Reflective Journal: Experience and Professional Exposure

Reflective Journal: Experience and Professional Exposure
Name of the Student
Name of the Institution
Student’s Number
Abstract- networking can be daunting for
inexperienced people, while some other
people may find it an easy undertaking. It is,
however, a must have ‘skill' for all
individuals seeking to advance and develop
their career. Networking help individuals
build their business and professional
network, gain more experience and
professional exposure. The main purpose of
this essay is to reflect on my experience of a
professional exposure I had with the
CISCO's DevNet Create 2019 Conference. I
use it to describe the technical skills that I
developed during the exposure as well as the
professional skills that I learned during this
time.
1. Introduction
While trying to develop a holistic
person, learning institutions always try to
balance between education (theoretical
work), technical skills and real-life
situational knowledge. Professional
experience and exposure are built and
developed through graduate transferable
skills and active interactions with different
professionals, from across the world. Both
inter- and intra-personal interactions are
good since they help individuals develop
strong social skills, enabling them to have
confidence when arguing their cases and/or
addressing bigger audiences [1].
Communication skills consist of valuable
knowledge that can be gained through
interacting with others.

As a young and upcoming computer
network developer and engineer, I decided
to attend this year's Cisco DevNet
conference held at the Computer History
Museum, Mountain View, USA. According
to CISCO, this is the only platform that
brings all forces of infrastructure and
application development together. The
conference offers interactive hands-on
learning matched with cross-vertical and
cross-platform sessions, besides having
intimate settings through which peers
connect and meet leaders in application and
infrastructure development.
2. Technical Skills Developed
2.1) Prior knowledge
Deciding to attend the conference
remains one of the greatest decisions I have
ever made. Though I had little to offer,
unlike other peers I interacted with, it was a
great opportunity for me to learn what the
industry expects of me. It also helped me
understand the contemporary world of
computer networking and what to expect in
the future. The conference provided me with
real-life experience and exposure. It helped
me understand how I can harness the
theoretical knowledge and skills I have
learned in the university. Like an awakening
call, the conference taught me of the much
needed industrial skills and exposed me to
new people through a controlled stable
environment.
2.2) Technical skills and knowledge gained
It was my opportune moment to
learn about myself and create more
connections through which I am confident
that I will reach out to many other
professionals sharing in my dream. It helped
me to critically evaluate my career goals and
consequently align myself with industrial
expectation. My confidence in pursuing
computer networking and development
greatly improved.
Prior to this conference, I had little
concerning what the outside world looked