Chris Pietschmann

Stop Learning. Create Your Way to Success.

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:25:00 -0500

Why creating is the fastest path to confidence, growth, and real opportunity.

AI Isn't the Thing. It Gets You to the Thing.

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 19:27:00 -0500

Why the future belongs to people who learn to use AI, not people who panic about it.

Pets, Cattle, and the “Should We Build This?” Trap (Even When AI Makes Building Easy)

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 17:28:00 -0600

You’ve probably heard the old cloud ops mantra:

How to Convert a String to an Enum and back in C#

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 16:14:00 -0600

Enums are great for making code more readable and less error-prone than passing around “magic strings” or numbers. But in the real world, strings still happen — config files, query strings, JSON payloads, environment variables, user input, etc.

Why Blogs Are Still Relevant Today for Developers and IT Pros

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 17:28:00 -0600

Blogs have been declared “dead” more times than I can count over the years, yet they continue to quietly power careers, open doors, and build authority. Even in a world saturated with AI-generated content, personal blogs remain one of the most effective ways for developers and IT professionals to share expertise, build a reputation, and create opportunities.

100× Your Software Development Skills: How AI is the Next Big Leap

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 05:32:00 -0600

When I started programming decades ago — writing VB6 components, transitioning into .NET, learning C#, building automation scripts — I witnessed first-hand how each new toolset unlocked previously impossible productivity gains. Today, we’re in a similar moment of transformation thanks to AI—tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT and other AI Agents / LLMs that are enabling developers to produce far more business value with their time than ever before.

Chris Pietschmann Awarded 2025 Microsoft MVP in Microsoft Azure and Developer Technologies Categories

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 18:00:00 -0500

I am thrilled to share that I have been awarded the Microsoft MVP award for the 14th time! I’m honored to be recognized again by Microsoft for my community contributions. The MVP community is full of incredible experts and builders, and I’m humbled to be part of this group.

Writing Testable Code is More Important Than Unit Tests

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 06:00:00 -0500

Let me tell you a story.

AI is Just a Tool - The Journey Still Belongs to People

Fri, 30 May 2025 08:00:00 -0500

I’ve been working in technology as a developer, architect and trainer for decades, I’ve seen countless waves of innovation. Each wave promised to revolutionize the way we work, and for the most part, many of them delivered. However, the way I see it, there’s something we need to talk about with the current wave that is Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Yes, I'm a Microsoft MVP, HashiCorp Ambassador, and MCT - and I Still Build Real Stuff

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 10:07:00 -0500

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege to be honored with community recognitions, like Microsoft MVP and HashiCorp Ambassador, as well as other certifications like the Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). I’m proud of my accomplishments and humbled to be considered at the level of other Microsoft MVPs and HashiCorp Ambassadors that put so much great content and work out into the community. These awards and recognitions reflect years of building, shopping, mentoring, teaching, and contributing to the tech community in all kinds of ways for me. But despite all the community work that I do, which I would do regardless of these recognitions anyway, I’ve surprisingly encountered some skepticism from time to time.