Name:
Joel Knight
Location:
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Current Occupation:
Senior Cloud Infrastruture Architect, Amazon Web Services (Canada)
Email:
knight.joel gmail.com
Family
People
Trivia
Hobbies
I naturally focus on the fine details and firmly believe that taking care of the little things makes a big impact in the end. Give me the details and watch me dig right in.
My technical interests and experiences are very broad which I compliment with a range of soft skills, particularly when it comes to written communication. I get the most enjoyment out of bringing multiple skills to bear on a task.
I believe that my work represents me, my brand, and the people I work with so I work hard to ensure I can confidently stand behind my work.
I derive a huge amount of pride in building something and then standing back and taking it all in. The more impactful and valuable the thing is, the better.
Once I'm onboard with the desired vision or outcome, give me the ground rules and then turn me loose. I love figuring out how to get from "now" to the desired end state and then working that plan.
This goes hand-in-hand with my "build things" and "plan things" motivators: identify a need, determine what the software would look like that would solve that need, work out the dependencies, requirements, etc, needed to create the software and then go write some code!
I'm a big believer in jumping in and improving and/or fixing things where there is a need. Open source projects are perfect for this because they afford me the chance to dive in and improve software (or documentation) that I use regularly. I've been a committer with the OpenBSD project, I write about improving software and I contribute code using Github.
I consider myself a "doer" and not a full-time teacher, however I believe very strongly in sharing knowledge and experiences. The IT field is so big that it cannot all be learned from books. We must all be teachers. My primary outlet for sharing is my blog which focuses on different areas of IT.
When I say amature, I really mean amature. And of course there's a geeky twist: I photograph wireless antennas and access points; the more esoteric, the better. I blog the photos on my "I Spy Wi-Fi" blog.
I want the ability to have a direct, meaningful impact on my teammates, the company, customers, or any other relevant party. I want to be able to draw a straight line from me to the end results.
I don't shy away from working on big problems. They excite and inspire me. Big problems come with big rewards in terms of impact and satisfaction.
With today's technology, we're able to stay connected and work at all hours of the day and night. I need an environment where disconnecting is ok and family time is valued and seen as an integral part of being happy, healthy, and productive.
I want to see first-hand how technology is solving real problems. I believe that seeing how customers apply technology is the most exciting position to be in.
I learned a long time ago that being around people who inspire me is one of the best things I can do for my own development. I love to learn from people smarter and more experienced than I am.
Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert #47321, Enterprise Infrastructure
Cisco Certified Design Professional
Cisco Certified Networking Professional, Enterprise
Cisco Certified Internetworking Professional
Cisco Certified Network Associate, Voice
Information Technology Infrastructure Library, Foundation Level
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
AWS Certified Developer Associate
AWS Advanced Networking Specialty
AWS Certified Security - Specialty
Sun Certified System Administrator for Solaris 10