Why 95% of AI Projects Fail (From the Guy Who Fixes Them)

Why 95% of AI Projects Fail (From the Guy Who Fixes Them)

Amazon will fund your company's AI project — and almost nobody knows it. In this episode of The Tech Jobber Podcast, Evan Solomon, Founder & CEO of EFS Networks (one of just 65 firms at AWS's highest AI consulting tier, out of 250,000+ partners worldwide), reveals how AWS funds enterprise AI projects — from a $15K–$30K scoping phase to a $100K–$1M+ build — and why 95% of enterprise AI initiatives still fail anyway. Spoiler: it's almost never the model. It's the business.   Evan has spent 22 years building EFS Networks from a small systems integrator into a dual-AI-competency AWS partner that enterprises call when their AI project has already stalled — or caught fire. In this conversation we break down exactly why most AI for business initiatives collapse, the data and governance gaps that kill them, and the specific skills that make you nearly impossible to replace in the AI era.   Chapters: 0:00 Introduction to Evan Solomon and EFS Solutions 1:04 Transitioning from Independent Consultant to Firm Owner 4:45 The Strategy of Phase-Based Project Delivery 6:41 Building Trust with Technical Sales and Experience 8:37 Navigating High-Tier Partnerships with AWS and ServiceNow 13:21 Competing with Global Consulting Giants 15:14 The Three Phases of Corporate AI Adoption 18:01 The Necessity of Data Structure and Business Processes 21:51 ROI Pressures and AI's Impact on the Job Market 24:11 Consumer vs. Enterprise AI Governance 29:34 Advice for Aspiring Consultants and AI Funding Programs   What you'll learn in this episode:  • Why 95% of enterprise AI projects fail — the 3-phase collapse from ungoverned tool sprawl to the board-level "screeching halt" when ROI was never scoped  • The real root cause: no foundational data structure and undocumented business processes ("garbage in, garbage out") • How AWS actually funds AI projects — and how to get in front of that money  • Why AI governance, security, and ROI measurement have to come first, not last • The "license to learn" mindset — why research, puzzle-solving, and intermediate industry knowledge beat narrow technical skills  • Why data science and data governance certifications are the smartest on-ramp into AI right now • What it really takes to start and scale a tech consulting firm — "dating the customer," selling in phases, and why every one of Evan's salespeople is an engineer   🎙️ The Tech Jobber Podcast uncovers hidden tech careers paying $150K–$800K+, real salary paths, and insider strategy from the people actually doing the hiring. New episodes weekly. 👉 Subscribe so you don't miss the next one: @techjobberpod/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyrxBCde2MK_IAe7lhrNGPQ 🔔 Hit the bell for new episodes every Tuesday.   Connect with Evan Solomon: 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evansolomon/ 🌐 EFS Networks: www.efssolutions.comenterprise   Get vidIQ to grow your channel faster! 🚀https://vidiq.com/techjobberpod [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbk4xRHd5T3FDbEZSTzNUVjJDYjBOX3dJQW9JZ3xBQ3Jtc0tubXBxU1c4UVRUd0cyNmtfQVBXSmVaNkhHSlRiUXBQLWRQbWh6bXJWV3lOY2ctRUY2Z2R0QzRKX0RiVkFCdXZSeDZ2TFpyWHdDTFM2RUJwT3pURWwzcER4OE1ONTJ0dVJYNktobEdMMG0yUUR0Y0dYYw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fvidiq.com%2Ftechjobberpod&v=zhdYnupaJcE]    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

