Herd
Get App
The Scrimba Podcast podcast cover art

The Scrimba Podcast

ByAlex Booker
171 episodes

Podcast Summary

Learn from inspiring developers about how they found meaningful and fulfilling work that that also pays them well. On The Scrimba Podcast, you'll hear motivational advice and job-hunting strategies from developers who've been exactly where you are now. We talk to developers about their challenges, learnings, and switching industries in the hopes of inspiring YOU. This is the podcast that provides the inspiration, tools, and roadmaps to move from where you are to work that matters to you and uniquely fits your strengths and talents.

#1

End of Season One, and a Message from Alex Booker

So this is goodbye. But do not unsubscribe!It's the end of what will now be known as Season One of the Scrimba podcast! And Alex Booker is stepping down as its host.Over the past 160+ episodes, we have helped you learn to code and land your first job in tech. If you've missed any episodes, now is the time to go and listen to them. If you're new to the show, just start listening from the very beginning! The archive isn't going anywhere, and we aimed to create an evergreen podcast where you can find useful takeaways and inspiring stories for years to come.Stay tuned for Season Two! And in the meantime, browse through our past shows, or:🔗 Connect with Alex👨‍💼 LinkedIn🐤 Twitter👋 Say hi to Jan The Producer👨‍💼 LinkedIn🐤 Twitter🌐 Personal WebsiteSee you :)

2025-01-16•8mins
#2

Why Open Source Can Be the Perfect Place for New Developers – and How to Get Started, with Deb Goodkin from the FreeBSD Foundation

Meet Deb Goodkin! Deb is the Executive Director of the FreeBSD Foundation. The Foundation supports the FreeBSD project and community. FreeBSD is a powerful open-source operating system known for its reliability and security and used by companies like Netflix to power their servers and networks.With a strong background in engineering, Deb is passionate about open-source technology, and after this episode, you might become passionate about it, too! In this episode of the Scrimba podcast, you'll learn how a complex project like FreeBSD works from an organizational standpoint, why open-source is a great place for even newer developers, what are the key differences between community-driven projects and working for a corporation, and where should you start if you're looking to get into open-source.🔗 Connect with Deb👩‍💼 LinkedIn⏰ TimestampsWhat is FreeBSD? (01:19)What is the FreeBSD Foundation? (02:49)Open-source projects vs. commercial projects (04:04)Open source is a nourishing place (07:04)Some original BSD developers are still working on the project decades later! (07:46)Open source is a community (09:35)How can contributing to open source help a newer developer advance their career? (11:25)Community break! (14:08)What skills do you need to join an open-source project? (16:23)Start with documentation! (18:42)How do you interact with others working on an open-source project? (21:20)Are people more likely to help others who help themselves? (24:05)Quick-fire questions! (27:26)How does an open-source project like FreeBSD run?If you're listening and want to get into open source, do this! (38:13)🧰 Resources mentionedFreeBSD FoundationFreeBSDJon 'maddog' Hall on Linkedin and TwitterKirk McKusick on YouTubeMichael W Lucas on Mastodon⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and tell us who you want to see on the next podcast.You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode...

2024-09-19•43mins
#3

Tangible Benefits: Why AI Is Here to Stay and How New Developers Can Find the Right Balance, with Sam Julien from Writer

Meet Sam Julien 🇺🇸! Sam is a director of Developer Relations at Writer, a teacher, and the author of Getting Started in Developer Relations. He loves helping people level up their developer advocacy or web development jobs. Recently, he became interested in AI engineering. And in this episode, you'll find out why you should, too! Sam will teach you how to differentiate passing fads from the tech that's here to stay, how to stay future-proof, and why it's still important to learn the basics. AI as a tool has changed the scale at which we can make stuff - and that's the biggest reason to get acquainted with it. Sam and Alex discuss the current state of the job market in the realm of AI engineering, whether AI will make developers obsolete, as well as the novel use cases and key applications of large language models. Sam also shares how he broke into the field! You'll also learn more about Writer - their LLMs are available on Hugging Face!🔗 Connect with Sam👨‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsHow Sam Julien got into AI engineering (01:34)What convinced Sam that AI was here to stay? (03:56)Sam was strategic about pursuing AI engineering (05:55)The spectrum of career opportunities in AI engineering (07:23)Machine learning is not the only thing you can work on! (09:19)The current state of the job market: there's a significant discrepancy between how people perceive AI engineering and how things are actually goingBreak (14:02)What is Writer (15:01)Writer's own AI models - also available on Hugging Face (17:03)Are there opportunities for front-end developers in this space? (18:28)How to learn AI engineering? (23:19)Using models to teach you how to use models (25:18)Did Sam use AI to get a job in AI engineering? (27:48)Quick-fire questions: favorite podcasts, music, and people to follow (28:49)Do you need an ML certificate? (31:06)Novel uses and core applications of AI and LLMs (31:58)Should a new developer focus on AI? (35:33)How to stay future-proof (40:44)I...

2024-09-05•44mins
#4

Learn to Advocate for Yourself with Developer Advocate Rizel Scarlett

Meet Rizel Scarlett 🇺🇸! Rizel is a Staff Developer Advocate at TBD. She's also a career changer, software engineer, and community builder!Rizel dropped out of psychology studies after running out of money. Then she went into IT support, then into coding, and then realized that, after working in an organization that teaches women and non-binary people of color to code, developer advocacy could be a great career for her!In this episode, you will hear how Rizel learned to code, paved her own path, and knew when to pivot. You'll learn why internships are cool and what to be on the lookout for if you're looking for your first opportunity. Rizel will also teach you why you need personal branding and how to do it even if you're an introvert - complete with step-by-step instructions on writing a blog post, practicing public speaking, or networking.This is a rebroadcast of one of our favorite interviews!🔗 Connect with Rizel👩‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website🐦 Twitter👩‍🚀 GitHub⏰ TimestampsWhy Rizel switched from psychology to IT and, later, to coding (01:43)Rizel tried many different jobs. Here’s why that’s not a bad thing! (03:48)How Rizel approached learning to code (05:55)Community and camaraderie are important parts of learning to code (06:50)How Rizel decided to enroll in a bootcamp (07:58)On learning to code with your significant other (08:31)Thinking like a programmer comes with practice (09:46)Why Rizel pursued internships (10:50)Why connections are important (12:20)What was Rizel’s internship experience like (13:21)What should you look for in an internship or your first job? (13:58)Break (15:54)What juniors bring to the table (17:00)How Rizel discovered developer advocacy and got hired as a developer advocate at GitHub (18:15)What does a supportive manager do (20:18)How Rizel approaches personal branding (22:08)You can’t expect people to find you. The best person to advocate for you is you (22:25)How to work on your public speaking (24:25)How to work on your writing an...

2024-07-17•37mins
#5

Career Progression Decoded: Angie Jones' Expert Tips for Entering the Tech Industry and Forging Your Unique Path

Meet Angie Jones 🇺🇸! Angie is a veteran software developer currently working as a global Developer Relations executive at TBD. Before that, she worked as an automation engineer at Twitter and as a software engineer and master inventor at IBM (where she worked for nine years)! Angie is also a teacher and an international keynote speaker who has authored 27 patents.In this episode, Angie takes us through her career path, from falling in love with coding through automation engineering to eventually discovering her passion for teaching and DevRel. You'll learn the differences between large enterprises, medium-sized companies, and startups and find out what to look for if you're just breaking into the industry. Angie also talks about teaching, patenting your ideas, and finding specialization. Plus: decentralized technologies, changing jobs with the same company, and why it's important to keep learning new stuff. This is a rebroadcast of one of our favorite interviews! 🔗 Connect with Angie👩‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website🐦 Twitter👩‍🚀 GitHub⏰ TimestampsAngie's father thought she should familiarize herself with computers, so she took a C++ course. The rest is history! (01:21)What Angie loved about programming (02:54)Are developers missing out if they don't study computer science at university? (03:42)What makes a good teacher? (05:31)Break (09:40)Angie got his first role in tech through an internship (10:33)How Angie spent nine years at IBM (12:04)What are the advantages of changing jobs within the same company? (12:41)How does working at a huge corporation compare to working at smaller companies and startups, and why should you try a bit of both (14:22)What does career progression look like? (16:27)As a beginner, should you prioritize learning opportunities? What size companies should you go after? (17:05)Pay attention to the ratio of juniors vs. seniors (18:28)Software development is about much more than coding (18:49)How Angie discovered automation engineering and, subse...

2024-07-10•41mins
#6

Scrimba v2 is Here! Create Your Own Scrims, Use the Advanced Code Editor, and Learn Coding the Right Way, with Per Borgen

Scrimba v2 is here! And you probably already know this if you've visited our website recently. Scrimba cofounder and CEO Per Borgen 🇳🇴 is joining us to reveal what this update is all about. You might have noticed the redesign - but the update is not just on the surface. Scrimba has been rewritten from the ground up to support further development, and you can already enjoy a lot of new features. The platform is no longer a closed platform, which means you can make your own scrims, create and follow profiles, and make use of numerous templates. You can also use Scrimba's code editor to create your own projects - even if you're not following a course. It even features an advanced version control! Per and Alex also talk about AI and how it will change the way we learn coding and which AI features are already being worked on at Scrimba.🔗 Connect with Per👨‍💼LinkedIn🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsScrimba v2 is a complete rewrite of the entire platform (01:00)"We also rebuilt the tools to build Scrimba" (02:45)What are Templates? (05:49)You can now use Scrimba as an online code editor (07:34)You can also add commits! (08:31)Scrimba is now open to anyone to create content and scrims (09:15)Scrimba profiles (10:59)The future of pedagogy on Scrimba (13:02)Backend courses are coming! (14:40)Visual rebrand: is Scrimba still playful? (17:12)The state of using AI to learn to code (24:44)🧰 Resources MentionedScrimba v2⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and tell us who you want to see on the next podcast.You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so that he can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏 Or tell Jan he's butchered your name here.

2024-07-03•31mins
#7

The Four Stages of Interviewing: How to Conquer the Hiring Process Step by Step, with Ryan Talbert

Meet Ryan Talbert 🇺🇸! Ryan studied entrepreneurship and had an idea for an app. To build it, he hired a developer who scammed him and used his server for phishing! But that was also the best thing that could've happened: Today, Ryan is a developer, passionate about JavaScript, and helping other career switchers break into tech. Oh, and he wrote a book!In this episode, Ryan shares his story and many things he's learned along the way. Ryan will teach you how to break the process of applying and interviewing for a job into smaller steps and improve them one by one - and some of his strategies are pretty novel, even after more than 160 episodes of our podcast! Ryan's approach divides the interview process into four stages. This way, you can pinpoint the exact part of it where you fail, and work on it without distractions.You will also learn how to make learning to code more manageable and rewarding for yourself - because the more you win, the more you will win. Ryan also describes how he got his first coding job: he told the hiring manager the company wasn't right for him, but they wanted to hire him anyway, and he eventually agreed - because he had a good reason to do so.🔗 Connect with Ryan👨‍💼 Linkedin⏰ TimestampsYou can come into tech from any career (01:36)Ryan studied entrepreneurship and wanted to build an app (03:56)How Ryan lost all his savings and got a cease and desist letter from the country of Germany (05:46)Getting scammed was a good thing, in the end (08:57)Community Break with Jan the Producer (10:13)How Ryan learned to code (11:40)Becoming a coder instead of entrepreneur (14:41)Job hunt in 2017 vs job hunt in 2024 (20:33)Linear progression of a job interview (22:22)Write a good resume (or pay somebody to do that), and get it in front of humans (23:37)What to do when they ask you to tell them abour yourself? (25:39)Practice coding problems (26:49)Climbing the interview hill (27:32)We're bad at multitasking (28:56)Anything is a skill! (30:42)You nee...

