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🎙 About the episode

Meet 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

🧰 Resources mentioned

• Danny Thompson on YouTube
• Scrimba Podcast: How to become a successful Junior Developer, with Danny Thompson
• Scrimba Podcast: Freecodecamp Founder Quincy Larson: Why Learning To Code as an Adult Might Be Easier Than You Think
• David Roberts on YouTube

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No 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 interviews

• How to make your LinkedIn profile stand out according to a LinkedIn expert, with Austin Henline
• How Pastor-Turned-Developer Chris Crushed It on LinkedIn and Landed an Internship... and a Job
• It's about Who You Know: An Introvert's Guide to Networking (and Becoming Amazing at LinkedIn), with Stephanie Chiu from PayPal
• Laura Thorson From GitHub: This Is How You Master the Mindset of a Programmer

🔗 Connect with everybody

• Austin: 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn, 🐦 Twitter
• Laura:👩‍💼 Linkedin, 🌐 Website, 🐦 Twitter, 👨‍🚀 GitHub
• Stephanie: 📸 Instagram, 👩‍💼 Linkedin, 🌐 Website, 🐦 Twitter, 👩‍🚀 Github
• Chris: 👨🏼‍💼 Linkedin

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet 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

*🧰 Resources Mentioned*

• Colt Steele on Udemy
• Scrimba's Frontend Developer Career Path
• Josh Tried Coding on YouTube

⭐️ Leave a Review

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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.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet 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

*🧰 Resources Mentioned*

• Podcast: Intentional career building with Kent C. Dodds

⭐️ Leave a Review

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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.

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🎙 About the episode

Meet 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

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Scrimba's Frontend Developer Career Path
• Marian Rydzanych on Instagram

⭐️ Leave a Review

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🎙 About the episode

Meet 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

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Danny's gameState app
• Scrimba Bootcamp
• Chingu.io

⭐️ Leave a Review

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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.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet 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 Jen-Li*

• 👩‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 𝕏 Twitter, I guess

*🧰 Resources Mentioned*

• Front-end Developer Career Path
• Learn React for free!
• Podcast: Homeschooler, College Dropout, Developer and Master Networker: Crush Your Career with Madison Kanna
• Podcast: Listen to This If You're Working on Your Developer Portfolio, with Alex from TechRally
• Brian Jenney
• Vanessa's Lab Kanban

⭐️ Leave a Review

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🎙 About the episode

Personal 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!
🧰 Resources Mentioned

• The Coding Career Handbook by Swyx (30% discount applied when you use this link)
• Learn in Public by Swyx
• Josh's book, Building an Effective Dev Portfolio (it's FREE!)
• xScope
• PixelSnap
• Fontpair
• Podcast: Becoming a six-figure freelancer, with Gary Simon
• Podcast: Homeschooler, College Dropout, Developer and Master Networker: Crush Your Career with Madison Kanna
• Podcast: How to Create a Web Dev Portfolio That Both HR and Other Developers Will Love, with Josh Comeau
• Podcast: Ace the job interview with Cassidy Williams
• Podcast: How to make your own luck with Shawn Wang (Swyx)

🔗 Connect with Gary Simon

• 👨‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🎥 YouTube

🔗 Connect with Cassidy Williams

• 👨‍💼 LinkedIn
• ❎ Twitter

🔗 Connect with Josh Comeau

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Blog + Website

🔗 Connect with Shawn Wang

• 🌐 Website
• ❎ Twitter

🔗 Connect with Madison Kanna

• 👩🏼‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website

⭐️ Leave a Review
If 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.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet 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 a couple of years and only about 400 hours of studying later, Jen realized - hey, this could also be an interesting career! She now works at a company making lightweight vector animations for your website. 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

*🧰 Resources Mentioned*

• Frontend Developer Career Path
• Podcast: From Classroom to Code: How Teacher-Turned-Developer Jess Secured a Tech Job Prior to Diving into Software Development
• LottieFiles
• One More Page
• Steph Smith

⭐️ Leave a Review

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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.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet 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

*🧰 Resources Mentioned*

• Our previous show with Ian: An expert guide to technical interviews

⭐️ Leave a Review

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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.

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🎙 About the episode

Meet 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

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• The Coding Career Handbook
• Scrimba's Discord Community
• Frontend Developer Career Path
• Podcast: How to make your own luck with Shawn Wang (Swyx)

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🎙 About the episode

Meet 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

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Programming with Mosh on YouTube
• Web Dev Simplified on YouTube
• Katherine Gilligan on Instagram
• Learn React for free!
• Podcast: What a good developer resume looks like and how to write one, with Gergely Orosz
• Podcast: The Power of Domain Knowledge: How Katrina Skipped Junior Roles and Immediately Landed a Senior Developer Job

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🎙 About the episode

This is a rebroadcast of one of our most popular interviews. Meet Kevin Powell 🇨🇦! Kevin is a CSS Evangelist and educator. He makes weekly YouTube videos, streams on Twitch, writes articles, and teaches courses. His mission is to show new developers that CSS is fun and teach them how it works... and why it works the way it does.