6 Levels of IAM Engineer: The Cybersecurity Career Nobody Is Training For

Identity and access management is the cybersecurity specialty nobody's training for — and it's quietly become one of the highest-paying career paths in tech. IAM analyst, IAM engineer, senior IAM engineer, IAM architect, IAM manager, IAM director — every level pays more than the last, and the consulting tier at the top breaks $350/hour. This is the IAM career path most people in cybersecurity never see mapped out.   In this episode of the Tech Jobber Podcast, I walk through every level of the IAM engineer career — from Help Desk and IT support all the way to IAM Director and independent IAM consulting. Real hourly pay, real annual salaries, the certifications that unlock each jump, and the tools you need to know at every stage.   🔑 EVERY LEVEL OF AN IAM ENGINEER CAREER • Level 1 — Help Desk / IT Support — ~$45K ($22–$32/hr) • Level 2 — IAM Analyst — ~$70K ($36–$48/hr) • Level 3 — IAM Engineer — ~$110K ($53–$77/hr) • Level 4 — Senior IAM Engineer / IAM Lead — ~$150K ($72–$96/hr) • Level 5 — IAM Architect — ~$260K ($87–$120/hr) • Level 6 — IAM Manager / Director — ~$400K ($96–$145/hr) • Independent IAM Consulting — $200–$350/hour   🛠️ IAM TOOLS & PLATFORMS COVERED Microsoft Entra (Azure AD), Okta, SailPoint, Ping Identity, CyberArk, BeyondTrust, Active Directory, ServiceNow, SSO, MFA, PAM (Privileged Access Management), IGA (Identity Governance and Administration), Zero Trust architecture, REST APIs, Python, Azure.   📜 IAM CERTIFICATIONS THAT UNLOCK THE NEXT LEVEL CompTIA Security+ • Microsoft SC-300 (Identity & Access Administrator) • Okta Certified Professional • SailPoint IdentityIQ • CyberArk Defender/Sentry • CISSP for IAM architect and IAM director roles.   💡 WHO THIS VIDEO IS FOR Help desk and IT support pros looking for a cybersecurity career path that actually pays. Career changers researching IAM jobs, identity and access management careers, cybersecurity careers, IAM engineer salary, and the highest paying cybersecurity jobs in 2026. Engineers specializing in PAM, IGA, or cloud identity who want to command consulting rates between $200 and $350 per hour.   📈 THE 4-YEAR PLAN FOR IAM ENGINEERS Year 1: Absorb. Year 2: Specialize. Year 3: Monetize. Year 4: Decide / Leverage. By Year 4, $100+/hour is on every exit path.   🎙️ ABOUT THE TECH JOBBER PODCAST The Tech Jobber Podcast uncovers hidden tech careers paying $150K–$800K+ — IAM, Epic, ServiceNow, SailPoint, Salesforce CPQ, Forward Deployed Engineering, and more. Real salary paths, real frameworks, no fluff.   🔔 SUBSCRIBE for new episodes Tuesdays & Wednesdays — drop a comment with which IAM level you're at right now (1 through 6) and I'll read every single one. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Forward Deployed Engineer Salary: Why Palantir FDEs Make $350K+

Forward Deployed Engineer salary breakdown — why Palantir FDEs make $400K+ and how this hidden tech role became one of the highest-paying career paths in 2026. Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) jobs combine software engineering, client embedding, and product strategy — and almost nobody is training for them.    In this video, I break down the real FDE compensation, the exact career path into Palantir and other companies hiring Forward Deployed Engineers, the skills that separate $200K FDEs from $400K+ FDEs, and why this role is one of the most defensible tech jobs in the AI era.   🎯 What you'll learn: ✅ Forward Deployed Engineer salary by level (entry, senior, staff) ✅ What an FDE actually does day-to-day at Palantir ✅ The 3 skill stacks that make FDEs irreplaceable ✅ How to break in — from SWE, consulting, or solutions engineering ✅ Companies hiring FDEs beyond Palantir (Anduril, OpenAI, Scale, defense tech) ✅ Why FDE comp is climbing even as the broader SWE market cools   🎙️ THE TECH JOBBER PODCAST Hidden tech careers paying $150K–$800K+. Real salary data. Insider hiring strategy. 🔔 Subscribe → [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyrxBCde2MK_IAe7lhrNGPQ] 🎧 Listen on Apple → [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-jobber-podcast/id1768554534] 🎧 Listen on Spotify → [https://open.spotify.com/show/2P7eoIjiTsBa2V0zY6VQbe?si=f958ea85459f410e&nd=1&dlsi=ccf87f0b329c4820] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I Researched 6 Network Engineer Specialties. One pays $875/Day.

