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08-Resources/Interview-Prep/Interview Questions Master List.md

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+---
+tags: [interview-prep, questions]
+---
+
+# Interview Questions Master List
+
+## 🎯 Common Questions & My Answers
+
+### "Tell me about yourself"
+**2-minute version**:
+
+"I'm a senior data architect and developer with 25+ years of experience, primarily in SQL Server, .NET, and Azure. Most recently, I spent 9 years at TietoEVRY working on financial services platforms - fund management and securities trading systems. 
+
+My recent focus has been on modernizing legacy systems. I led the architecture for a REST API gateway on top of a complex legacy database, designing the entire solution including authentication, logging, and CI/CD pipelines all the way to production.
+
+I've made a deliberate move to consulting through ExecuteIT - a firm of former colleagues - because I want to apply my expertise across different companies and industries, and continue growing in areas like modern data architecture and cloud-native solutions. At 55, this felt like the right time to make that transition and bring my experience to new challenges."
+
+---
+
+### "Why are you leaving Tieto?"
+**Honest but positive version**:
+
+"After 9 years, I felt it was time for new challenges. I was moved to a team focused on legacy tooling maintenance, which was less aligned with my strengths in architecture and modernization. 
+
+The combination of my former colleague's unexpected passing in September and being at a point in my career where I wanted to try consulting led me to make this move. I have tremendous respect for Tieto and the work we did - I built some great systems there - but I'm excited to apply my experience across different companies and industries now."
+
+**If pressed on stress/problems**:
+"I'll be honest - in hindsight, I could have communicated better with my manager about feeling stuck before making the decision to leave. But the move to consulting was something I'd been considering, and this felt like the right time."
+
+---
+
+### "Why consulting vs another permanent role?"
+"At 55, with 25+ years of experience, I wanted to expand my impact beyond one organization. Consulting lets me:
+- Apply my expertise across different companies and industries
+- Learn from diverse technical environments
+- Solve varied problems rather than one company's specific challenges
+- Continue growing while helping multiple organizations
+
+I'm doing this through ExecuteIT, a small firm of former colleagues from my Sybase days, which gives me the support and connection of people I know and trust."
+
+---
+
+### "What's your biggest weakness?"
+**Modern Data Architecture Version**:
+"Articulating my extensive practical experience using the latest data architecture terminology. I recently interviewed for a data architect role where I understood the concepts - Data Mesh, data governance - but struggled to discuss them fluently. 
+
+I realized I have 25 years of doing data architecture, but the language has evolved. So I'm actively studying modern terminology and frameworks to better communicate what I've been doing all along. It's a translation challenge, not a knowledge gap, but it's something I'm actively addressing."
+
+**Alternative - React Version**:
+"Frontend development isn't my primary strength. At Tieto, we used Angular and I was mostly backend-focused. I'm currently learning React because I see it's become the standard, but my core expertise is in backend architecture, databases, and APIs. I'm upfront about that because I want to work on projects where my strengths add the most value, while still being able to contribute across the stack."
+
+---
+
+### "Tell me about a challenging project"
+**AbasecGateway story**:
+
+"At Tieto, I architected a modern REST API layer on top of a legacy financial database called AbaSec. The challenge was that this 20+ year old system had no API - just direct database access - and we needed to modernize it without breaking existing functionality.
+
+I designed the solution from the ground up:
+- REST API gateway with proper authentication using OpenID Connect
+- Comprehensive logging and metrics
+- Clean Architecture pattern to isolate legacy database complexity
+- Complete CI/CD pipeline for automated testing and deployment to production
+
+The toughest part was balancing the need to modernize with maintaining 100% backward compatibility for critical financial operations. We couldn't afford downtime or data issues.
+
+The result was a production-grade API that became the new standard way to interact with AbaSec, and a deployment pipeline that reduced our release cycle from weeks to hours. It also positioned the platform for future microservices migration."
+
+---
+
+### "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
+"I see myself as a trusted technical advisor and architect, working across multiple organizations through consulting. I want to be someone who can:
+- Walk into a complex legacy system and know how to modernize it
+- Design cloud-native solutions that actually fit the business need
+- Mentor teams in good architecture practices
+- Bridge the gap between technical implementation and business value
+
+I'm at a point in my career where I'm more interested in impact and variety than climbing a corporate ladder. Consulting gives me that, and I want to be known for delivering solid, maintainable solutions."
+
+---
+
+## 🎯 Technical Deep-Dive Questions
+
+### SQL Server / Database
+- "Optimize a slow query" - Have specific examples ready
+- "Design a data warehouse" - Use TCM/AbaSec experience
+- "Explain indexing strategy" - Performance tuning war stories
+
+### Architecture
+- "Design a microservices system" - AbasecGateway experience
+- "Handle authentication/authorization" - OpenID Connect implementation
+- "Design for high availability" - Azure patterns
+
+### .NET
+- "Async/await best practices" - Real examples
+- "Dependency injection" - Clean Architecture approach
+- ".NET 8 vs Framework" - Migration experience
+
+---
+
+## ❓ My Questions for Them
+
+### About the Role
+1. "What does success look like in this role after 6 months? After a year?"
+2. "What are the biggest technical challenges the team is facing?"
+3. "How much is greenfield development vs working with legacy systems?"
+
+### About the Team
+1. "Tell me about the team structure and who I'd be working with"
+2. "How does the team handle knowledge sharing and technical decisions?"
+3. "What's the balance between solo work and collaboration?"
+
+### About Technology
+1. "What's your tech stack and where is it heading?"
+2. "How do you handle technical debt?"
+3. "What's your approach to DevOps and CI/CD?"
+
+### About Growth
+1. "What learning and development opportunities are available?"
+2. "How do you support staying current with technology?"
+3. "Is there a budget for conferences, training, certifications?"
+
+### About Culture
+1. "How would you describe the team culture?"
+2. "How are decisions made - top-down or collaborative?"
+3. "What do people love about working here?"
+
+---
+
+## 🔗 Related
+- [[SEB Data Architect]] - learn from this
+- [[Why I Left Tieto]]
+- [[AbasecGateway Project]]