In this episode, you'll learn how not to get frustrated with CSS, how to debug it, why people struggle with it, and how come we might never see a launch of CSS 4. Kevin also explains why different browsers render CSS differently and how much you should actually care about that. Alex and Kevin also discuss how the web gets made behind the scenes and how you can join the conversation and suggest the features you'd like to see in certain technologies. Plus: Bad design trends, tools and plugins, CSS memes, and tabs vs. spaces.

🔗 Connect with Kevin

• 📹 YouTube
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub

*⏰ Timestamps*

• How Kevin found himself in the world of web design (01:40)
• Can a new developer focus solely on CSS? (04:38)
• What is a CSS Evangelist? (07:24)
• Why do people struggle with CSS? (09:26)
• Community break! (11:00)
• Why CSS works the way it does (13:25)
• CSS tools you should use (15:25)
• CSS extensions for your editor (17:26)
• The learning curve of CSS and the Importance of Experience (17:17)
• Why different browsers render CSS differently (and why it sometimes doesn't work) (22:31)
• Progressive enhancement and accessibility (27:05)
• The History of CSS (30:34)
• Will there ever be a CSS4? (34:24)
• How to stay in the loop and join the conversation around features (36:30)
• Quick-fire questions (38:43)

*🧰 Resources Mentioned*

• Kevin's courses on Scrimba
• Miriam Suzanne
• Adam Argyle
• Modern CSS
• Podcast: Ace the job interview with Cassidy Williams

⭐️ Leave a Review

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You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏 Or tell Jan he's butchered your name here.

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Katrina Tucker 🇺🇸! Katrina recently changed careers and got her first software engineering job. But here's the interesting part – she didn't start as a junior! No, Katrina was immediately offered a senior title.

In this episode, you'll discover the importance of never labeling yourself as a junior, especially when transitioning careers. Katrina dives into the significance of language and emphasizes how your domain knowledge can make a significant impact. Get ready to uncover Katrina's networking strategies (spoiler alert: you're probably overthinking yours) and gain insights into how she learned to code while juggling a full-time job and family responsibilities. Plus, find out the number one thing you should know about technical interviews and what you can do to work on your interviewing skills.

Join us as Katrina shares her inspiring journey, challenges conventional notions, and reveals valuable tips and tricks for career success.
🔗 Connect with Katrina

• 👨‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Blog

⏰ Timestamps

• Katrina learned to code at school, thanks to her father, but ended up majoring in international finance (02:19)
• Katrina's career in finance and law (04:14)
• After the stock market crashed, Katrina went on to work at IRS (05:04)
• Suddenly, Katrina realized she was coding! (05:46)
• Katrina's current job combines all of her skills (06:39)
• Don't call yourself junior! (07:18)
• What made Katrina transition into software engineering (08:10)
• Why we should retire the term "breaking into tech" (08:50)
• How Katrina joined #100Devs (10:28)
• How to learn to code when you have a family and full-time job (11:50)
• Community break! Your LinkedIn posts and tweets, with Jan The Producer (14:22)
• How Katrina wanted to address her knowledge gap (16:40)
• When did Katrina start to feel ready to apply for coding jobs? (18:52)
• The most important thing to know about coding interviews (19:47)
• How Katrina practiced her interview skills with Brilliant Black Minds (20:56)
• Katrina's networking strategy (22:22)
• What's the difference between networking and just talking to people? (24:10)
• How Katrina found her first software role (26:56)
• Find your unique angle and double down (31:44)
• How Katrina prepared for her final interview round (32:58)
• Why you should ask your prospective employer business questions (33:54)
• Why your domain knowledge is important (37:04)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• 100Devs

• freeCodeCamp
• Brilliant Black Minds

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🎙 About the episode

Meet James Marriott 🇬🇧! He's a software developer and a career changer who previously worked in education, project management, and communications. He devoted himself to learning to code during a lockdown because he likes making things! In this episode, you'll hear how he found a way to get more comfortable coding in front of interviewers by streaming on YouTube, avoided emails to stay motivated, and ultimately landed a job at a company that perfectly fits his personality.

James also talks about impostor syndrome, the importance of finding a community, and how being open about not knowing something can benefit you in the long run. He and Alex also discuss whether coding skills alone are enough to land you your first job and whether your previous work experience is relevant when you're breaking into tech.

🔗 Connect with James

• 👨‍💼 LinkedIn

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Scrimba Podcast: Quincy Larson: Why Learning To Code as an Adult Might Be Easier Than You Think
• Scrimba's blog!
• Our discord community

⭐️ Leave a Review

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Caitlyn Greffly 🇺🇸! She's a career changer, developer career mentor, and the author of The Bootamper's Companion, a book of tips she wishes she had known when she was breaking into tech. In her past life, she was a psychologist working in beer. After changing careers at 31, Caitlyn is nowadays a full-stack software engineer with a passion for frontend.

In her book, Caitlyn shares resources, advice, and approaches to help you stand out and find a job. In this interview, she does the same! You'll hear how she decided to become a developer and chose a path to get there. You'll learn why you shouldn't be intimidated by your more experienced colleagues, and why struggling is essential. Caitlyn and Alex also discuss how employers can help juniors grow and how new developers can figure out if an employer is right for them.

