Software Engineering Career Growth, Mentorship & Kubernetes at Microsoft
Rejected from internships. Confused during the first years at Microsoft. Eventually promoted to Senior Software Engineer.
In this episode, Paul Johnston shares the real journey behind growing a software engineering career inside one of the world’s biggest tech companies.
Paul works on Kubernetes networking infrastructure at Microsoft Azure and explains how mentorship, ownership, communication, and building internal tools helped shape his growth as an engineer.
If you’re an aspiring software engineer, computer science student, or early-career developer, this episode offers practical career advice that goes beyond coding interviews.
What You’ll Learn
How to recover from internship rejection
The skills that actually help engineers get promoted
Why mentorship matters early in your career
How senior engineers think differently
Kubernetes and Azure networking insights
Why communication skills matter in engineering
How side projects create long-term leverage
Chapters
[00:00] Introduction
[00:33] What Paul Does at Microsoft
[01:20] Struggling to Land Internships
[03:00] First Engineering Role as a Web Developer
[04:18] Landing Opportunities After Persistence
[05:30] Joining Microsoft During the Kubernetes Boom
[07:05] Building Internal Tools & Automation
[09:20] The Mindset Shift Into Senior Engineering
[11:15] Why Mentorship Matters More Than Prestige
[12:50] Side Projects, Coaching & YouTube
[15:05] Passion Before Profit
[16:00] Why Engineers Need Better People Skills
[17:00] Closing Thoughts & Coolster Codes
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