In the [Introduction of Engineers at Open Up IT Engineers]
series, we conduct unique interviews with IT engineers who work at Open Up IT Engineers, and we talk about everything from their past careers, current work content, and future career plans.
This time, we would like to introduce an IT engineer certified as “ALL AWS Certifications Engineers” who has obtained all AWS certifications.
First, I would like to ask about Mr. Saito’s background. Did he originally want to be a pilot?
yes. At university, I majored in aerospace engineering and studied aviation-related matters and space, such as airplane fuel and satellites.
Was the path to becoming a pilot difficult?
I agree. I studied for a long time and wanted to become a pilot, but I couldn’t pass the rigorous physical exam, so I gave up.
It was a big setback, but when I calmed down and thought about my next path, I realized that I wanted to connect Japan with the world, so I got a job at a human resources company that develops global business.
It must have been difficult to switch from the unique profession of being a pilot. How was it when you started working?
I joined the company thinking I would be able to work globally, but I was assigned to the IT sales department.
However, I wanted to get a good result, so I was able to come in second place out of 450 players and was awarded the MVP award.
I believe that you were able to be so active and find your work rewarding, but what made you decide to become an IT engineer?
During our sales activities, we often receive requests from customers such as “I want to be able to do something like this,” but we were faced with a dilemma because it was difficult to achieve this with the products we were selling.
So I created a simple format using Excel and proposed it, and it was well-received by the customer and was even appreciated within the company. I realized how much fun it was to have people feel the value of something I had created, and decided to pursue a career in engineering. I thought about a change.
How did you learn from that?
I had no knowledge or experience in IT, so while I was working in sales, I found time in the mornings and evenings to research and learn the basics.
When I first started, I was studying web systems, trying to create simple sites using RUBY, and creating imitation sites.
Could you tell me what made you decide to obtain all 11 qualifications after taking AWS training?
There are two reasons for this. First, I wanted to obtain all six basic qualifications, and then I wanted to obtain and complete the five additional qualifications.
The other reason is that I heard that no open-up IT engineer trainees had ever completed the exam, so I decided to take on the challenge because I thought it would feel good to be 1/3000th of the trainees.
Could you tell me about your current job?
There are three main areas: the first is the creation of guidelines and procedure manuals for using AWS, the second is the construction and operation of AWS, and the third is the ability to connect multiple clouds other than AWS such as Azure and GCP. I am in charge of data linkage and data communication design and construction.
Of the 11 qualifications you have acquired, are there any that you have been able to utilize in your daily work?
This is a little different from whether or not I was able to use those qualifications, but
Thanks to obtaining the qualification, my knowledge of terminology and systems has increased, and IÂ am now able to grasp the general content of meetings.
Another thing I think is that I have acquired the ability to research things, such as how to do research when faced with fairly difficult content such as SAP.
Do you enjoy your current job?
It’s a lot of fun.
Although the level of work is quite high for those with no experience in design or construction, it’s really fun because you can feel like you’re growing every day as you research things you don’t understand and deepen your knowledge.
Do you have a vision for the future as an engineer?
When I was first assigned, I wanted to utilize my sales experience and technical skills to work as a consultant using AWS, but I also wanted to use a development method called DevOps to develop everything from infrastructure development to the backend. We are also thinking of expanding our efforts to include the following.
What does it mean for me to aim to become an engineer with no experience?
I think it’s a passing point. When anyone starts something new, everyone has no experience,
Anyone can do it if they just want to become an engineer, so IÂ think of “aiming to be an engineer” as a passing point.
This is because when I decided to change my career, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up and felt the hurdles were high, but in reality, the hurdles weren’t that high.
This is because I realized that it is more important to be aware of what I want to do after becoming an engineer than to aim to become an engineer with no experience