🔗 Connect with Caitlyn

• 👩‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 🐦 Twitter

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Scrimba Podcast: Bootcamp Mentor Hussien Khayoon: Careers Come in Three Stages, and Here’s How To Navigate Them
• Scrimba Podcast: How to become a successful Junior Developer with Scott Hanselman from Microsoft
• Book: The Bootamper's Companion by Caitlyn Greffly
• Scrimba's Discord server!
• Thinkful

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Michael Robards 🇺🇸! Michael is a career changer whose path to becoming a developer was a long and winding one: he was a business analyst and a personal trainer; he worked front of house and managed restaurants; he studied biology and worked in customer service. Eventually, he got a developer job at Coca-Cola!

In this episode, Michael shares his story and his approach to learning and getting a job. He did a lot of things right, and he's also a proof that it's never too late for a carreer change. Michael and Alex also talk about imposter syndrome, difficulties of learning to code while having a full-time job, differences between big and small companies, and why having to keep on learning is a great thing about working in tech.

🔗 Connect with Michael

• 👨‍💼LinkedIn

⏰ Timestamps

• Michael's long and winding path to becoming a developer (01:44)
• Why Michael thought becoming a software developer wasn't right for him (08:17)
• How Michael commited to learning to code - and did that on company time, at least at first (09:04)
• On learning to code while having a full-time job (11:56)
• How Coca-Cola helped Michael on his coding journey (12:45)
• Ad break: We had a lot of career changers on the podcast. Here's one of them! Plus how to support us, and who's on next week (it's Caitlyn Greffly)!
• Is there anything Michael would've done differently? (17:43)
• Why did it take four and a half years for Michael to get a software job at Coke? (20:31)
• What does it look like to be hired internally? (22:57)
• How to fight imposter syndrome? (25:12)
• What kind of a coworker does a junior developer need? (27:32)
• Why you should do things at your own pace and choose your employers wisely (28:35)
• Michael's career goals (31:01)
• Keep on learning! (31:47)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Some of the career changers we interviewed: Chris, Silvia, Theo, Wemerson
• Scrimba's Discord Community
• Grow with Google
• The Frontend Developer Career Path
• Codecademy
• Freecodecamp

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Madison Kanna 🇺🇸! She's a front-end developer and a creator of a coding book club. She's also a college dropout, a master networker, and a former homeschooler. In this episode, you'll learn about her fascinating journey and get a lot of good, actionable advice!

Madison will teach you how to figure out what you are actually interested in and how to keep pursuing it. You'll learn about her journey to becoming a developer and how being homeschooled helped her in the early days of her coding career.

Also in this episode: Why do companies want juniors with experience, and what did Madison do to go around it? Do you get any better at personal branding if you get a domain with your name at the age of nine? Why is it important to work on production code? How to stand out if you don't have a degree?

Madison also shares how a single tweet turned being laid off into the best experience of her life!
🔗 Connect with Madison

• 👩🏼‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 🐦 Twitter
• 👩‍🚀 Github

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Scrimba Podcast: From Doctor to Developer, with Jefferson Tang
• Scrimba Podcast: Becoming a Standout Developer with Randall Kanna
• Book: Deep Work by Cal Newport
• Blog post: Why I'm Glad I Grew Up Playing Neopets

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Rían Errity 🇮🇪! He's a Scrimba student who started learning to code as a child. Today, he studies Computer Science and Language, a study program that marries his interest in linguistics with his passion for computing. He has also recently completed an internship with Microsoft!

In this interview, Rían talks about his love for computers, growing up with Linux, how he ended up choosing his study program (hint: there was YouTube involved), and whether he actually needs a CS degree. Alex and Rían discuss what self-taught developers might be missing out on compared to developers who are learning to code at a university and what universities could learn from bootcamps and online platforms like Scrimba. You'll also hear all about Rían's internship at Microsoft and learn about his journey from Dublin, where he was competing with 16.000 candidates, to former Skype offices in Tallinn, Estonia!

This episode is jam-packed with actionable advice, but it also brings you an exciting story brimming with enthusiasm!
🔗 Connect with Rían

• 👨‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👨‍🚀 Github
• 🤖 Rían#6500 at the Scrimba Discord

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• CoderDojo
• Tom Scott and Computerphile on YouTube
• Scrimba Podcast: Becoming a Standout Developer with Randall Kanna
• Scrimba's Discord community

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Mike Chen 🇺🇸! Mike is a self-taught developer who worked at Yahoo, Google, and Airbnb, before becoming a CTO and co-founder of Motivo. Nowadays, he also helps other coders succeed. In this episode, you'll find out what it was like to work at Google and what are the pros and cons of working in a big tech company. You'll learn how to stand out as a new developer without a degree and why you should (not) idealize Silicon Valley.

Ultimately, Mike will tell us why tech is cool (if you have a passion for it), as well as how we should go about putting in our work wisely and why it is worth it. He will also reveal what motivates him to teach and mentor other developers!

➡️ Do a mock interview with Mike Chen!