2024-06-13•42mins
#8

What's New in React 19 (and What That Means for You), with Dev Agrawal

Meet Dev Agrawal 🇮🇳🇺🇸! Dev is a software developer, developer advocate, content creator, and A React expert deeply ingrained in the React community. The last time he was on the show, we tried to find an answer to the question of whether we should still be learning React in 2024 - the community was divided! Today, we’re talking about React 19.React 19 is the latest version of React, introducing some amazing new features! Key features include the new React Compiler, which automates performance optimization; Server Components, which allow rendering components on the server for faster initial page loads and improved data handling; Actions; and some new hooks! In this episode, you’ll learn what these features are, how to use them, which ones are the most important, and why we are getting them in the first place. Understanding the context and history behind these new features, as well as the needs of developers who have been using React in their work, will help us use them more effectively.React 19 is expected to be released by the end of 2024 and is set to enhance both performance and developer experience. In the meantime, you can try the release candidate!🔗 Connect with Dev👨‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsCan we use React 19 already? (01:24)Is React Canary the same as React 19 RC? (02:14)When does React 19 come out? (03:04)React Compiler is the biggest feature of React 19. What does it do? (04:18)There is a performance cost associated with memoizing (08:23How does the React compiler help with memoization? (11:13)Could you manually accomplish what the Compiler does automatically? (12:59)How do you use the React Compiler? (15:41)You need to abide by the React rules for the Compiler to work properly (16:48)Is React a library or a language? (17:04)Transpilers vs compilers (19:44)What are Actions? (23:41)What are React Transitions? (24:37)Server Actions vs Client Actions (31:39)New hoks: useFormState, useFormStatus (33:29)New features are a big departure...

2024-06-06•40mins

Listen to your favourite podcasts.

Now ad-free.

Download herd and enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality podcasts without the wait.

Download on the
App Store
#9

The Secret to a Meaningful Portfolio: Solve a Real-world Problem, with Scrimba Student Kevin

Meet Kevin Tanzyl! Originally from New Zealand, Kevin moved to Japan to become an English teacher. But after a while, he felt like he hit a plateau. Kevin then tried coding, and after a sting in the infamous tutorial hell, he discovered Scrimba. While learning to code, he made a React app for English teachers, which is still used in Japanese schools! This game-changing portfolio project for Kevin caught the eye of employers and recruiters alike. Within a couple of months, Kevin got his first developer job, but several months later, he realized that it wasn't a good fit after all. In this episode, you'll find out all about Kevin's career change, learning path, and hurdles along the way. You'll learn how to pick your portfolio projects and why you should focus on basic programming principles while maintaining a technology-agnostic approach. Kevin also shares his approach to dealing with stubborn bugs, why "no pain, no gain" applies to coding, and how learning to code compares to learning a new language. Plus, how's the work culture in Japan different from the Western one?🔗 Connect with Kevin👨‍💼 LinkedIn👨‍🚀 GitHub🌐 Website⏰ Timestamps"Software development involves a lot of math, so I avoided that" (01:13)How Kevin started teaching English in Japan (02:51)Why Kevin wanted a career change from teaching: the tech world doesn't stop! (03:51)How did learning programming compare to learning languages? (04:56)Why Kevin struggled to learn to code - and how he solved that (05:43)Do you need to go to university to become a software developer? (07:25)What are the differences between a software developer and a web developer? (08:06)Community break with Jan the Producer (09:37)Kevin learned on Udemy, freeCodeCamp, and, ultimately, Scrimba (12:17)Tutorial hell (14:02)The path of least resistance is not the right one for coding (14:57)How to fix very stubborn bugs (15:53)How Kevin made his number one portfolio app (16:44)Picking a portfolio app: ask your friends and family a...

2024-05-29•35mins
#10

"No" Is Always Guaranteed... So Strive for a "Yes", with the Coding Mermaid Monica Fidalgo

Meet Monica Fidalgo 🇵🇹! Monica is a front-end product engineer at Cloudflare, an advocate for new developers and women in tech, as well as a teacher, mentor, and resume reviewer. Her path to tech wasn’t straightforward: she originally studied marine biology and was a licensed scuba diver!Monica's life took a dramatic turn when she was involved in a serious car accident that temporarily left her unable to walk. After months of recovery, she was even able to run again! However, her recovery made finding a job in her already competitive field even more challenging. In 2018, she began exploring other interests and remembered her love for customizing her Blogger and Tumblr templates. So, she decided to learn web design!In this episode, you’ll learn a thing or two about motivation. You'll also discover a fantastic technique you should be using when applying for jobs, and learn everything about Monica's inspiring career change. You'll also find out when to switch companies, how to evaluate coding schools before you sign up, and how Monica's car accident changed her outlook on life.🔗 Connect with Monica👩‍💼 LinkedIn⏰ TimestampsMonica studied marine biology and thought IT was just for men (01:31)How Monica's car accident changed her outlook on life (04:29)Feeling sorry for yourself won't take you anywhere (08:53)Community break with Jan the Producer (09:27)How Monica learned to code (11:02)Monica coded during the day and worked at night - but also took up sports (13:57)"It's difficult, but it won't last forever" (15:24)Monica's family wasn't always supportive (16:36)You can't count on luck (18:38)Monica had a checklist of companies she wanted to work for (19:10)How to apply to a company without open job ads (20:35)Quick-fire questions (21:07)How Monica found her first job in tech (23:09)Getting ahead of the curve: why you should be sending your CV to HRs on LinkedIn (23:27)Why - and how - Monica changes jobs (25:57)How Monica got a job at Cloudflare (29:37)Monica's fi...

2024-05-22•42mins
#11

Senior Software Engineer at Netflix, Shaundai Person: Here's How to Sell Yourself (and Believe in the Product 😉)

Meet Shaundai Person 🇺🇸! Shaundai is a senior software engineer at Netflix, but she hasn't always been a coder. She studied entrepreneurship and had a long, successful career in sales. After a decade in sales and running her own business, Shaundai discovered coding through customizing her business's Shopify website.Shaundai realized she was ready for a career change to something she felt more passionate about. She also learned that you don't have to go back to school to become a software engineer and that much of engineering isn't NASA-level stuff. In fact, it's about listening to customers' needs and offering them solutions—just like in sales!In this episode, you'll learn how Shaundai transitioned into the tech team of the company she was already working at. She leveraged her extensive sales experience and her passion for coding to create a personal brand within the company, building a reputation that preceded her. The key to a successful sale is believing in your product, and if you're learning to sell yourself, you are the product! Shaundai will teach you how to do just that while remembering that you're still human. Shaundai and Alex also discuss the often non-linear path to career change and why coding skills are nowadays a commodity (so you need to find a different way to stand out).🔗 Connect with Shaundai👩‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website⏰ TimestampsHow Shaundai chose to study entrepreneurship (01:53)"I had never been in a position where I loved the thing that I was doing" (04:41)Selling software made Shaundai fascinated with software engineering (05:49)How Shaundai eventually taught herself to code on Codecademy (10:17)How Shaundai organized her studying... and went overtime (12:58)"I could make money AND be happy with that I'm doing" (13:25)"In this case, I'm selling myself!" (14:36)There are always more decision-makers involved in hiring, and here's what to do about them (16:57)Shaundai's strategy to win over her company's engineering team (18:31)You're always...

2024-05-16•50mins
#12

Creator of #100DaysOfCode, Alex Kallaway: Here's How to Embrace Discomfort for Growth

Meet Alex Kallaway 🇷🇺🇨🇦! Alex is a Lead Full-Stack Developer, but he hasn't always been a coder. First, he was a violinist; then, he was interested in having a business; he worked in product management and digital marketing. At one point, he was determined to become a developer and was looking for a way to accelerate his learning, and he thought of a coding challenge you might have heard of. Believe it or not, Alex created just for himself - he never thought it would become something that other people would want to do. But then Quincy Larson of freeCodeCamp got an idea...You can also find Alex at or read his newsletter.In this interview, you'll learn about the origin story of and Alex's career path. You will also hear everything about the challenge's rules and best practices. What do you do if you can't code for an hour every day? What should you do if you skip a day? How do you set goals? Can you do more than once? How should you measure success?Alex and Alex also discuss habits, procrastination, and "manifestations of resistance," as well as ways and tactics for overcoming discomfort and reaching goals. Does something really become a habit after a set number of days? Why is mindfulness important, and how do you define consistency? All this, and more, in today's episode.🔗 Connect with Alex👨‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website✉️ Discomfort Academy📹 Youtube⏰ TimestampsHow Alex like coding but became a violin player (02:01)Alex moved to Canada via Japan (05:18)"Codecademy is like Duolingo" (06:59)How a product role turned into a marketing role, and that marketing role lead Alex back into coding (07:59)Breaking out of tutorial hell with freeCodeCamp (11:37)Community break with Jan The Producer (13:25)You have to be frustrated to motivate yourself (15:02)How was born (16:55)The basic rules of (19:50)Alex Booker's GitHub activity streak (20:39)Procrastination, rationalization, and manifestations of resistance (21:32)We are a little bit too addicted to comfort (24:44)There's ...

2024-05-08•48mins
#13

What to Do If Nobody's Hiring (and How to Slide Into Their DMs When They Do), with Rachel Nabors

Meet Rachel Lee Nabors 🇺🇸🇬🇧! They are an award-winning cartoonist who transitioned to become a developer with a passion for teaching the world how to code. Rachel has worked at major tech companies such as Microsoft, AWS, and Meta. At Meta, they were a pivotal contributor to react.dev, the award-winning version of React documentation.Rachel is also the author of the Tech Career Survival Guide, a series of Substack essays that may or may not become a book. In these essays, they teach readers about emotional resilience, managing change, and the practical aspects of working in tech. In this episode, Rachel will share their secret for landing high-profile tech jobs, as well as advice for owning your non-linear career path, especially if you're a career changer. You will also discover how to deal with a job market where opportunities may seem scarce and what you can do if nobody seems to be hiring. Plus: why you shouldn't email Dan Abramov, who to reach out to instead, and why collecting feedback from people directly is often better than staring at analytics. 🔗 Connect with Rachel🧑‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website✉️ The Tech Career Survival Guide🐦 Twitter꩜ Threads🧑‍🚀 GitHub⏰ TimestampsHow Rachel became a developer while being a cartoonist (01:29)How Rachel handled the career shift into professional development (03:08)Code can make things come to life (05:48)Very few people are given jobs just because they're popular (09:22)Break (11:07)How Rachel gets her FAANG roles (12:28)What to do if nobody's hiring (14:48)How can a new developer create value in the community? (16:28)How Alex did the same (18:41)Great Recession was tough, but it brought up some great engineering (21:17)Increase your chance to get lucky later (25:43)What to do if you don't have a linear career path (27:38)When changing career paths, it can feel like starting from scratch (31:26)Developing expertise is not a good thing! (32:14)Are your skills out of date, and how Rachel transferred her old skills into...

