens when the advice that builds your first business is the same advice that destroys it? JC Rolison grew up in South Central Los Angeles without knowing a single person working in technology. He was a standout athlete, signed with UCLA out of high school, then played at Alabama State and majored in criminal justice. Sports were the plan. Tech was never part of the conversation. After college, JC started a clothing brand with a handful of t-shirts. It grew fast, scaling to 90 stores worldwide within a few years, fully self-funded and never a dollar of debt. Then he made a decision that cost him the whole thing: he tried to save money by switching manufacturers, and the brand couldn't survive the fallout. Within five months, it was gone. He went into car sales to survive, and that job became the unexpected bridge into technology, connecting him to a Vista Equity executive who helped him build his first platform. WHAT JC ROLISON DOES NOW: JC is the CEO at nuBlock, a payments network for a borderless world. nuBlock builds blockchain infrastructure and crypto-to-stablecoin payments, along with on-ramp and off-ramp services through Visa and MasterCard. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS CONVERSATION: The path that looks like a detour can become the foundation. JC's fashion brand and his car sales job both taught him skills that shaped how he builds and runs his company today. Self-funding is a deliberate choice, not just circumstance. JC has never taken outside funding for any of his businesses, including nuBlock, because he wants control over the direction and the culture. One decision can undo years of momentum. Trying to save money on production nearly overnight ended a brand that had scaled to 90 stores across the globe. Reading people is a skill you can build anywhere. Selling cars taught JC to read people and body language, a skill that now shapes how he hires and who he brings into his business. Financial literacy is the real advantage. JC believes understanding how money and payments actually work matters more right now than chasing the next AI trend. TOPICS COVERED: Growing up in South Central Los Angeles with no exposure to tech Playing college football and track at UCLA recruitment and Alabama State Majoring in criminal justice and psychology without a clear career plan Starting a clothing brand from a handful of shirts Scaling to 90 stores worldwide by self-funding every step The manufacturing decision that cost him the brand Going into car sales to survive after losing the business Learning to read people and body language through sales Meeting a Vista Equity executive who opened the door to tech Building ScoutBid, an automotive platform, and a dealership CRM app Pivoting to blockchain when the pandemic slowed everything down Running nuBlock and why he still refuses outside funding The three things he looks for before hiring anyone Why he believes blockchain matters more than AI right now WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR: Anyone who has made a costly business or career mistake and needs to hear that it's survivable Aspiring entrepreneurs weighing self-funding against outside investment Career changers who don't see a clear path from where they are to where they want to be Sales professionals looking to sharpen how they read people Anyone curious about blockchain, stablecoins, and how global payments actually work People who grew up without exposure to tech and wonder if they belong in the industry CONNECT WITH JC ROLISON: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcdistance/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@jcdistance X: https://x.com/Jcdistance_ ABOUT CAREER DOWNLOADS: Career Downloads features conversations with technology professionals who share their journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice. Hosted by Manuel Martinez, each episode exposes listeners to different technology roles and helps them manage their own careers more successfully. New episodes release every Tuesday. Connect with Career Downloads: Website: https://careerdownloads.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/career-downloads YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@careerdownloads TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@careerdownloads Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careerdownloads FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Career-Downloads/61561144531249

He had no IT background, no plan, and was living in a tree house between jobs. Then one interview sent him somewhere he never expected. Chris Day grew up in Silicon Valley, bounced through pizza shops, Chili's, and bartending gigs, and graduated UC Santa Cruz with a self-designed degree in communication, sociology, and psychology. He had no roadmap for what came next. What happened next was an interview for an account executive role that turned into an offer to teach software - and a career that has now stretched more than two decades, all the way to founding a SaaS company he is still actively building today. This conversation covers the full arc: how Chris went from software instructor to consultant to custom software developer to building A1 Enterprise, an 18-module enterprise risk management platform that every single feature of has come directly from real users. WHAT CHRIS DAY DOES NOW: Chris is the Founder and CEO of A1 Enterprise, a SaaS company specializing in enterprise risk management software. The A1 Honeycomb platform covers 18 modules across risk, compliance, workers compensation, insurance, and more - all built from user feedback over 16 years of product development. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS CONVERSATION: The accidental pivot is still a pivot Chris did not plan to go into tech. A wrong-turn interview and a suggested redirect from an interviewer landed him in front of a classroom. He said yes anyway. That moment started everything. Bombing a class is data, not a verdict When Chris failed his first Microsoft Access class - ill-prepared, with his father in surgery that day - he did not quit. He went back to the drawing board, studied harder, and within three to six months was teaching every Access class the center offered. Teaching and doing together is dynamite Chris's own words. He learned that knowing your material well enough to teach it is one thing. Actually building something for a real client changes everything. The two together accelerated his growth faster than either could alone. Know your limits - and then push them Chris was not a developer. He knew that. He acknowledged it, asked for help, and used that awareness to build around his gaps rather than pretend they did not exist. The distinction, as he put it, is between knowing your limits and staying within them versus pushing them while asking for help. Your customer base is your best product team After 16 years of development, Chris says every feature in A1 Enterprise has come from a user. No assumptions, no guessing. Real needs from real people, built in. TOPICS COVERED: - Growing up in Silicon Valley with no career direction - Working through food service and bartending in his 20s - How a self-designed degree in communication, sociology, and psychology prepared him for tech - Discovering the software instructor role at New Horizons computer training center - What it took to teach technology to 30 different types of learners in one room - The Microsoft Access failure that changed how he prepared for everything - How moonlighting consulting gigs came out of his teaching clients - The construction company project that launched A1 Enterprise - Presenting a live web application to 100 people from a personal laptop with no IT support - Building a remote development team out of a garage using Citrix and a T1 line - The 2008 market crash decision to stop doing custom work and build a product - Sixteen years of ERM platform development under the radar - The 2018 rebrand that brought A1 Honeycomb into the open - Working with UNLV Lee Business School students - Why staying open matters more than having a plan WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR: - Anyone in their 20s who feels behind and does not have a clear direction yet - People considering a career pivot into tech without a traditional tech background - Early-career professionals trying to decide whether to stay in a role or make a move - Self-taught learners who want to know how far curiosity and self-study can take you - Founders or aspiring entrepreneurs interested in how software products are built from real customer feedback - Anyone who has failed at something on the job and wondered whether to push through CONNECT WITH CHRIS DAY: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/a1enterprisechrisday/ ABOUT CAREER DOWNLOADS: Career Downloads explores technology careers through conversations with professionals who share their journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice. Hosted by Manuel Martinez, each episode exposes listeners to different technology roles and helps them manage their own careers more successfully. New episodes release every Tuesday. Connect with Career Downloads: Website: https://careerdownloads.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/career-downloads YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@careerdownloads TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@careerdownloads Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careerdownloads FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Career-Downloads/61561144531249