🔗 Connect with Mike

• 👨‍💼 Linkedin
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Website
• 👨‍🚀 Github

⏰ Timestamps

• How Mike went from studying biochemistry to becoming a developer and eventually worked at Google (02:55)
• Paul Irish: Tools, not rules (05:29)
• Has the way big tech companies hire changed since Mike broke into the industry? (06:22)
• How were the front-end roles at Google structured back then? (09:46)
• Ad break: How to support us + Next week: Rian Errity, who's doing a lot of cool stuff (12:25)
• How big is Google's infrastructure, actually? (14:05)
• Mike's experience at Google and the benefits of working at a big tech company (15:32)
• Why working in big tech ultimately didn't work for Mike (17:11)
• Why do hiring managers like people with big companies on their resumes (18:25)
• You have to figure out what you want out of a tech job (21:25)
• The best way to demystify Silicon Valley is to be in Silicon Valley (22:51)
• Career advice for new developers: How can they stand out if they don't have a degree and haven't worked at Google? (24:19)
• Why you should have a demonstrable track record (27:45)
• Losing your passion is normal over time; here's what to do first (28:44)
• What did Mike have to give up on to learn to code and change careers? (31:19)
• In tech, it pays off to put in more work, but not any kind of work (33:09)
• What motivates Mike to help other developers (37:18)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Mock Junior Front End Web Developer Interview with Mike Chen and Silvia
• 8 essential career tips for new web developers
• Paul Irish's blog

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Vikas Jyani 🇮🇳! He studied fine arts before discovering coding and realizing that web development is what can combine his eye for design and interest in tech.

In this episode, you'll hear about Vikas's approach to learning and job hunting and why he thinks remote work might still not be optimal for a junior. He talks about life-changing advice he got from a senior developer when he saw Vikas was burning out, recognizing red flags in job offers, and, eventually, how he tripled his salary within a year from getting his first job!

You will also learn more about India. Specifically, its job market and education, differences between big and small cities, and why a hybrid approach to work, combining remote work and going to an office, might not work there.
🔗 Connect with Vikas

• 👨🏽‍💼 Linkedin
• 🌐 Portfolio
• 🤖 Vick_Pro#6327 on the Scrimba Discord

⏰ Timestamps

• How Vikas started coding after studying fine art and also discovered Scrimba (01:37)
• Job opportunities vs. the population in India (05:00)
• How Vikas got out of tutorial hell (07:33)
• How Vikas decided to get into React (09:04)
• Ad break: We did an episode with Bob Ziroll! Next week, an episode with Mike Chen! Also: how you can support us if you like what we're doing. (10:34)
• Vikas's approach to applying for jobs (13:21)
• How positive feedback from a hiring manager who couldn't hire him helped Vikas keep going (14:31)
• Vikas even turned down an offer because he recognized shady practices! (16:15)
• How Vikas got a job offer when he thought he failed a trial assignment (17:27)
• A senior developer recognized Vikas was burning out and gave him life-changing advice (20:40)
• As a junior, should you go for a remote or office job? (21:54)
• Would a hybrid approach to working work out in India? (26:16)
• How Vikas tripled his junior salary (27:18)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• The Frontend Developer Career Path
• Scrimba's Discord Community
• Scrimba Podcast with Bob Ziroll

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Hussien Khayoon 🇨🇦! Hussien is a Full-stack engineer with almost a decade of experience. Currently, he works as a Staff Software Engineer at Shopify. He is also a Bootcamp Mentor at Springboard, and, as you can guess, he's very passionate about helping new developers land on their feet. In this episode, Hussien will be your mentor.

Hussien and Alex will help you feel confident and teach you a couple of things that can help you land your first coding job. They explain why is the interview process at big tech companies as complicated as it is and tell you what you do about it. Hussien shares his approach to both interviewing and being interviewed, as well as his take on bootcamps vs. universities. By the end of the show, you'll hopefully feel more inspired to learn to code, start applying for jobs, and navigate your new role - or at least figure out how to assess if you need to study more.

🔗 Connect with Hussien

• 👨🏽‍💼 Linkedin
• 🐦 Twitter
• 📹 Youtube

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Free report: 4 Tips to Get your FIRST Coding Job Faster
• Hussien's course: Get Your First Coding Job

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Khaidem Sandip Singha 🇺🇸! He's a Scrimba student from Assam, India, who recently got a job at Amazon! 🎉 Originally, he studied civil engineering before realizing he was more interested in coding. In this episode, you'll hear how he learned to code, battled depression, and reverse-engineered a path to a FANG company.

You will also learn about his approach to problem-solving and the benefits of practicing on LeetCode - not many students we interviewed did that, but Khaidem completed one thousand challenges! He also shares some details about Amazon's interview process and his approach to keeping up motivation.