Discover the 6 Network Engineer Specialties paying $150K–$400K+ in 2026.   We’re breaking down: Arista Cloud Vision, Tufin, and Network Automation paths that generalists are missing. Most network engineers are stuck earning $95K–$140K as generalists. The ones earning $250K, $350K, even $400K+ aren't smarter — they specialized in 6 boring, high-leverage skills that nobody else is training for.   In this episode of the Tech Jobber Podcast, I break down the 6 niche network engineering skills paying $200–$400/hour in 2026, plus the 6 trends reshaping the entire network engineer roadmap — from Python automation to Zero Trust SASE, Arista AVD, InfiniBand for AI clusters, and VXLAN/EVPN datacenter fabric design.   I've recruited for these roles. I've seen offers for $875/day on senior network engineer contracts. I've watched bank-grade network automation specialists bill $80–$91/hour W2 (equivalent to $180–$220K annually). And the SASE consultants? They're charging $400–$600/hour.   🎯 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ✅ The 6 niche network engineer skills paying $200–$400/hour ✅ Why Python fluency is the difference between $95K and $140K at the same company ✅ How firewall-as-code became its own six-figure specialty ✅ Why InfiniBand + Nvidia certifications are the new CCIE ✅ How AI is dragging networking back to on-prem (and creating $350K architect roles) ✅ The 18–24 month specialization plan that takes you from generalist to specialist   🔑 SKILLS COVERED - Tufin (firewall governance) - Arista CloudVision + AVD - Bank-Grade Network Automation (Python, Ansible, Git, ServiceNow) - Zero Trust + SASE Architecture (Zscaler, Cloudflare, Netskope, Palo Alto Prisma) - InfiniBand + Nvidia AI Enterprise - Broadcast + Media Network Transport (SMPTE 2110, PTP, Multicast)   📈 TRENDS RESHAPING NETWORK ENGINEERING IN 2026 - Network Engineer → Network Developer (Python is now table stakes) - Firewall-as-code as a standalone specialty - Cloud networking at CCNA-level expectation - VXLAN + EVPN replacing BGP for datacenter fabric - ServiceNow + GitOps for change management - AI workloads forcing on-prem network architecture   💬 Drop a comment: Which of these 6 skills are you stacking first? I read every single one.   🔔 Subscribe for more hidden tech career deep-dives — $150K to $800K+ roles nobody's applying for. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Top Tech Recruiter Reveals Why Staffing Is Broken in 2026 (1,300+ Placements)

Top tech recruiter Mike Mello [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-mello-7884b059/] reveals why staffing is broken in 2026 — and what it means for every engineer, recruiter, and tech professional trying to navigate AI hiring. After placing 1,300+ candidates and building a $40K/week book of business as a top biller, Michael walked away from the agency game to launch SimpleSide AI and expose what's really happening behind the scenes.  In this episode, we break down the death of cold calling, why enterprise accounts have collapsed for staffing agencies, the rise of AI-powered candidate vetting (including facial recognition to catch fake candidates), and how the smartest recruiters are quietly making $20K–$60K/month by niching down to mid-market clients between 50–500 employees. Whether you're a tech recruiter trying to stay relevant, a job seeker wondering why no one's calling you back, or an agency leader watching your margins evaporate — this is the unfiltered insider conversation no one in the staffing world will publish. 🔥 What you'll learn: ✅ Why Fortune 500 enterprise accounts are dead for staffing agencies ✅ How AI is detecting fake candidates (facial recognition + behavioral signals) ✅ The mid-market shift: why 50–500 employee companies are the new gold mine ✅ What killed the old-school cold call (and what replaced it) ✅ The content + outbound automation stack top recruiters use in 2026 ✅ Why hyper-niche specialization beats generalist recruiting every time ✅ The brutal truth about top-biller pay ($20K–$60K/month tier) ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction to Tech Recruitment and Mike Mello 02:42 The Evolution of Recruitment Strategies 05:04 Navigating Candidate Vetting and Technology 07:42 Shifts in the Recruitment Agency Landscape 10:14 Leveraging AI and Automation in Recruitment 13:01 Content Creation and Building Trust 15:44 Advice for New Recruiters in a Changing Market 18:19 Building a Personal Brand in Recruitment 21:45 Niche Down for Success 22:46 The Importance of Content in Staffing 24:11 Overcoming Fear of Vulnerability 25:44 Managing Emotions in High-Pressure Environments 27:32 Evolving Agency Culture 28:30 Leveraging Podcasting for Business Development 33:54 Navigating a Saturated Market 36:16 Finding Success in Niching Down 37:32 The Future of AI and Staffing 38:36 Simple Side: A Tailored Approach to Staffing 👤 GUEST: Michael Mello — Founder, SimpleSide AI | 1,300+ tech placements as top biller/https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-mello-7884b059/ www.simpleside.ai [https://www.linkedin.com/safety/go/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Esimpleside%2Eai&urlhash=-aQD&mt=sixB4J9rVKwx2_iQm0R20eI-cia1nFUjijxVAuwUGToV8CiUblaIUmlrU7zoXLa7K9PpCYDQdIShokkqAZGgt7bdk9_WK6QIrMIZukIS2DtZhfb4v-kVaysT&isSdui=true] 🎙️ HOST: Chris Schwenk — 17 years in tech recruiting | Tech Jobber Podcast  /https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherschwenk/ 📌 SUBSCRIBE for hidden tech careers paying $150K–$800K+ → [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyrxBCde2MK_IAe7lhrNGPQ] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.