2024-05-01•48mins
#14

This is How Companies Think About Hiring, with Dominik Piątek

Meet Dominik Piątek 🇵🇱🇬🇧! Dominik moved to the UK from Poland in search of career opportunities. He worked odd jobs, acquired a varied set of skills, and became a partner in a digital agency at the age of 23. That's where he got interested in front-end development, and more than a decade later, Dom is still in London. He's a staff developer who has also led cross-functional teams, worked with complex JavaScript applications and multiple times served as a tech lead.Dominik interviewed Alex for a job in their previous company. Today, the tables have turned, and Alex interviews Dom. In this episode, you'll learn what Dom looks for in a candidate, what's the difference between a senior developer and a tech lead, and whether or not whiteboard interviews can actually be useful. Dominik also talks about company values and explains the notion of a culture fit once and for all. You'll find out if the hiring processes are getting better, what are the current interview trends, and how different companies optimize their interviews so that they select just the candidates that are right for them.🔗 Connect with Dominik👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website👨‍🚀 GitHub⏰ TimestampsIn an interview, you only get one shot (01:34)Sometimes you get nervous, but sometimes you're too relaxed (02:45)How Dominik became a developer (04:19)Why Dominik left Poland (05:21)"This is not like C!" (06:56)It's going to take five years to become comfortable with coding (11:26)Don't be buzzwordy! (12:13)Community break with Jan the Producer (15:50)What do companies want to see in a beginner developer (19:39)If your PR gets destroyed, don't be emotional (23:49)What's a culture fit? (24:39)Can you codify culture? (26:34)A lot of time, values are aspirational (28:13)Why do people tend to hire people like themselves? (29:12)Should you vibe with your job interview? (30:38)Is your ability to interview more important than your coding skills? (32:54)Are whiteboard interviews a culture test? (34:15)Who needs whiteb...

2024-04-24•47mins
#15

The Safe Exit: How to Quit Your Job the Right Way, with Ian Douglas

Meet Ian Douglas 🇺🇸🇨🇦! Developer, DevRel, Tech Educator, Career Coach, and author of The Tech Interview Guide, Ian Douglas, has been coding professionally since 1996. During that time, he worked at seventeen different companies! So, he probably knows a thing or two about how to transition companies in the most productive and secure way.Whether you're a new or more experienced developer, sooner or later, the time will come to change companies. How can you be sure it's time to quit your job? How do you hand in your notice, and what do you even write in a resignation letter? Why is a manager who gets surprised by your leaving the company probably not a good manager? How do you hand off your projects, and when do you tell your coworkers you're moving on from the company? When should you publicize your new role on LinkedIn, why do some recruiters hit you up 90 days after you've changed jobs, and ultimately, how should you navigate all this in today's job market?If you need help moving on from your role - or at least renegotiating it, listen to this episode!🔗 Connect with Ian👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsAlex changed jobs recently! (01:58)"The first thing you really need to understand is why you want to leave the company" (03:16)Have a direction in mind (05:02)It takes six to twelve months to hit your stride at a new job (07:13)With all the info you have currently, could you see yourself being at the new company for at least two years? (09:29)Sometimes the company changes, and that's okay (10:00)Should you feel guilty when quitting your job? (10:49)What you need to know about notice periods (12:46)The risk of resigning (14:42)Get all your paperwork signed first (16:34)What if your current company wants to keep you? (17:31)Even if they manage to keep you, they might not trust in your loyalty (18:59)Always communicate with your manager (21:00)If you leave a job, it shouldn't really surprise your manager (22:29)What if your company can't make the ac...

2024-04-17•46mins
#16

Early WhatsApp Engineer Jean Lee: Keep Trying New Things in Tech!

Meet Jean Lee! She was the nineteenth engineer at WhatsApp (that was even before it got acquired by Facebook!) and then worked at Meta as an engineering manager for six years after the acquisition. She helped set up WhatsApp's London office and also worked on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her coding journey didn't start there - she discovered tech almost by chance after her family moved to California. She wanted to study art - but after taking art courses at her university, she realized that coding was her thing. She worked at a tiny startup competing with YouTube and a huge corporation, IBM, before she realized which company size suited her best. She became an engineering manager at Meta without ever planning to become one - but when an opportunity arose, she took it. Because how are you ever going to know what you like doing or not if you don't try things? Today, Jean is a cofounder of Exaltitude, providing resources and coaching to software engineers navigating the ever-changing tech landscape and cultivating a community where everyone can grow together.In this episode, Jean shares her best career advice. You'll also find out what it was like to work at WhatsApp during the expansion, why company culture always changes when a company is scaling up, why inclusive hiring practices are important, and what is one thing that juniors never remember they need to do.🔗 Connect with Jean👩‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website📹 YouTube⏰ Timestamps "I had never really met adults who were so into their work before" (01:08)How Jean decided to learn to code (02:50)Should you go to university to become a developer (03:52)Jean's first role: internship at a Youtube competitor (05:14)Jean's second role was at IBM! (05:41)Are bigger companies better? Was WhatsApp a happy medium? (06:49)Is there a difference in how startups and big companies hire? (08:21)The startup scene then vs. now (09:40)Should you follow trends and disruptors? (12:20)Community Break with Jan the Producer (14:50)The cha...

2024-04-10•42mins
#17

How Not to Be Afraid of Git, with O'Reilly Author Anna Skoulikari

✨Use this link for a free month of O'Reilly Learning and read Anna's book and any other resource on the platform! ✨ Meet Anna Skoulikari! She's a UX designer turned front-end developer, senior technical writer, and the author of "Learning Git" - a book published by O'Reilly Media that teaches Git in a simple, visual, and tangible manner so that you can build a solid mental model of how it all works.Anna started teaching Git because she had to understand it herself. It's powerful but not the most user-friendly of tools. Yet, Git is what we all have in common, whether we're working on back-end or front-end development, on Windows or a Mac. Even GitHub's lawyers use Git!If you're learning to code, you probably have many questions. Should you use GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket? What's the difference between a merge request and a pull request? Does it make sense to use Git from your command line, or is a GUI good enough? Where are all those files? And how, for the last time, does any of that work? This episode will help you understand Git and provide you with plenty of practical insights to navigate its complexities effectively.🔗 Connect with Anna👩‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website⏰ TimestampsAnna’s journey into coding via UX design (01:44)How Anna decided to conquer her fear of Git (02:25)What is Git? (03:28)What can you use Git for? (04:38)What is GitHub, and what other platforms are out there? (05:35)GitHub’s lawyers also use Git (07:58)Should you use Git for your own projects, even if you’re not collaborating with anyone? (08:27)What is branching? What is merging? (10:39)How do companies typically use Git? (12:14)Community Break with Jan the Producer (16:47)When should a new deveoloper start learning Git? (18:36)Git is a unifying technology (20:27)Why is the terminology around Git so confusing? (21:38)How Anna teaches Git: the colors of the rainbow (23:08)Making the four areas of Git tangible (25:12)How to use git: command line or GUI? (28:04)What are merge conflicts and how ...

2024-04-03•44mins
#18

The (Not so) Hidden Benefits of Talking about Code, with Scrimba Bootcamp Lead Micha

✨Use this link for a 20% discount on the Scrimba bootcamp! ✨ Meet Michaella Rodriguez! If you're already in the Scrimba Discord community, you probably know her. If not, she's a career changer who discovered Scrimba while learning, like many; she was active in the Scrimba community when Guil recruited the first-ever code reviewers for our bootcamp. Now, she's a bootcamp lead at Scrimba. And no, she never thought she would be a coder - but a friend made her try it.Yes, Micha and Alex do talk about the Scrimba bootcamp in this episode. But even if you're not interested in the bootcamp, this interview brings a wealth of information that can help you if you're learning to code. You have probably already heard that trying and teaching somebody else is the best way to solidify your learning. Well, in this episode, you'll find out how to do that as a junior, why you should be able to talk about and explain code, and whether you can bring anything to the table in a discussion or a code review if you're not an expert. Also in this episode: group projects, GIT, accountability, (not) letting yourself slide, and Alex's unorthodox StackOverflow strategy.🔗 Connect with Micha👩‍💼 Linkedin🐦 Twitter👩‍🚀 GitHub🤖 michaellala on Scrimba Discord⏰ TimestampsHow Micha started to learn to code after a friend told her he thought she'd be good at it (01:57)Micha used freeCodeCamp but turned to Scrimba for JavaScript (03:19)Eventually, Micha started working at Scrimba! (04:42)What is the Scrimba Bootcamp? (06:07)What challenges do coding students typically face? (09:45)How Scrimba bootcamp keeps students accountable (10:57)Community Break with Jan the Producer (15:04)Why code reviews are important (17:03)Why you should look to give code reviews and not just get them (18:29)Pay it forward, learn by teaching, and foster community (20:25)How Alex used StackOverflow while learning to code (21:39)Why you should be able to talk about code (22:42)Can beginners actually help someone with thei...

2024-03-28•36mins
#19

Neurodiversity in Tech and Why We Should Care About It, with Parul Singh

Meet Parul Singh 🇬🇧! Parul is a Tech Careers & Neurodiversity Consultant, ADHD advocate, board member at Manchester Tech Festival, Public Speaker, and a former recruitment marketing partner and tech recruiter. The last time she was on the show, she gave us advice on how to stand out and land a role in tech.Today, we're talking about neurodiversity! What does it mean, why do we need it, why do tech companies seem to attract neurodivergent talent, and how can we create a more inclusive workplace? In this episode, you'll find out why neurodivergent conditions aren't superpowers (but sometimes feel like they are), why some people get diagnosed late, and whether self-diagnosis is valid. Parul is passionate about these topics because of her own lived experience with ADHD and autism, which intersects with her being a woman of color. But even if you're not neurodivergent yourself, chances are you've worked with or managed somebody who is... so tune in!🔗 Connect with Parul👨‍💼 Linkedin📪 Parul's Dopamine Diaries Newsletter🌐 Linktree🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsWhat are they: neurodivergent, neurotypical, neurodiversity (02:22)The medical model of neurodivergent conditions is deficit-focused (04:13)Stereotypes and internalized ableism (05:53)What is masking? (08:16)Are neurodivergent conditions classified as disabilities? (09:02)Is being neurodivergent a superpower? (10:08)What are the challenges for an employer in working with neurodiverse employees? (12:43)How many people working in tech are neurodivergent? (14:01)You have probably already worked with neurodivergent coworkers (15:43)On setting expectations, handling challenging situations, and sharing personal stories (16:43)Double empathy problem (20:20)Modern corporate culture and delivery pressure (22:09)How Parul got diagnosed with ADHD at 25 (24:56)Misdiagnosis, and why autism and ADHD mask each other out (26:34)You are diagnosed based on how much you inconvenience other people (28:13)ADHD medication (30:26)The import...