🔗 Connect with Khaidem

• 👨‍💼 Linkedin
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🌐 LeetCode profile

⏰ Timestamps

• How Khaidem went from civil engineering to learning to code (01:41)
• Chasing coding certificates or mastering the basics - what is more important for landing your first developer job? (03:20)
• How Khaidem reverse-engineered the path to a FANG company (04:33)
• Should you do LeetCode (06:01)
• The importance of consistency and persistency (07:16)
• Why Khaidem focused on LeetCode (08:34)
• Try different frameworks, but then specialize (12:09)
• Khaidem's approach to problem-solving (13:57)
• How Khaidem started his job search while suffering from depression (17:47)
• Khaidem's first jobs and how he knew he was overqualified (21:41)
• How Khaidem discovered Scrimba around Javascriptmas 2020 (23:15)
• Why Khaidem benefited from the Scrimba community (24:15)
• How Khaidem applied for Amazon (25:15)
• Amazon's interview process (27:18)
• How Khaidem got an offer, and why it's important to keep up motivation (30:03)
• Why you shouldn't give up (31:42)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Udacity Intro to Programming Nanodegree
• Bob Ziroll's React courses
• LeetCode
• Scrimba Podcast: A Teacher's Job Is Never Done: Get Your Hands on the Keyboard with Bob Ziroll
• Scrimba Podcast: Talent Alone Is Not Enough: How Theo Changed Careers at 49
• Scrimba Discord community

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Bob Ziroll 🇺🇸! Bob is Scrimba's Head of Education and one of the Internet's favorite React teachers. In a past life, Bob worked in marketing before enrolling into a bootcamp, where he eventually became a teacher and Director of Education. In this podcast, you'll learn about his coding story and teaching philosophy, but also about the early days of Scrimba!

Bob and Alex discuss career change, Sunday scaries, and finding the right learning path for you. You'll find out how much work goes into creating a quality coding course, what's the difference between courses and YouTube videos, and why it's sometimes better to learn things more slowly. Bob also talks about how he pushed the limits of the Scrimba platform, how it perfectly lent itself to a successful approach to pedagogy, and shares a wealth of good advice for everybody currently learning to code.

🔗 Connect with Bob

• 👨🏼‍💼 Linkedin
• 🐦 Twitter

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Bob's courses on Scrimba
• Lofi beats on Spotify
• Centered app
• Learn and Understand Node JS by Antony Alicea
• Scrimba Podcast - Quincy Larson: Why Learning To Code as an Adult Might Be Easier Than You Think
• Scrimba Podcast - Ace the job interview with Cassidy Williams
• Scrimba Podcast - Be a Librarian, Not an Encyclopedia of Code: How To Learn (and Teach) Better, With Guil Hernandez
• Scrimba Podcast - Intentional career building with Kent C. Dodds

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Chris McCoy 🇺🇸! He's a pastor who did odd jobs on the side. But he was always interested in coding! Somewhere between working retail and doing food delivery, he realized he needed something more stimulating. Nine months later, he landed not one but two job offers as a junior developer!

Chris CRUSHED it on LinkedIn, even though he never liked social media: in this episode, he shares his approach to posting and being actively present on the platform. You can use it both to learn and to connect with people working in the industry, and that's exactly what Chris did. Spoiler alert: it doesn't have to be complicated.

You'll also learn more about internships: Chris landed one, which turned out to be pretty cool! What do companies look for in an intern? Should you become one, and how? He also shares how he approached learning to code and found a balance between learning and work. Chris and Alex also discuss what you can learn from odd jobs.

Sadly, you won't learn the recipe for Chick-fil-A. But it does make an appearance in this episode :)

🔗 Connect with Chris

• 👨🏼‍💼 Linkedin

⏰ Timestamps

• How Chris decided to become a developer (01:51)
• Can you still learn something from odd jobs that have nothing to do with coding? (03:19)
• How Chris chose to learn to code and found support in his community (04:35)
• Balancing work, learning, and being a pastor: how Chris did it (06:28)
• How Chris discovered Scrimba (09:16)
• It's okay not to know everything about development (12:08)
• Why you need real-world examples when learning a new skill (12:57)
• Did Chris complete Scrimba's Career Path or get a job before he managed to? (14:14)
• When and how did Chris start applying for jobs? (16:31)
• How Chris created a LinkedIn profile and started crushing it (17:31)
• How to be genuinely present on LinkedIn and use the platform to connect (18:33)
• Chris's approach to writing LinkedIn posts (21:36)
• How adding Scrimba to his education connected Chris to a recruiter (21:51)
• Can an internship be... good? (24:41)
• What does a company expect from an intern, and what did Chris do about it (27:05)
• Working with other interns and the higher-ups (30:02)
• How Chris compared to the other interns in his group (32:38)
• How Chris's internship turned into a job (34:33)
• In the end, Chris had not one but two job offers! How did he pick one? (36:17)
• The hard work paid off (37:49)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• The Frontend Developer Career Path

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Quincy Larson 🇺🇸! Quincy is the founder of freeCodeCamp, a nonprofit company that makes coding accessible for all. He is a self-taught developer who learned to code when he was 31. Why did he learn to code? Because he wanted to make a school he was a director of more efficient. So... We have a career changer!

So, how does a teacher teach himself to code? And how does he teach others? In this episode, Alex asks hard questions, and Quincy answers all of them, sharing valuable insights on how adults learn, how important are your intrinsic capabilities, and why learning a new skill after the age of 25 might be easier than you think. You will also learn about the hacker ethic, how you can overcome your limitations, and why software developers need to be humble.