08-Resources/Learning Roadmap.md

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+---
+tags: [learning, roadmap]
+---
+
+# Learning Roadmap 2025
+
+## 🎯 Priority 1: Interview Essentials
+
+### Data Architecture Terminology (For SEB-like roles)
+**Timeline**: 2 weeks
+**Why**: Failed SEB interview due to terminology gap
+
+- [ ] Data Mesh concepts and principles
+- [ ] Data Governance frameworks
+- [ ] Data Fabric vs Data Mesh
+- [ ] Modern data architecture patterns
+- [ ] Data Catalog and metadata management
+- [ ] Create translation document: My work → Modern terms
+
+**Resources**:
+- "Data Mesh" by Zhamak Dehghani
+- Azure Data Architecture documentation
+- Data governance frameworks overview
+
+---
+
+### React Fundamentals (For Svenska Kraftnät)
+**Timeline**: 3-4 weeks
+**Why**: Job requirement, have Angular background
+
+- [ ] React basics: Components, Props, State
+- [ ] Hooks (useState, useEffect, etc.)
+- [ ] React Router
+- [ ] Integration with .NET Web APIs
+- [ ] Build sample project: Todo app with .NET backend
+
+**Resources**:
+- React official documentation
+- "React - The Complete Guide" (Udemy)
+- Build personal project
+
+---
+
+## 🎯 Priority 2: Strengthen Core
+
+### Modern .NET Patterns
+**Timeline**: Ongoing
+
+- [ ] .NET 8 new features
+- [ ] Minimal APIs
+- [ ] New authentication patterns
+- [ ] Performance improvements
+
+### Azure Architecture
+**Timeline**: Ongoing
+
+- [ ] Azure Well-Architected Framework review
+- [ ] Cost optimization patterns
+- [ ] Security best practices
+
+---
+
+## 🎯 Priority 3: Emerging Skills
+
+### MLOps (For Vattenfall-type roles)
+**Timeline**: 1-2 months
+
+- [ ] ML model deployment patterns
+- [ ] Azure ML services
+- [ ] Model monitoring and governance
+- [ ] MLOps pipelines
+
+---
+
+## 📅 Weekly Learning Schedule
+
+### Monday
+- 1 hour: Data Architecture reading
+
+### Tuesday
+- 1 hour: React practice
+
+### Wednesday
+- 1 hour: Technical articles/blogs
+
+### Thursday
+- 1 hour: React practice
+
+### Friday
+- 1 hour: Review and consolidation
+
+### Weekend
+- Build projects, experiment
+
+---
+
+## 🔗 Related
+- [[Skills Inventory]]
+- [[Data Mesh]]
+- [[React]]
+- [[Current Focus]]