2024-03-22•45mins
#20

The Only Thing Worth Investing in Is Yourself, with Scrimba Student Özge

Meet Özge Ahras 🇹🇷! Özge studied computer enigneering, but felt her coding skills weren't up to par. She yearned to transition into frontend development and explore cutting-edge technologies, but the company she had spent eight years in was relying on vanilla javascript. Eventually, she discovered Scrimba, back in the day before the Frontend Career Path even existed. Can you imagine?Özge fell in love with Scrimba's pedagogy and enrolled in the Path. But the journey wasn't without its challenges. It took her two and a half years to complete the course, balancing her studies with a demanding full-time job. And in February 2023, a devastating earthquake struck her hometown in southern Turkey. Yet Özge persevered, realizing that the true investment lay in nurturing her own growth and peace of mind.Today, Özge is a front-end developer living in sunny Malta! You'll hear how she picked where she wanted to move and how she went about hunting for jobs, as well as learn one trick that boosted her job application success rate. Özge also shares the details of her interview process (spoiler: there was a bit that was slightly unconventional). This is a story about giving yourself grace and time, staying motivated, and remaining curious!🔗 Connect with Özge👩‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Portfolio👩‍🚀 GitHub⏰ Resources MentionedÖzge studied computer engineering and worked at the same company for eight years, but wanted to get better at frontend (01:03)How it felt to relearn JavaScript and React (04:15)Why JavaScript fixed 90% of Özge's work problems (06:43)Community Break with Jan the Producer (07:48)How Özge stayed motivated and learned to code alongside her full-time job (09:43)Özge's mindset shifted after a devastating earthquake that hit her hometown (11:13)Invest in yourself, that's the only thing you can't lose (12:50)The aftermath of the earthquake (14:02)Letting go of material goals (17:38)Why Özge moved to Malta to continue her career (18:35)Özge's job-hunting process: ChatGPT and...

2024-03-13•30mins
#21

How to Figure Out What You Want to Do, with Scrimba Student Amy

Meet Amy Posten 🇺🇸! Amy was a veterinary technician for fifteen years before she decided to switch careers. First, she discovered freeCodeCamp while on maternity leave. Later, she joined a premium bootcamp but didn't feel quite ready to apply for coding jobs afterward, so she turned to Scrimba to polish her skills. Nowadays, she's a front-end engineer and instructor.In this episode, you'll learn how to figure out what kind of job you want and what was a small change in her job-hunting approach that brought Amy immediate results. You'll discover what are the gaps in knowledge one might have after a bootcamp, and how you can make learning to code less lonely. Finally, Amy and Alex discuss generative AI tools and how you can use them in your job hunt.🔗 Connect with Amy👩‍💼 Linkedin⏰ TimestampsHow Amy became a Veterinary Technician (01:32)Maternity leave on freeCodeCamp, and a career change brought up by the pandemic (04:38)Why Amy likes JavaScript, HTML, and CSS (06:59)Why Amy decided to join a bootcamp (08:56)The importance of getting to connect with people (11:16)Social media break with Jan the Producer (12:43)How to make learning to code less lonely (14:12)Joining a bootcamp is like drinking from a fire hose (16:27)Amy discovered Scrimba through her bootcamp! (18:31)After the bootcamp, Amy also joined the Scrimba bootcamp (19:37)Why Amy decided to start from scratch on Scrimba (21:35)How Amy found her north star and became a teacher (24:48)Amy changed her approach to job applications and got immediate results! (28:26)Amy's reach-out strategy and how she got a job interview at the company she currently works at (31:52)How to figure out what kind of job you want (35:11)Amy's job interview (36:04)How to use AI tools in your job hunt (40:22)🧰 Resources MentionedScrimba podcast: The State of React (and Should You Still Learn It in 2024), with Dev AgrawalScrimba podcast: An expert guide to technical interviews with Ian DouglasScrimba podcast: This Is How You Onboa...

2024-03-05•43mins
#22

Slow Down to Speed Up: Teacher-Turned-Developer Chris on Successful Adult Learning and Landing his Dream Role

Meet Chris Webster 🇬🇧! Chris is a full-stack developer based in Reading. In a past life, he taught Mandarin to both children and adults and obtained a master's degree in education. If you're guessing that this episode is about pedagogy, maintaining your mindset, and learning hacks, you're on the right track.When Chris decided to switch careers, he enrolled in a premium London boot camp. Was it worth the money? Or the time? In this episode, Chris lays out the differences between a boot camp and learning to code by yourself online. He ended up on Scrimba afterward—sometimes even while at work at his first coding job—which helped him land his dream job. But that wasn't the only thing! It's the perseverance, strategies for successful adult learning, and knowing what to look for in the myriad of teaching methods available to us that paved Chris's path to success. In this podcast, you'll learn all about them!🔗 Connect with Chris👨‍💼 Linkedin⏰ TimestampsHow Chris discovered computers (but became a teacher and only later took up coding) (01:09)Was changing careers an easy decision? (03:57)What do bootcamps promise, and do they deliver? (06:32)How did Chris structure his learning? (06:46)Was Chris happy with what he got out of the bootcamp? (08:36)Did the marketing of the bootcamp match the actual offering? (10:41)Midroll with Jan the Producer: Tweet about us! (12:31)The appeal of a bootcamp: the path + the community (13:27)How Chris discovered Scrimba (14:34)The problem with many teachers nowadays (17:40)Chris's Number One Learning Hack (19:20)Don't keep hammering the problem (23:18)The system for problem-solving (25:52)The stigma of (not) working hard enough (27:18)Pomodoro technique vs being in the zone: there's a right time for both (29:30)How Chris found his first job (31:34)What's it like working for a consultancy (32:38)How Chris landed his dream job as his second job (34:33)Chris's LinkedIn strategy (36:37)Just be enthusiastic! (37:49)Chris's message to a recr...

2024-02-23•41mins
#23

The State of React (and Should You Still Learn It in 2024), with Dev Agrawal

Meet Dev Agrawal 🇮🇳🇺🇸! With a name like that, how could he not become a developer? He's a software developer, developer advocate, and content creator. Moreover, he's a React expert deeply ingrained in the React community. That's why we invited him onto the show to shed light on the current state of affairs!You've probably noticed certain discontent surrounding React recently. A basic React app has become significantly more complex. It has been quite some time since there has been a significant update to React, with the recent ones relying heavily on meta-frameworks. And what about the React core team? What's happening there?All of this might sound disheartening. However, we're delving into whether these concerns hold true in this episode. Let's find out together!🔗 Connect with Dev👨‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsHow Dev became a dev (01:34)Teamwork is a skill you can learn! (07:06)Should you go to college or learn to code by yourself? (09:10)Studying coding can be a "choose your own adventure" game (11:04)Community break with Jan the Producer (12:42)How Dev landed his first role in tech (14:28)Disappointment with React: what's that about? (15:42)What are meta-frameworks, and why are they gaining traction? (18:55)React was originally all about the front end... And now? (20:55)GraphQL and React Server components (22:23)Pete Hunt, Rethinking Best Practices, and separation of concerns (23:09)History is repeating itself (24:24)The most common problem with server components (25:34)The battle of the frameworks (26:10)Is Next.JS in an advantageous position? (28:08)Most people nowadays are using Vue! (34:13)Should you have FOMO about server components? (36:37)🧰 Resources MentionedNiche Down to Blow Up: Scrimba Student Leo Reveals How to Land an Awesome First Dev Job

2024-02-08•41mins

Listen to your favourite podcasts.

Now ad-free.

Download herd and enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality podcasts without the wait.

Download on the
App Store
#24

Everybody's Doing Their Best... Even Tech Recruiters (and This Is How to Get Their Attention), with Parul Singh

Meet Parul Singh 🇬🇧! Parul is a Tech Careers & Neurodiversity Consultant, ADHD advocate, board member at Manchester Tech Festival, Public Speaker, and a former recruitment marketing partner and tech recruiter. If you're familiar with the topic of neurodiversity in tech, you've probably come across her name. In this episode, we're speaking with Parul because her advice on how to stand out and land a role in tech is anything but ordinary. This episode contains refreshingly unique and honest insights and perspectives on hiring in tech, along with some new job platforms you can use to inspire or recharge your developer job search. Everybody's on LinkedIn, and that can be a blessing and a curse! In this episode, you'll learn about the best alternatives. Standing out as a junior developer can be challenging, but we'll discuss some ideas on how you can do it. What should your CV look like? Do you need a cover letter? To wrap things up, we'll learn from Parul why some recruiters don't advertise the salary range and what you can do when you see a job ad like that!Plus: Why should tech recruiters know how to code, and is JavaScript more similar to a ham or a hamster?🔗 Connect with Parul👨‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Linktree🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsHow Parul became a tech recruiter (01:19)Java vs. JavaScript (03:18)How Parul learned to code (03:34)Why it's important to find a coding instructor and method you vibe with (05:35)Why tech recruiters should know how to code (06:36)Community break with Jan the Producer (08:42)How can a developer be recognized by a recruiter (10:08)Job platforms other than LinkedIn (11:12)Make sure your profile is up to scratch (12:08)Who swipes right? (12:49)How to stand out as an entry-level candidate: your CV (15:01)Send your CV using normal methods, but THEN follow up directly (17:40)Do recruiters really only spend a few seconds on each resume? (18:38)Is sending a cover letter necessary? (20:21)Should you apply on the weekends? (22:10)What should you do if ...

2024-01-31•39mins
#25

The Making of an Industry: The Rise of AI Engineering, with Swyx

Meet Shawn Wang (Swyx) 🇺🇸! Swyx is a developer, writer, and startup advisor. If you listen to our show regularly, you know him as the biggest advocate for learning in public! Today, he's the founder of smol.ai and a podcast host and teacher at Latent Space. Last summer, Swyx wrote a blog post titled The Rise of the AI Engineer, which quickly went viral.In this episode, Swyx will revisit that blog post to see if anything changed. You will learn why AI engineers are a thing, the differences between AI and ML engineers, and why the demand for this specialization is larger than the supply. Swyx also reveals what defines an industry (and why it's not only about tools) and gives many good examples of successful products made using existing foundation models. Swyx and Alex also talk about the inner workings of AI and whether it's a good idea to run AI models on your own hardware.🔗 Connect with Swyx👨‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website🌐 smol.ai🏫Latent Space⏰ TimestampsSwyx wrote a blog post about The Rise of the AI Engineer, and it went viral (02:32)The three-stage progression of an AI engineer (04:33)Can an AI agent become a CTO? (05:36)We can become AI engineers now. What changed? (07:50)We didn't invent AI foundation models; we discovered them (11:27)Are we evolving new intelligence? (14:20)AI researchers vs AI engineers (15:36)Why is AI engineering a specialization? (17:04)What's an inference API (20:50)What are weights (21:09)There's a lot of interest in small AI foundation models (24:27)Should you use the cloud or run your AI models locally? (25:37)Is there a demand for AI engineers? (27:26)What AI products do companies want to build? (29:40)Updated career advice for new developers (34:51)🧰 Resources MentionedThe Coding Career Handbook by Swyx (30% discount applied when you use this link)

2024-01-24•37mins
#26

Passions, Skills, Environment, and Compensation: Career Coach Adam Broda's Framework for Navigating Today's Job Market

Meet Adam Broda 🇺🇸! Adam is a tech lead and career coach who helps career changers break into tech. He did the same - after a decade of working in aerospace engineering at Boeing, Adam now works at Amazon! Through his coaching business, Broda Coaching, Adam aids career transitioners in constructing personalized job search strategies.In this episode, Adam unveils the four pillars of his framework: identifying your passions, skills, desired environment, and needed compensation. Alex and Adam also delve into the current state of the job market: have we moved beyond significant tech layoffs, are return-to-office policies contributing to attrition, and what implications do these factors have for software development jobs? Adam will also tech you about different phases of networking—short-term networking, advocacy networking, and engagement networking—detailing how to navigate each of them and which one is most effective.🔗 Connect with Adam👨‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website⏰ TimestampsHow Adam transitioned into IT (and became a career coach) after a long career in the aerospace industry (01:30)Adam's engineering background vs. his new roles (05:19)The tech industry changes frequently (08:32)How Broda Coaching came about (10:32)Fail fast! (14:22)The state of the tech job market (and should we be worried about layoffs (15:32)Why is there fewer junior roles? (18:12)Returning to the office forces attrition (19:41)Does social media give you a good overview of what's happening in the job market? (20:59)Before the pandemic, junior roles had a lower experience requirement (23:19)Adam's job-hunting strategy (23:51)Start with your why (25:14)Passions, skills, environment, and compensation (27:13)Is niching down limiting your opportunities? (28:02)Adam's three-phase networking approach (32:17)Demonstrate potential! (36:07)Go where you're passionate (39:50)🧰 Resources MentionedBroda Coaching⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and tell us who y...