🔗 Connect with Quincy

• 👨🏼‍💼 Linkedin
• 🐦 Twitter

⏰ Timestamps

• How Quincy Larson started coding at the age of 31... as a school director (01:55)
• Why you should hang out with other developers (03:52)
• What is the hacker ethic? (04:51)
• Why do software developers need to be humble? (07:07)
• Quincy learning to code before freeCodeCamp. What was that like? (08:16)
• How does a teacher learn? (11:09)
• The key learning technique for people over 25 (11:56)
• The elusive nature of learning to code (15:41)
• How does an adult brain learn, and why might kinesthetic learning be the best way? (17:29)
• Can an old dog learn new tricks? (18:57)
• Learning with analogies and associations + why you shouldn't drink (21:47)
• Quincy is a master learner... But what if you're not? (24:49)
• Can anyone learn to code and become a successful developer? (27:35)
• Are aptitudes important? (28:24)
• Overcoming your limitations (32:16)
• How does Quincy feel about the success of freeCodeCamp? (34:44)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• freeCodeCamp
• Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, book by Steven Levy

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Stevie Gill 🇬🇧! Stevie was a scientist, a medical writer and an editor, and then he wrote about video games. Eventually, he moved countries and changed careers. Nowadays, Stevie lives in Toronto, Canada, and works as a full-time front-end developer at Kijiji. In this episode, he shares his story and everything he learned along the way that can help you land your first developer job!

You'll hear how Stevie learned to code, how he prepared for the interviews, and that LinkedIn can be useful even if you only have a handful of connections. He reveals how he took a generic portfolio project and made it his own - and why you should do the same. Stevie and Alex discuss Stevie's interview process in depth (be warned: there are some witty HR people out there) and also answer the question of whether you should be dreading the gaps on your resume.

🔗 Connect with Stevie

• 👨🏼‍💼 Linkedin
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Blog
• 🌐 Portfolio
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• FreeCodeCamp
• The Frontend Developer Career Path
• Stevie's RetroFix app
• Scrimba Podcast: How To Work With Recruiters According to Senior Recruiter Taylor Desseyn

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Tiffany Jachja 🇺🇸! Tiffany is a data scientist, career coach, engineering manager, and Twitch streamer! By day, she works at Vox Media. In her free time, she helps fellow developers by sharing career advice and her computer and data science knowledge. In this episode, Tiffany helps you understand a company's organizational structure so that you can come to your job interview prepared!

Alex and Tiffany also talk about resumes: what is their function, and is there such a thing as an ideal resume? You'll also learn the main differences between studying computer science and taking a bootcamp, how to approach the job-hunting tips you find online, how to know if you're ready to apply for your first developer job, and why inspiration matters. Tiffany also shares her favorite online coder communities and job boards!

🔗 Connect with Tiffany

• 👩🏻‍💼 Linkedin
• 📹 Twitch
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Website

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Video: From Student to Senior: Career Development 101
• Danny Thompson's Commit Your Code community
• RemoteJobHunters on Reddit

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Silvia Piovesan 🇮🇹! Silvia is a Scrimba student who recently got for job offers after four different interviews. But her success didn't come overnight! Silvia used to be a project manager in the pharmaceutical industry - where she first got interested in coding. After she got laid off (and became a mom!), she wanted to learn to code so that she could become a knowledgeable project menager in IT... before realizing that she actually wanted to code!

In this episode, Silvia reveals what's the similarities between learning to code and hiking Camino de Santiago, as well as her approach to learning and finding a job as a new developer. You'll find out how to utilize your soft skills, what to do if you don't know the answer to a question on a technical interview, and what to do during your first week on the job. Alex and Silvia also discuss goal setting, and why it's not a good idea to give your 100% every day.

🔗 Connect with Silvia

• 👩🏻‍💼 Linkedin
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 Github

🧰 Resources mentioned

• Scrimba's Frontend Career Path
• Learn Reeact for Free
• Scrimba's Discord community
• Mock Junior Front End Web Developer Interview with Mike Chen and Silvia

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Jess Chan 🇺🇸! Jess's YouTube channel, Coder Coder, has almost 400,000 subscribers at the time of recording. She's a web developer turned educator, and when she's not teaching her subscribers JavaScript and CSS, she's working on her first course. This episode is about learning, YouTube, and learning on YouTube!

In this show, you'll learn how to evaluate a course and quickly decide if you can trust a YouTube tutorial. Jess and Alex talk about how YouTube evolved over the years and why it might be an underrated place to meet other developers. You'll hear about Jess's long and meandering road to coding and learn why it's okay if you don't become a full-time developer in just three months. Finally, Jess will reveal, once and for all, what's the best camera for YouTubers.

