Today we’d like to introduce you to Cesar Gutierrez.
Hi Cesar, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My history begins in my hometown León, México. I’m the fourth kid in my family and I was born in 1992. During most of my childhood, I enjoyed playing video games and participated in some dance choreographies for school festivals. These two are my main hobbies for as long as I remember.
As I grew up, I developed an interest in different professions that include being a teacher, an accountant, and a psychologist but I ended up enrolling in an engineering degree during college, having my major in Software Engineering and Computer Systems. The teaching passion did not leave me, so I started teaching software development for college students a year after graduating, while I was studying for my master’s degree in Web Technologies and Mobile Devices.
If this wasn’t enough in my life at that point, I took my dancing hobby to the next level and enrolled in a Latin rhythms class from which we prepared a performance that was shown in a small theater in my hometown. Years started strong in my career until I felt stuck in my professional field which led me to the decision of moving to another city so after getting a new job, I moved to Guadalajara back in 2017 and have been living here since.
In an interesting twist in my life, I got to know about a completely different dancing style for me a few months later after establishing myself in a new city: Irish dance. I’ve been learning it for about 6 years at The Mexican Institute of Irish Dance, whose teacher is the only Mexican (to date) that has performed in the show “Lord of The Dance”: Luis Sánchez. I have had the chance to make it to international competitions representing my country in cities including Montreal, Orlando and recently, Nashville, placing among the best dancers in North America.
My biggest challenge these days is to balance my professional, personal, and dancing life, making time for what’s important, and continue growing with the experiences I get in my life.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I do not come from a wealthy family, but my parents did their best to provide us with a fairly decent life in which we do not know what is to miss a meal at our table or not have the opportunity to attend school. That doesn’t mean things were easy, I remember that my father had a good job but my mother had to work too for quite some time so money can pay the bills and food.
I started working when I was 13 years old helping in a supermarket. I enjoyed the fact of earning money so I could help my parents with the bills and take care of my school supplies. Being employed was not a constant in my life but helped me to learn the value in the stuff I have and the joy to share it with my loved ones.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a software engineer, I’ve got the chance to work with people from different countries including the United States, Germany, and India, collaborating in software solutions for industries like Healthcare, Legal, eCommerce, Finance, and Traveling (in my current project). I’ve developed a sense of improvement in my life that gets reflected in the results I’m able to achieve with the teams I have worked with, which eventually turned into a need to share what I know with people outside my current employer.
That got translated into becoming a developer’s community leader, organizing monthly events for Microsoft-focused developers, looking for potential speakers, and sharing some technical talks from time to time. In this role, I’m proud to say that the community Guadalajara Connect got accepted under my leadership to be part of the NET Foundation, the organization behind the development and growth of C# and related coding languages as an open-source technology.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
For the most part, luck has been reflected in the opportunities I have taken advantage of. My first formal job was possible thanks to a teacher’s recommendation who saw my skills during college and took me to be part of his team for a side project.
From there, I’ve taken responsibility for developing a clear path where I can see myself in the long run. That has helped me in the decision-making before switching jobs or certifying the skills that I used on a day-to-day basis.
I wouldn’t say I’m the most extrovertive person but I have met the right people at the perfect time and that’s the luck I’ve been carrying in my life.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gutman_dancer
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/issccesargutierrez
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/cesar_gutman