2024-01-17•43mins
#27

Effective Living for Better Coding: From Retail to Software Engineering with Scrimba Student Cassie

🎙 About the episodeMeet Cassie Lewis 🇺🇸! Cassie has a fine arts degree, which turned out to be too fancy for the real world. After working in different fields, from photography to retail, she got interested in coding - and it turned out to be just the right fit with how her mind works! Cassie is fueled by curiosity, creativity, and challenges. And learning to code alongside a day job was certainly a challenge.Two years into her learning path, Cassie realized she had hit a wall. In an attempt to get unstuck, she joined the Scrimba bootcamp. She also challenged herself to read more non-fiction and embarked on a path toward effective living. In this episode, Cassie explains effective living and how it can make you a more effective coder, too! You'll hear how Cassie defeated burnout, how she approached learning, and how she - only nine months after joining the bootcamp - landed her first dev job. This is a story about setting goals, establishing systems, frictionless networking (even if you don't live in a tech hub), and keeping your plans realistic. But also: this is also a story of creativity and exploration!🔗 Connect with Cassie🧑‍💼 Linkedin🌐 Website⏰ TimestampsHow Cassie went from a fine arts degree to retail to coding (01:24)How Cassie chose her careers and roles and basically created her last retail position (03:35)Cassie originally discovered coding through WordPress (05:11)Is coding similar to making art? (05:47)Learning to code was a gradual shift (06:53)Why you should maintain some balance while learning to code (08:39)How Cassie managed her self-confidence (10:03)Community break with Jan the Producer (10:59)Resources Cassie used to help with her mindset during her coding journey (13:39)What is effective living (15:39)What did Cassie do to put herself back on track when she slipped? (19:32)Cassie's systems (21:13)Identify the key pillars in your life (23:07)How Cassie landed her first developer job (26:50)You never know who can help you (28:07)How's C...

2024-01-10•38mins
#28

Who's Afraid of AI Agents? The Future of Automation, with Bob Ziroll

🎙 About the episodeMeet Bob Ziroll 🇺🇸! Bob is Scrimba's Head of Education and one of the Internet's favorite React teachers. His latest course is on AI, but don't worry, there's React... I mean, ReAct in AI as well!In the previous three episodes, we defined an AI engineer and demystified their tools. We explored foundation models and discussed how to personalize them through retrieval augmented generation and fine-tuning. We also delved into various use cases for incorporating AI models into your projects and explored why ChatGPT has brought a fundamental shift in how we perceive AI.Today, Bob will guide us through the realm of AI agents, representing the future of automation. An AI agent is capable of perceiving its environment. What does that mean, and how can one create an AI agent? Also, will they eventually take over the world?Bob will also give us actionable advice on how to stay ahead of the curve in the fast-changing world of AI models, and discuss his vision for the future of AI.Bob's AI agents and automation course is part of Scrimba's brand-new AI path. Let's dive in!This is the final episode of our series on AI engineering, introducing Scrimba's AI Engineer Path. This path is your gateway to unlocking the full potential of AI for your projects. 🔗 Connect with Bob👨🏼‍💼 Linkedin🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsNowadays, Bob teaches both React and AI (01:34)AI is moving even faster than the front end (02:16)What's new in the world of AI and coding (02:46)ChatGPT vs. the GPT foundation model (04:15)What is an AI agent (05:45)The Terminator! (09:33)We didn't invent AI; we discovered it (10:29)Midroll! (11:56)Prominent examples of AI agents today (12:35)Will AI agents replace people (15:25)Why you shouldn't fear nor ignore AI (18:12)Any predictions about AI are temporary and short-lived (21:36)How can you build your own AI agent? (24:34)React... and REact (31:26)Advice on how to stay up-to-date without getting totally overwhelmed (35:58)🧰 Resources MentionedThe...

2024-01-03•37mins
#29

What Is Retrieval-Augmented Generation and How to Make AI Work for You, with Guil Hernandez

🎙 About the episodeMeet Guil Hernandez 🇺🇸! He is a developer and educator with over 15 years of experience in tech. He's also a Scrimba teacher who is a part of the team bringing you the AI Engineer Path, and in this episode, he's helping us understand retrieval-augmented generation. In the previous episode, Tom Chant helped us understand the world of AI models. Today, Guil will further teach us how these models work under the hood. AI models don't understand the world like we do. When we interact with them, they turn our inputs into mathematical representations known as embeddings. By creating our own embeddings, we can teach AI to do what we want it to. Today, we're getting an introduction about making a model aware of your own data source so that that data can be considered for the AI output. For example, using the techniques you'll learn from Guil in this episode, you could connect a model to your customer support conversations so that the model knows what is necessary to answer unique questions about your (or your client's) business. This is the third episode of our series on AI engineering, introducing Scrimba's AI Engineer Path. This path is your gateway to unlocking the full potential of AI for your projects. 🔗 Connect with Guil🐦 Twitter🌐 Website👩‍🚀 Github⏰ TimestampsGuil focuses on RAG and embeddings (01:42)RAG makes a foundation model aware of your data (03:14)Spotify has been using RAG since 2014 (05:56)How embedding works: embedding model + vector database + generative model (09:00)You're enhancing content retrieved from a database with a generative model (10:26)A foundation model can't just understand text (10:34)What's a vector database? (12:35)Can we make an AI chatbot for the Scrimba podcast? (15:05)You can chunk the files directly at OpenAI now! (16:49)OpenAI's Assistants API (17:33)AI is evolving quickly (19:07)Assistants API does RAG (19:55)What is fine-tuning? (20:39)Differences between RAG and fine-tuning (21:14)Community break with J...

2023-12-20•26mins
#30

Demystifying AI: What Are Foundation Models (and How to Use Them), with Tom Chant

Meet Tom Chant 🇬🇧! Tom is a Scrimba instructor who is a part of our in-house team that brought you a brand new career path available on Scrimba.com - the AI engineer Path.In this episode, we're diving into the world of AI foundation models: what are they, how do they work, and how can you use them to build front-end applications that you, until recently, couldn't even think of unless you were a big company with loads of resources.AI is fundamentally changing the features and user experience of front-end applications. In this episode, you'll learn how to use different foundation models out there (so, not just OpenAI) for your own projects.This is the second episode of our series on AI engineering, introducing Scrimba's AI Engineer Path. This path is your gateway to unlocking the full potential of AI for your projects. 🔗 Connect with Tom👩‍💼 Linkedin🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsOne year is a long time in AI (02:14)What are some of the recent applications of AI that have converted the skeptics? (04:06)Revenue-boosting usage of the new AI models (07:50)Is AI a revolutionary shift for developers? (13:03)What are foundation models (15:41)How do foundation models work? (18:12)Multi-modality of foundation models (20:04)What are the differences between different versions of GPT- 3.5, 4, 4 Turbo... (22:20)What's OpenAI Whisper? (25:49)HuggingFace and are alternatives to OpenAI (28:50)What to do if OpenAI goes down? (32:20)Why ChatGPT is slow... and running an AI model on your own hardware slower (35:35)What is fine-tuning? (38:01)What is RAG? (39:12)Using RAG can save you money (41:03)Scrimba's AI Engineer Path and Tom's course (43:46)Social Media Break with Jan the Producer (46:39)🧰 Resources MentionedThe AI Engineer Path⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and tell us who you want to see on the next podcast.You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so that he can t...

2023-12-13•48mins
#31

The Path to Becoming an AI Engineer with Scrimba CEO Per Borgen

🎙 About the episodeMeet Per Borgen 🇳🇴! Scrimba's co-founder and CEO returns to the show after more than two years. In this episode, Per and Alex delve into the emergence of a new breed of developer—the AI engineer.What defines an AI engineer? What key skills set them apart? Is machine learning knowledge a prerequisite? Why did ChatGPT bring a paradigm shift in our interaction with AI? Dive into these topics, discover how to utilize and personalize existing AI models, and explore alternative options beyond OpenAI.Since the Scrimba podcast always brings you practical advice, this episode is a guide to the AI engineer stack. Prepare to take notes as Per unravels the terminology and technology crucial for navigating the AI landscape as a developer.This episode begins a five-part series on AI engineering, introducing Scrimba's AI Engineer Path.🔗 Connect with Per👨‍💼LinkedIn🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsScrimba's launching its AI Engineer Path! 🎉 (03:11)Why an AI path is so critical at the moment (04:01)Why AI engineering is not just a fad (07:32)Community Break with Jan the Producer (10:41)Why ChatGPT brought a change in the way we perceive AI, and what's the difference between discriminative and generative AI (11:40)What's the difference between GPT and ChatGPT (15:50)What companies build AI tools for developers other than OpenAI? (21:50)Human + AI is still better than just AI (23:11)The context is the product (24:56)Tuning a foundation model - data are the secret sauce (28:53)What is an AI engineer (29:54)How is AI engineering different from prompt engineering? (31:20)How's an AI engineer different from a data scientist or a machine learning engineer (32:04)OpenAI vs open-source alternatives (34:11)Making sense of the AI engineering stack (36:26)HuggingFace has machine-learning models that can run in a browser! (39:15)What is RAG and how to perform it (39:59)What is LangChain (41:55)How's the AI path structured? (45:29)🧰 Resources MentionedThe AI Engineer Path⭐️ Leav...

2023-11-22•48mins
#32

What Is Productivity Anxiety and How to Beat It, with Matt and Eric from Self-Taught Devs Podcast

🎙 About the episodeMeet Matt Ehrlich and Eric Winkelspecht 🇬🇧! They are the hosts of the Self-Taught Devs podcast. And, you guessed it, they are self-taught devs and career changers to boot. Matt was a park ranger, and Eric worked at an IT solutions company but didn't code. Today, they are a front-end developer and a full-stack developer, respectively, who met through LinkedIn and then decided to host a podcast!In this episode, you will learn about their coding journeys, the resources they used, and why they decided to be self-taught. They talk about motivation and keeping yourself going, how to create structure, and what to do if you feel guilty when you take a break. If you're curious about what makes a successful self-taught dev, this episode is for you!🔗 Connect with Matt and Eric👨‍💼 Matt's LinkedIn, Eric's LinkedIn📻 Podcast✏️ Matt's blog📹 Matt's YouTube, Eric's YouTube👨‍🚀 Matt's GitHub, Eric's GitHub🔗 TimestampsHow Matt Ehrlich took up coding after being a park ranger for years (01:09)A coding career gives you the opportunity for unlimited growth (02:44)The Self-Taught Devs podcast tries to fill a gap in information (03:39)Eric just landed his first full-time software development role! (06:19)How Eric decided to learn to code (08:06)How does it feel to change careers after more than a decade (08:43)Eric's learning resources (10:10)Community break with Jan the Producer (10:58)Why Matt took the self-taught route (13:39)Matt's learning resources (14:54)Quitting your job to learn to code: pros and cons (16:11)How long did Matt take to learn to code (17:45)Can you learn discipline, and how can you stay motivated (19:12)What can you do if you get stuck (27:26)Should you be taking breaks from your job search? (29:55)Listen to this if you get discouraged after getting a rejection letter (30:54)What is productivity anxiety (33:03)How did Matt and Eric meet and what makes them work as podcast co-hosts (36:15)⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode, ple...