🔗 Connect with Jess

• 📹 YouTube
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Website
• 📸 Instagram

⏰ Timestamps

• On Coder Coder, and why Jess loves web development (and enjoys teaching it) (01:33)
• Why you should remember what's it like to be a beginner at something before teaching it (03:33)
• Can you teach problem-solving on YouTube? (04:55)
• How Jess went from Pre-Med to photography to becoming a developer and, finally, an educator (06:24)
• Why it's okay if you don't become a full-time developer in three months (07:51)
• On becoming a developer in the era before bootcamps (09:33)
• Can you judge the current state of the industry from YouTube comments? (12:41)
• How would Jess approach cracking her first coding interview today? (13:22)
• Why you should look for other people's job interview experiences on YouTube and how the YouTube landscape has changed over the years (14:33)
• On Jess's YouTube content, the barrier to entry, and the democratization of educational content (16:51)
• Should new developers make their own YouTube channels? Can you learn soft skills on YouTube? (19:20)
• Hard skills vs. soft skills - what's more important when it comes to getting your first junior dev job? (21:04)
• They say you should "be so good they can't ignore you." What does this mean? (22:51)
• There are a lot of content creators on YouTube. How can you know who to trust? (24:51)
• Jess's new course on responsive web design, and can you learn without a mentor (30:21)
• Can you combine resources while learning? (33:25)
• Quick-fire questions: mechanical keyboards, music for coding, best social networks for developers, and best cameras for YouTube

🧰 Resources mentioned

• Jessica's YouTube channel: Coder Coder
• Jessica's new responsive web development course

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Theo Ntogiakos 🇬🇧! Theo has just switched careers at the age of 49! Recently, he landed a paid apprenticeship and is currently attending a coding bootcamp. But before that, he learned on Scrimba - he joined a coding challenge in February and became an active member of our community. Although he always did something with computers, he used to think he could never become a front-end developer. Well, he was wrong! And that's why he's here.

In this episode, Theo shares details about a path that led him here, as well as his approach to learning. You'll find out what's it like to attend a bootcamp and how it compares to Scrimba's learning platform, as well as what kinds of opportunities to keep an eye out for if you're a new developer and live in the UK. Theo also talks about motivation, self-doubt, and whether he could've shifted gears earlier. He and Alex also discuss the importance of wanting to become a developer for the right reasons.

🔗 Connect with Theo

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn

⏰ Timestamps

• Theo's journey into web development (it's a long and winding path!) (01:33)
• Theo's coding background (it includes Pascal!) (02:48)
• Why Theo wanted to change careers (05:29)
• On self-doubt (06:13)
• Was it challenging to change careers later in life? Plus, the perks of a coding apprenticeship (06:41)
• How Theo landed a paid apprenticeship after only six months of learning to code... and discovered Scrimba along the way (08:42)
• Scrimba's coding challenges (11:02)
• UK developer bootcamps (11:56)
• How to get an apprenticeship as a web developer in the United Kingdom (14:27)
• Is salary enough of a reason for a career change? (19:23)
• What do employers want to see in a candidate? (21:33)
• Slow and steady wins the race (25:17)
• How does Scrimba compare to a boot camp? (27:49)
• If you're a self-taught developer, do this! (29:10)
• Theo's deep dive into Scrimba (30:51)
• Let's talk pricing: how much does Scrimba cost compared to a coding bootcamp? And what are the differences between the two? (32:18)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• YT Video: Where to Find Developer Job Openings When You Have No Experience
• The Front-End Career Path

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Dave Mayer 🇺🇸! Dave is a founder and CEO of Technical Integrity, a boutique recruiting firm famous for its culture-first approach. TI has worked with big companies like Twitter, as well as many mid-size startups. In this episode, you'll get a glimpse into the other side of recruiting. Dave explains his culture-first approach and why it benefits both you and the employer. You'll learn why it's important to know your values and how to make sure you find a company that aligns with them.

Dave explains why you shouldn't feel desperate if you don't get a job in a company that was your first choice and how to probe into a company's values without sounding disrespectful. From the recruiter side, Dave reveals how looking for a culture fit can backfire and why it's much better to look for a "culture add."

Dave and Alex also talk about recessions (Dave has lived and worked through three of them already!) and how to stay focused on what's truly important.

🔗 Connect with Dave

• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Website
• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Blog post: The Best Engineering Team Values Statement We've Ever Seen
• Simon Sinek's "Start With Why" Ted talk

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Wemerson Queiroz 🇧🇷! Wemerson never thought he was going to become a developer. He started studying computer science, dropped out, and spent ten years working in sales because he wanted to earn money immediately. Ten years later, he realized he was unhappy (after all, money is not everything), learned to code, and got his first developer job in no time!

What got him back into IT was Blockchain, so he first started learning Solidity before realizing he should first learn the basics. Shortly after, those basics got him a job at a startup working with Blockchain technology! In this episode, you'll learn how far HTML, CSS, and Javascript can get you and how important it is to follow your passion. You'll also hear about Wemerson's unusual interview process and why taking a chance can sometimes pay off.

🔗 Connect with Wemerson

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• The Frontend Developer Career Path
• Learn React for free!

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Josh W. Comeau 🇨🇦! Josh is a developer, indie hacker, educator, and author. He worked in some companies you might have heard of (including, but not limited to, DigitalOcean, Gatsby, and Khan Academy). He also wrote a book on how to build an effective web dev portfolio. In this episode, we're answering that and many other questions! Spoiler alert: all the advice is actionable.

You'll learn why you need to have a portfolio, how to make one, and is there a formula that works. Josh will teach you how to steal a design for your portfolio website and not get caught and how to develop an eye for design in the long run. Plus: why everybody needs junior developers and how to create an exciting portfolio project even if you don't have any niche interests to base them on. Josh and Alex also discuss handy tools you can use, writing cover letters, and hiring biases in the industry.

