Meet 'Chris Barker', he's an ADC.

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 Here is the third installment of the 'Meet an ADC' series, this week we meet Chris Barker.

 

  1. Hello Chris Barker who are you?

My name is Chris Barker.

 

  1. Have you always worked in the ADC Team?

I began my Microsoft days in Product Support, looking at technologies such as C++, COM/COM+ and ASP.NET. I have been working as an Application Development Consultant for a little over 2 years now.

 

  1. What sort of technologies do you use as an ADC?

Besides from all being associated with the Microsoft stack, the spectrum of technologies I work with can be far and wide. One day I could be doing some low-level Win32 debugging, another day I could be working with SharePoint.

 

  1. What do you enjoy about working at Microsoft?

I enjoy the flexibility of the role, both in terms of work hours, and specifically within the ADC role – the vast range of technologies.

 

  1. How do you keep skills up to date with the latest technologies?

By using them! If there is a new technology on the horizon that I am interested in, I tend to grab a copy of the latest CTP and start to have a play. There is a lot to learn though, and it’s always good to see what’s going on by tapping into the blog community.

 

  1. What software do you use as part of your role?

There really are too many products and tools to list here. Most typically it is of course Visual Studio, but there are so many useful tools available these days online – lots of which tend to be free.

 

  1. How would you describe a typical day as an ADC?

I have seen many people respond to this question in the past by saying “there is no such thing!” – well, I have to agree. One day could be participating in an architecture discussion with a customer, another day could be working from home, writing some proof-of-concept code.

 

  1. What’s your technology of the moment?

I would have to say it is Silverlight 2 – but that’s because the ADC role gave me the great opportunity of contributing to a book on Silverlight (available in all good book shops soon)!

 

  1. What’s your best and worst moment as an ADC?

It is always quite daunting when you realise how much there is out there to keep on top of, but these have also been my favourite moments – the job never gets stale and you get to work with lots of different people on a daily basis who share interests in this latest and greatest technology!

 

  1. Thanks for your time; do you have a closing comment?

Eagh!