2023-11-14•39mins
#33

How to Find Your People and the Work You Find Exciting, with Scrimba Student Anna

🎙 About the episodeMeet Anna Ha 🇵🇱 🇰🇷! Anna was born in Poland, where she majored in English and minored in Chinese. She then moved to South Korea and set off to learn Korean and coding at the same time! Today, she works at a startup that creates tools for learning Korean. Perfect match!In this episode, you'll discover if coding is a language. Anna also shares her learning strategy, how she discovered Scrimba, what amazing projects she worked on via Chingu, how she kept herself motivated, and how finding a community helped her stay on track. You'll also discover what's the key to both landing a job and looking forward to going to work every day!🔗 Connect with Anna👩‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website👩‍🚀 GitHub🐦 X🤖 annannanna on the Scrimba Discord🔗 TimestampsHow Anna discovered coding when she had a blog as a teenager but ended up studying languages (01:14)Anna started learning to code after moving from Poland to South Korea! (03:00)Anna always wanted to live somewhere else at least for a year (05:16)How Anna learned to code (06:02)What to do if you think that coding just isn't for you (08:39)Community break (11:46)Focus on one step at a time (14:41)How Anna juggled different learning resources (15:28)How Chingu helped Anna get relevant coding experience (18:02)How Anna landed her first tech role (22:01)Anna's interview process and what was most important (24:19)Anna's current company: Learn Korean in Koren (25:19)Your background is important, and so is your attitude (26:58)Quick-fire questions! K-pop, Flutter, and Scrimba (30:41)How Anna found out she was getting an offer (31:45)The importance of community and support (34:53)Advice to younger Anna (35:33)⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and tell us who you want to see on the next podcast.You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so that he can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏 Or tell Jan he's butc...

2023-10-24•37mins
#34

Mastering Corporate Culture for New Developers

🎙 About the episodeReady for your first dev job? Today on the podcast, you'll learn how companies work and how teams stay efficient. How does a typical team operate? Who do you report to? How do you know if you're the right culture fit? Why should you know what you need from your team? And why do job postings sometimes... not make sense?We have compiled the best, most actionable advice to help you understand a corporate environment. You'll hear from engineering manager and career coach Tiffany Jachhja, founder of Technical Integrity Dave Mayer, opera singer turned developer and developer coach Ana McDougal, and engineering manager Jason C McDonald. 📻 Listen to the full interviewsUnderstanding Corporate Hierarchy (and Perfecting Your Resume), With Tiffany JachjaAdvice from a Junior Developer Career Coach, with Anna McDougalWhat Are Company Values… and Why You Should Know Your Own, with Dave MayerLessons Learned Recruiting and Managing Junior Developers for 10 Years, with Jason C. McDonald🔗 Connect with everybodyTiffany: 👩🏻‍💼 Linkedin, 📹 Twitch, 🐦 Twitter, 🌐 WebsiteAnna: 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn, 🌐 Website, 👩‍🚀 GitHub, 🐦 Twitter, 📹 YouTubeDave: 🐦 Twitter, 🌐 Website, 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedInJason: 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn, 🌐 Website, 👩‍🚀 GitHub, 🐦 Twitter, 📖 Dead Simple Python - Idiomatic Python for the Impatient Programmer⏰ TimestampsUnderstanding corporate structure (02:14)Differences between smaller and bigger teams, and project management vs. people management (04:54)What should a junior developer look for from their engineering manager? (07:57)Nine Belbin Team Roles (09:49)How to find a mentor online, and why you should know how to code in a team (11:08)A job interview is just looking for compatibility (13:31)Community break (16:20)What does it mean to be a culture fit? What is a culture add? (19:12)Company culture vs. company values (21:55)How to understand your own values (23:16)Why you shouldn't get discouraged if you don't meet all the requirements on a job ad...

2023-10-17•36mins
#35

Nadia Zhuk: Anybody Can Code, and Your Background Doesn't Define You

🎙 About the episodeThis is a rebroadcast of one of our most popular interviews. Meet Nadia Zhuk 🇧🇾! Nadia made a switch to coding from journalism at the age of 25. That decision has got her moving countries not once but twice! Nowadays, she lives in London, works at Intercom, and helps aspiring developers. She's also written a book, Crossing the Rubycon, filled with practical advice and insider tips on learning to code and building a programming career.In this episode, Nadia shares her story and many things she's learned along the way! You'll get to know what's it like to learn to code without a technical background, how to manage your mindset and mental health during the process, and what's Nadia's take on choosing your first programming language. Nadia and Alex also discuss common stereotypes about programming, gatekeeping within the industry, and what are the critical but often overlooked factors in choosing what to learn. 🔗 Connect with Nadia👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Dev.to🐦 Twitter📹 YouTube⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and tell us who you want to see on the next podcast.You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so that he can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏 Or tell Jan he's butchered your name here.

2023-10-10•35mins
#36

How Johnny Learned Angular and Typescript in Three Days

🎙 About the episodeMeet Johnny Proano 🇺🇸! Johnny had a long and happy career in sales, spanning almost two decades. But, something was missing, so he decided to explore coding. He thought he had to have a degree, but when it turned out he couldn't afford it, he enrolled into a bootcamp and signed up for Scrimba.This is a fun and exciting story about career change and looking for your purpose. It is also a story of networking at your daughter's school events, as well as learning Angular and TypeScript (and creating a project using them) in only three days! You'll hear how Johnny approached learning and what kept him going, how to introduce software engineering to toddlers, and how can you turn your failed job interviews in learning experiences once and for all.🔗 Connect with Johnny👨‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website⏰ TimestampsHow Johnny discovered coding because he needed a website (01:35)Why Johnny wanted to switch from a successful and long-lasting career in sales (04:38)How did Johnny learn to code, and why did he have to drop out of school (08:07)Community break with Jan the Producer (13:36)Johnny's bootcamp experience... and how he found Scrimba (16:02)How Johnny started applying for jobs, and how he dealt with imposter syndrome (18:27)Johnny's approach to job applications and LinkedIn (20:33)Quick-fire questions: DJing, learning resources, and Vue (24:09)How Johnny turned failed interviews into learning opportunities (26:23)Johnny got a job via networking at his daughter's school event! (26:56)How Johnny had only three days to learn a new technology and get ready for an interview (29:30)"I need to do something that's going to make an impact" (31:52)Interview tip: ask questions (36:11)Johnny got a job offer within 24 hours! (36:37)Do you need a degree to be a developer? (38:59)Coding for toddlers (39:39)🧰 Resources mentionedJohnny's bootcampScrimba's Frontend Career Path⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and tell us who...

2023-10-03•42mins
#37

Changing Careers? This Is How to Defeat the Sunk Cost Fallacy, with Doctor-turned-developer Shona

🎙 About the episodeMeet Shona Chan 🇸🇬🇬🇧! Shona was an anesthesiologist. Now, she's a developer. It all started when she wanted to write an app to solve a problem she had at work as a doctor. One thing led to another, and eventually, she took the plunge into coding, realizing that a career switch might not be such a bad idea.This is a story of intrinsic motivation, amazing portfolio projects, and landing a job without even having to go through a tech interview. You'll discover how to identify your purpose, find out how to muster enough motivation to tackle difficult decisions, and learn why Shona saw her career change as a lateral move instead of a fresh start. Shona reveals what ten years in medicine taught her and how that relates to her new career If you listen to the end, you will get some fantastic ideas to integrate into your study plan or job-hunting strategy. Plus, you'll find out the ideal music for a cesarean section.🔗 Connect with Shona👩‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website👩‍🚀 Github🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsShona never thought she would code for a living, although she did play Neopets (02:13)How Shona started coding because she wanted to solve a real-world work problem she had as a doctor (02:58)Shona's career in medicine (05:48)Community Break with Jan the Producer (09:55)Why Shona eventually wanted to switch careers, and did it feel weird after dedicating so many years to medicine? (11:47)What skills Shona learned as a doctor helped her become a developer? (14:01)Doctors on TV vs. programmers on TV (14:55)Learning to code on YouTube, and when does it become not enough? (15:46)How Shona enrolled into a bootcamp (18:26)Why did Shona feel like she needed to give coding a go? (21:35)Quick-fire questions: Lo-fi Disney and the perfect music for a C-section (23:02)Shona's new role in a health tech startup (26:03)When did Shona feel ready to apply for jobs? (Also, her portfolio projects are amazing. )(27:26)Shona's cold email that brought her a job (31:05)Shona got hi...

2023-09-26•40mins
#38

Learning to Code with ADHD: How Zuza Landed Her First Tech Job after Only Four Months

🎙 About the episodeMeet Zuza Grońska 🇵🇱🇳🇱! Zuza is a recently hired new developer with a previous career in social media marketing in the music industry. She's also a Polish transplant who moved to the Netherlands during the pandemic. She craved a career change, and when it turned out that all of her work friends were from the software development team, she put two and two together and decided to learn to code. She landed her first dev job after only four months of intense studying! Zuza has ADHD, which can be a hindrance and a superpower. In this episode, she talks about the importance of spreading awareness of ADHD and neurodiversity in general. You'll also learn how she approached her portfolio projects, why you should think like a marketer, and how you can stand out in a world where every new developer has a unit converter in their portfolio. Zuza shares how she approached learning to code, what kept her going when she felt unmotivated, why she wanted to leave Poland, and why a career in social media marketing can be draining even though it sounds glamorous. 🔗 Connect with Zuza👩‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website👩‍🚀 Github🔗 TimestampsHow Zuza started coding in the early 2000s, but never pursued coding (02:26)How misogyny plaid a part in Zuza's career choices (04:21)Zuza worked in social media marketing, until she realized it was time for a change (05:46)How Zuza approached learning to code (spoiler alert: hyperfocus!) (07:30)Community Break with Jan the Producer (08:54)Following schedules, and good and bad sides of ADHD (11:35)How Zuza kept herself motivated (14:25)How Zuza approached her porfolio and went beyond the stretch goals with her porftolio projects (18:45)How to think about your projects like a marketer (19:56)How Zuza applied for a job, even though the job ad was in Dutch and she didn't speak it (24:39)Why Zuza wanted to leave Poland (and eventually moved to the Netherlands) (29:24)Zuza's new job (31:22)Zuza's interview process (32:34)Quick-fire quest...

2023-09-19•46mins
#39

It's All about Your Additude: Building a Software Apprenticeship Program with Luke Hovee

🎙 About the episodeMeet Luke Hovee 🇺🇸! After a career in the US Army, Luke didn't know what to do next. He was considering a career in construction, until he stumbled upon a bootcamp teaching army veterans how to code. Today, he's a full-time web developer with a passion for helping other aspiring web developers getting into tech. Currently, he's creating a software apprenticeship program so that he can help people at scale.In this episode, you'll find out whether army is a good training for having to deal with product managers, why grit and determination are important, and what's the most important thing you should have to break into tech in today's job market. Luke and Alex also talk about LinkedIn, why getting your second job in tech is way easier than landing the first one, and the current state of the market for junior developers.🔗 Connect with Luke👨‍💼 LinkedIn⏰ TimestampsHow Luke stumbled upon coding by accident (02:11)Why Luke chose a career in the Army in the first place, and why he eventually retired (04:00)Why learning to code was challenging (06:19)On drive and (intrinsic) motivation (09:02)Were there any transferable skills that Luke gained in the Army? (12:11)Community break with Jan the Producer (14:11)How Luke got his first role in Tech (17:13)Job candidates lack attitude (19:02)Luke's first role was basically a learning opportunity (20:56)Why gettint your second developer job is easier (22:27)Quick-fire questions (23:05): Is Web3 dead?!Why LinkedIn is Luke's main platform, and why he helps aspiring developers (25:33)Luke's apprenticeship program (28:41)Job market's tough right now (33:34)Can you cultivate the right attitude? (36:11)🧰 Resources mentionedDanny Thompson on YouTubeScrimba Podcast: How to become a successful Junior Developer, with Danny ThompsonScrimba Podcast: Freecodecamp Founder Quincy Larson: Why Learning To Code as an Adult Might Be Easier Than You ThinkDavid Roberts on YouTube⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf you enjoyed this episode, p...

2023-09-12•39mins
#40

Ultimate LinkedIn Guide: Listen to This If You’re Working on Your LinkedIn Profile

🎙 About the episodeNo matter where you are in your career journey - whether you're a new developer just looking to break into the industry or an industry veteran - having a strategic and up-to-date LinkedIn profile is a must. LinkedIn is something we often talk about on this podcast - many people, from experts to recently hired Scrimba students, have shared their tips and tricks for this social network over the course of 130 episodes. In this episode, we have compiled their best, most actionable advice. If you're looking to refresh your LinkedIn profile this fall, or you're just about to create one for the first time, this is the episode for you!Tune in for LinkedIn tips from the LinkedIn profile review guy Austin Henline, pastor-turned-developer Chris Mccoy, GitHub program manager Laura Thorson (who has only ever gotten jobs through LinkedIn), and iOS engineer at paypal and career mentor Stephanie chiu.📻 Listen to the full interviewsHow to make your LinkedIn profile stand out according to a LinkedIn expert, with Austin HenlineHow Pastor-Turned-Developer Chris Crushed It on LinkedIn and Landed an Internship... and a JobIt's about Who You Know: An Introvert's Guide to Networking (and Becoming Amazing at LinkedIn), with Stephanie Chiu from PayPalLaura Thorson From GitHub: This Is How You Master the Mindset of a Programmer🔗 Connect with everybodyAustin: 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn, 🐦 TwitterLaura:👩‍💼 Linkedin, 🌐 Website, 🐦 Twitter, 👨‍🚀 GitHubStephanie: 📸 Instagram, 👩‍💼 Linkedin, 🌐 Website, 🐦 Twitter, 👩‍🚀 GithubChris: 👨🏼‍💼 Linkedin⏰ TimestampsWho is Austin Henline (01:32)Why LinkedIn is a must for aspiring developers (03:00)What are the most important sections of your LinkedIn profile? (04:04)How to reverse-engineer what recruiters are searching for (05:26)Should you be careful not to spam your LinkedIn profile with keywords? (07:54)How to know if you're ready to put a skill on your LinkedIn (09:37)Skill assesments (11:37)Community break! Your tweets and rev...

2023-09-05•39mins
#41

Treat Learning to Code Like an RPG (and You Might Get a Job in Three Business Days), with Scrimba student Tomáš

🎙 About the episodeMeet Tomáš Lukeš 🇨🇿! Tomáš is an audio engineer turned primary school teacher turned developer! In only nine months, he learned to code alongside a full-time job, created an awesome portfolio, and then landed a job in three business days. What?!In this episode, you'll discover exactly how he did it! Tomáš will reveal why he approached learning to code as if it were an RPG, how he selected his projects, why going the extra mile while crafting your portfolio is a must, and how you can transform code-alongs into something of your own. You'll also learn the definitive answer to the question of how many hours it truly takes to reach a hireable level of coding proficiency. Tomáš and Alex also discuss job hunting strategies, the power of persistence, self-discovery,and the importance of knowing the exact industries you want to work in.🔗 Connect with Tomáš👨‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website⏰ TimestampsHow Tomáš went from audio engineering to learning development (01:25)Why sound technicians make good develoeprs (02:10)Tomáš had always been interested in coding (03:15)How Tomáš learned to code alongside a full-time job, and how long did it take? (04:39)What courses did Tomáš use? (06:35)Learning coding during the AI boom (07:06)Community break with Jan the Producer (08:19)How Tomáš approached projects - by taking course projects and making them his own (10:53)Why you need good projects to impress HR people (13:59)Tomáš learned to code at a hireable level in this many hours! (15:12)How Tomáš approached job hunting, and landed a job in three business days (15:30)Why Tomáš only applied for local jobs (17:53)Startups hire quicker than bigger and older companies (19:26)Why you should say "I don't know" during an interview (21:17)Quick-fire questions: Tailwind, Josh Tried Coding, and Steve Lacy (23:47)How to learn to code: persistence and self-discovery (25:54)Advice for building portfolios (28:44)Localized job search (33:18)Trust the process! (34:53)🧰 Resources Me...

2023-08-29•36mins
#42

What Are the Most Common React Mistakes? Inside a React Job Simulator with Johannes Kettmann

🎙 About the episodeMeet Johannes Kettmann 🇩🇪! Johannes is a Fullstack JavaScript Developer from Germany who's also the mastermind behind profy.dev - it’s a React Job Simulator program for aspiring Junior React developers. Originally, Johannes studied physics before transitioning into coding, and he's been working as a freelancer or contractor ever since!In this episode, dive into Johannes's coding journey and discover why he's all about React. Get ready for tales of his first freelancing gig - it wasn't a walk in the park, but it taught him loads and gave him a taste of freedom. That's why Johannes never considered a 9-to-5 job and embraced contracting. Tune in for the lowdown on why React rocks and the rookie mistakes even experienced developers stumble upon. Curious about a React Job Simulator? You'll learn what it is and why we needed one. Plus, hear what are the skills that aspiring junior developers usually don't have, that can really make you stand out. ✅ 👨‍💻Sign up for profy.dev with 10% discount using coupon code SCRIMBA at checkout!🔗 Connect with Johannes🎓 Profy.dev👨‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website🐦 X⏰ TimestampsHow Johannes went from experimenal physics to software development (01:36)Johannes started from Android development, but the first steps were shaky (04:51)Johannes worked on a project for six months... and didn't get paid (07:31)What Johannes learned from his first freelance experiences, and why he never considered getting a full-time job (08:22)Freelancing vs. contract work (11:20)Community break with Jan the Producer (13:06)Is contracting a good way to get your first job in tech? (15:09)Is freelancing a good way to get your first job in tech? (16:12)How Johannes eventually focused on React (17:06)What is profy.dev? (22:09)Why code rewiews are cool, and what are the most common React mistakes (26:37)Quick-fire questions and Kent C. Dodds (31:33)How can junior developers stand out during job interview process, from the perspective of someone who i...

2023-08-22•46mins
#43

How Mohamed Landed a Dev Job Through Instagram

🎙 About the episodeMeet Mohamed Amine Hachemi! Mohamed is a full-stack developer who recently landed his first dev job! But that's not the most amazing part of his story. He actually found that job through Instagram! In a world where everyone is applying through LinkedIn, Mohamed decided to take a different approach and utilize social media. In this episode, you'll discover exactly how he did it. And no, it doesn't involve cold DMing.After completing his law studies, Mohamed realized that a career in law wasn't what he truly desired for the next few decades. He reflected on his childhood interests and rediscovered his passion for coding. With some prior experience in HTML and CSS from editing Blogger templates as a teenager, he immersed himself in front-end development. Eventually, he expanded his skills to backend development when he joined his current company. Tune in to hear more about his coding journey.🔗 Connect with Mohamed👨‍💼 LinkedIn⏰ TimestampsMohamed was always interested in tech, but he studied law (01:29)Why Mohamed decided to switch careers (02:21)How Mohamed learned to code and did editing Blogger templates in his teen years help (04:24)Why is JavaScript more challenging than HTML and CSS, and how did Mohamed learn it (on YouTube, of all places)? (07:34)Community break with Jan the Producer (10:26)How long did it take Mohamed to learn enough to start applying for jobs (12:33)How Mohamed try the typical job-hunting strategy (applying on LinkedIn) and then decided to pivot to social media (14:06)Can you land a job on Instagram, and how?! (15:02)Mohamed's new job, and learning back-end (19:06)Why you need an internship (20:49) Working remotely vs. a saturated job market (21:09) What did Mohamed's interview process look like (22:38)Quick-fire questions: Friends, not followers (23:14)What happens if you get an internship that doesn't turn into a job afterward? (24:14)What does an employee want to see from an intern? (25:50)Mohamed blogged about his l...

2023-08-15•35mins
#44

Are You a New Developer? Follow This One Tip! (With Scrimba Student Danny)

🎙 About the episodeMeet Danny Vogel 🇩🇪🇪🇸! Danny is a lawyer-turned-developer who decided to switch careers after ten years in law! In high school, he thought he could never do maths and picked a different path. It was meeting his wife, who is a software developer, that made him stop seeing coding as something unachievable, and the search for a better work-life balance that made him start learning. When he quit his job, he focused on coding. But nobody was responding to his job applications. Danny then went to a developer meetup in Barcelona, where somebody gave him wise advice...In this episode, Danny shares about his coding journey and the struggles along the way. You'll learn how to approach projects, why a "shotgun" approach might work for you, and why it's better not to work remotely if you're just starting out. Danny also talks about his experience with Chingu.io, a platform that pairs you with other developers to create group coding projects, and how he's benefited from joining it. Ultimately, you'll find out how Danny landed his first dev job, even though the company didn't advertise the job he's doing now as a junior position!🔗 Connect with Danny👨‍💼 LinkedIn⏰ TimestampsDanny always liked computers but never saw himself as a coder (02:26)Is coding more about letters or numbers? (03:03)Danny went into law, studying in Barcelona and New York. How did it feel to switch careers after ten years? (03:45)What made Danny learn to code? (05:22)Did Danny’s wife, a developer, play a part in his decision to learn to code? (06:10)Coding and law are often misrepresented in movies and on TV (07:20)How Danny learned to code (07:45)Frontend vs backend (08:43)Was learning to code hard? (09:14)Community break with Jan the Producer (10:35)How Danny knew it was time to quit his job in law (12:21)What was Danny’s approach to looking for dev jobs (13:47)Danny went on a meetup and got a great piece of advice (15:09)Danny also joined Chingu.io - what is it? (20:38)Group pr...

2023-08-08•43mins
#45

From Lab Coat to Code: Vanessa's Path from Lab Scientist to Developing Lab Software

🎙 About the episodeMeet Vanessa Vun 🇺🇸! Vanessa is a long-time listener of the Scrimba podcast. She's also a career changer who has spent a decade working as a lab scientist before realizing she would be happier coding. She started learning front-end in April 2022. By September, she started applying for jobs. In June this year, she landed a job at a startup making lab software!However, Vanessa's path to success was not without challenges. She started applying for tech jobs during layoffs, facing rejections due to a lack of relevant experience. In this episode, she shares how she tackled that and whether or not unpaid internships and volunteering are a good idea. You'll also learn how Vanessa created her own curriculum by analyzing what people learn at bootcamps, why it's essential to get outside feedback on your coding projects, and how to make the most out of your LinkedIn, mentorships, and the podcasts you listen to. 🔗 Connect with Vanessa👩‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website 𝕏 Twitter, I guess⏰ TimestampsHow Vanessa gave up on coding and became a lab scientist (01:25)Vanessa was surprised at how analog lab management tends to be (02:55)Why Vanessa decided to leave her lab career behind (04:17)How Vanessa learned to code - but this time, for real (05:36)Vanessa has been a webmaster of Lady Crvsh Crew since 2019. What did she learn making a website with Squarespace? (08:58)Vanessa started applying for jobs during layoffs! (09:45)Community break with Jan The Producer (10:22)How Vanessa stayed motivated during tech layoffs, and tackled her lack of tech experience (12:36)Why volunteer experience is different to just working by yourself (15:07)What is SciShield? (17:01)Vanessa's LinkedIn strategy (18:16)How Vanessa discovered a position at SciShield (19:18)The power of domain knowledge: SciShield liked Vanessa being a former scientist! (20:10)How Vanessa went through six rounds of interviews (21:08)Quick-fire questions: Learning resources, Javascript superpowers, and people...

2023-08-01•36mins
#46

How to Create a Personal Brand as a Developer

🎙 About the episodePersonal branding is something we often mention on this podcast. However, it is also something many developers don’t prioritize. In today's job market, having a strong personal brand is vital for success in the tech industry. Personal branding involves crafting a distinctive image and reputation for yourself, setting you apart, and ensuring you get noticed rather than ignored. When others appreciate your work and projects and understand your capabilities, they may approach you with enticing job opportunities or freelance projects. A hiring manager at a company you applied for will, for sure, google you. Wouldn't it be great if you could control what they see?Also, by maintaining a personal brand, you’ll be more visible to your peers - which will help you create or find community. In this episode, we’ve compiled advice from multiple experts to help you get started with or further develop your brand as a developer. Get ready for actionable advice from Gary Simon, Cassidy Williams, Josh Comeau, Shawn Wang (Swyx), and Madison Kanna!⏰ TimestampsWhat is a personal brand (02:22)Why you should have a blog (04:02)Allow yourself to iterate (04:34)Why you shouldn’t rely solely on social media (06:27)What can you do if you’re not good at design? (07:21)Community break with Jan The Producer (16:40)Why you should blog about your learning process (18:54)How to streamline your content production (23:46)How can you do all this while actually learning without just becoming a content creator? (26:24)Different ways of learning in public (28:10)How to organize your portfolio projects and talk about them (30:52)Putting yourself out there is intimidating, BUT (33:19)Start small and just write (35:50)🧰 Resources MentionedThe Coding Career Handbook by Swyx (30% discount applied when you use this link)Learn in Public by SwyxJosh's book, Building an Effective Dev Portfolio (it's FREE!)xScopePixelSnapFontpairPodcast: Becoming a six-figure freelancer, with Gary SimonPodc...

2023-07-25•37mins
#47

Is This Easy Mode? Breaking into Tech in 400 Hours, with Writer-Turned-Developer Jen-Li Lim

🎙 About the episodeMeet Jen-Li Lim 🇲🇾! Jen is a writer-turned-developer who has recently landed her first developer job! Although she had been tech-adjacent in the past (before becoming a full-stack developer, she worked in content marketing) and had always been interested in coding, it wasn't until the lockdowns that Jen started learning to code. She was doing it alongside a full-time job and quickly realized that she shouldn't compare herself to other learners since everybody has different circumstances. Jen started learning to code as a hobby. But after a couple of years and only about 400 hours of studying later, Jen realized - hey, this could also be an exciting career! She now works at a company offering free, lightweight vector animations for your website and tools to create, edit, and embed them. In this episode, you'll learn about Jen's struggles with coding and how she overcame them. She'll share invaluable insights on selecting portfolio projects, navigating roadmaps, and why learning to code is akin to learning to swim. Get ready to be inspired!🔗 Connect with Jen-Li👩‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website⏰ TimestampsHow Jen got interested in tech back in the days of Neopets but never pursued it (01:40)Do you need to be good at math to become a developer (02:29)How Jen became a writer and worked in content marketing (03:32)Are there any similarities between content marketing and code? (04:21)What was it about coding that drew Jen in? (05:57)The hard part of learning web development is that there's no single path, and that's why Jen ultimately learned on Scrimba (07:55)How Jen structured her studying (08:50)Community break with Jan The Producer (10:42)How Jen logged her studying time and learned to code in only 400 hours! (12:48)Why you should learn to code at your own pace (13:39)How to get project ideas (15:32)Did Jen plan to switch careers? (18:18)Changing careers challenges your identity (19:38)Jen changed careers by means of an internal transfer. How's that di...

2023-07-18•29mins
#48

This Is How You Onboard: Actionable Tips for Developers On a New Job from Ian Douglas

🎙 About the episodeMeet Ian Douglas 🇺🇸🇨🇦! The first repeat guest on the Scrimba Podcast and author of The Tech Interview Guide, Ian Douglas, has been coding professionally since 1996. With experience at several notable companies and currently working at Postman, Ian is not only a software engineer but also a mentor, streamer, and career coach.Whether you're a new developer or aiming for a mid-level or senior position, the onboarding process can feel overwhelming. In this episode, Ian shares his invaluable insights on how to make your onboarding experience truly worthwhile. From essential do's and don'ts to areas where proactive engagement is crucial, Ian covers it all. Discover the importance of taking notes, effectively handling negative feedback, and the significance of asking questions. Worried about asking too many questions? Ian addresses that too. With these insights and more, you'll be equipped to have an amazing first few weeks at your new job.🔗 Connect with Ian👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn🌐 Website🐦 Twitter⏰ TimestampsIan's background (02:20)Last time we spoke, Ian had been "live blogging" his job search on LinkedIn. Why? (03:07)What is onboarding? (07:38)How formal is the onboarding process? (08:54)Onboarding at startups vs. at bigger companies (11:55)Do this to make your onboarding better (12:58)What are the expectations from new developers during the onboarding period? (14:06)Tip 1: Don't rush your onboarding (15:22)If you're maid to feel you're a drain on someone, that's a sign of bad company culture (19:13)Be proactive and take time to get to know your coworkers (21:55)Tip 2: Find a mentor (23:15)You should also have a mentor OUTSIDE the company (24:01)How to identify a mentor or a buddy internally (25:41)When does a coworker become a mentor? (27:16)Tip 3: Ask lots of questions (30:26)What are the good questions? (34:09)Tip 4: Make it easy for people to give you feedback (35:09)Feedback vs. criticism, and how to deal with the latter (35:54)Keep track of ...

2023-07-11•57mins
#49

How Kyle Became a Developer and Found His First Dev Job in Just Four Months

🎙 About the episodeMeet Kyle Tan 🇵🇭! A business major with an unrelenting passion for coding, Kyle decided he couldn't wait any longer to pursue his dream. Taking a leap of faith, he left his job, discovered Scrimba's Frontend Career Path, and within only four months, he found his first developer job. Talk about lightning speed!In this episode, Kyle shares his approach to learning, unveiling the secrets behind his rapid progress. Discover the invaluable role of downtime and gain insights into the way Kyle chose his portfolio projects: what are the right ones, and why embracing open-source resources is a game-changer. Kyle also takes you through his interview process, when he had to dive into backend technologies for a week so that he could build his take-home project in less than 72 hours. Kyle also reveals how his business background played a role in landing his dream job, what's the power in having a community, and what's his advice for everybody currently learning to code. Tune in and unlock the secrets to accelerated coding mastery!🔗 Connect with Kyle👨‍💼 LinkedIn🐦 Twitter🌐 Portfolio📺 TikTok ⏰ TimestampsHow Kyle decided to learn to code after getting a degree in business (01:14)How Kyle discovered Scrimba and chose frontend (02:13)What challenges did Kyle face, and how did he solve them? (06:03)Kyle finished the Career path in only three months by doing it full-time (07:04)The importance of downtime (07:48)How Kyle branched out of Scrimba (09:47)Kyle’s portfolio projects (11:21)Why simple projects rock (13:06)Community break with Jan The Producer (14:23)How Kyle started applying for jobs after only four months of learning to code (17:07)To interview for the job he got, Kyle had to take a week to learn backend! (20:08)The interview process: Kyle had to build an app in 72 hours (21:38)Kyle’s tips for presenting your code in job interviews (23:33)Culture fit interviews (24:39)How Kyle felt when he got the job (26:55)Quick-fire questions (27:44)What motiv...

2023-07-04•35mins
#50

How Teacher-Turned-Developer Jess Secured a Tech Job Even Before Learning to Code

🎙 About the episodeMeet Jess Gilbert 🇬🇧! Jess recently made a career change from being a primary school teacher to becoming a developer. In this episode, we delve into her journey and explore how she successfully transitioned in less than a year!What was it like being a teacher? Are there any similarities between teaching and coding? How did Jess manage to secure a job offer before diving into her coding education? Jess and Alex also discuss Code First: Girls and why it's worth exploring if you belong to an underrepresented group in the tech industry.Jess shares why Instagram is her social network of choice, which may surprise you since it's not commonly associated with developers. Plus, find out how she learned to code while working as a full-time school teacher and whether the tech industry lived up to her expectations.🔗 Connect with Jess👩‍💼 LinkedIn📸 Instagram⏰ TimestampsJess had never considered a career in tech and became a teacher (01:48)What made Jess learn to code, and how she found Code First: Girls (03:01)Why learning to code at her own pace was challenging for Jess, and why in the end, she shouldn't have been as worried (05:42)Why teachers are sometimes reluctant to work on their personal development (09:03)Community break! Your Tweets and LinkedIn posts, with Jan The Producer (10:20)How does Code First: Girls work? (12:57)How Jess landed a job offer even before learning to code? (14:43)Why do companies invest in programs like Code First: Girls? (17:51)What was it like to learn to code while having a full-time job? (20:10)Why the support of a cohort was important to Jess? (21:17)Was there variation in the ability level of the people in Jess's cohort, and why do soft skills matter? (22:58)How do Jess's skills as a teacher transfer to coding? (24:17)Is there a better work-life balance in coding? (25:55)Quick-fire questions! Do teachers listen to lo-fi bears? (28:56)How Jess found a community on Instagram as a developer (31:27)Why are so many peopl...

2023-06-27•45mins

Listen to your favourite podcasts.

Now ad-free.

Download herd and enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality podcasts without the wait.

Download on the
App Store