🔗 Connect with Josh

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Blog + Website
• 🐦 Twitter

⏰ Timestamps****

• Josh's trajectory from development to education (01:09)
• Why Josh wrote a book on web developer portfolios (02:12)
• Don't put skill bars on your website! What do they even mean?! (04:40)
• Who should you cater your portfolio to, and how to do it? There are two main target audiences. (06:16)
• How does a portfolio compare to a LinkedIn profile or a resume? (10:53)
• Why everybody needs to hire juniors (12:41)
• Can you get away with not having a portfolio? (14:40)
• What to do if you're a developer but not good at design? (16:00)
• Why minimal design could be better (21:53)
• Can you use a template? (23:45)
• What should you put on your portfolio website (25:46)
• How to present your projects (29:49)
• How to choose your projects... and write about them (31:10)
• How to write a good cover letter (34:58)
• How to approach looking for a job (39:07)
• Hiring biases in the industry (40:56)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Josh's book, Building an Effective Dev Portfolio (it's FREE!)
• xScope
• PixelSnap
• Fontpair

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Johnathan Gauthier 🇨🇦! Johnathan volunteered when the company where he was working needed somebody to figure out how to turn a Figma design into a website. The rest is history.

After quitting that job, Johnathan gave himself three months to properly learn front-end development and get his first developer job. And he succeeded!

🔗 Connect with Johnathan

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🐦 Twitter

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Jonathan's journey into coding by way of learning to translate designs in Figma into a website + his introduction to Scrimba (01:59)
• How Jonathan quit his job and had only three months to learn to code and get a job in front-end (04:14)
• What's manual QA, and was that a helpful background to a new developer? (05:41)
• Learn the approach, not the method (06:29)
• How Jonathan decided to switch careers(07:27)
• Why you should apply when others think you're ready (08:53)
• Jonathan's study plan (10:21)
• How can you study both properly and fast? (11:41)
• The importance of taking breaks (14:10)
• How Jonathan found a mentor and why are mentors important (15:10)
• Jonathan's approach to finding his first developer job: LinkedIn, Angel.co, and messaging recuiters directly (17:43)
• How to optimize your LinkedIn profile (19:16)
• Jonathan's interview process (21:22)
• How to interview your interviewers and why that gives you an advantage (22:15)
• What skills should a junior developer have? (24:44)
• How Jonathan got his job offer (27:13)
• Jonathan's new company + Do you have to know Agile? (28:21)
• How to ask questions as a junior (29:38)
• Closing advice: don't stress about feeling ready, remember to take breaks, and come up with personal projects! (31:18)
• On notetaking (32:12)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Nadia's book, Crossing the Rubycon: How to Learn to Code and Build a Programming Career
• Women Who Code

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🎙 About the episode

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

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Nadia's journey into coding and move to Poland (01:41)
• Can you learn to code with no computer education whatsoever? (06:48)
• Why Nadia chose the self-taught route (08:16)
• How and why Nadia chose to learn Ruby (11:17)
• What influences your choice of a programming language (13:33)
• How to choose your first coding language if you're not technical (14:43)
• What to do (and what not to do) if you're learning to code on your own (17:03)
• Is coding creative? (23:17)
• The biggest stereotypes about being a programmer... and why they're wrong
• Can anyone learn to code? (28:26)
• Gatekeeping in the industry - and gatekeeping that's self-imposed (29:50)
• Quick-fire questions: favorite programming language, JavaScript, frameworks, chatbots, caffeinated beverages, London, and cats! (32:54)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Nadia's book, Crossing the Rubycon: How to Learn to Code and Build a Programming Career
• Women Who Code

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Ollie Church 🇬🇧! Ollie started out as an actor. He took up coding as a hobby during a lockdown and made a puzzle game partially inspired by an escape room where he worked at the time. Now he works in fintech!

This episode is about lockdowns, hobbies, motivation, and having fun. Ollie talks about his career change and approach to goal-setting. He also shares advice on choosing portfolio projects, as well as dealing with rejection - something that actors are maybe even more familiar with than new developers.

You'll find out how an online game he made for fun brought Ollie some income even before he landed his firs junior developer role, and what it's like to accidentally be interviewed for a senior role when you're applying for a junior position. Spoiler: Ollie did get the job in the end!

You'll also get an inside scoop on working as an actor, and how the pandemic has impacted the world of performing arts and in-person experiences.

🔗 Connect with Ollie

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🎥 Acting reel

*⏰ Timestamps*

• What is's like being an actor (01:59)
• Theater, in-person experiences, and performing arts during the COVID-19 pandemic (03:18)
• How Ollie took up coding (07:55)
• Front-end development as a hobby (09:34)
• How Ollie and his partner created their first online puzzle game (11:43)
• How to make learning to code playful, and how to choose portfolio projects (14:17)
• Ollie's puzzle game became a work project! Here's how that happened. (17:13)
• Should you apply before you're ready? How Ollie navigated changing careers and defined his goals and deadlines (20:53)
• Ollie's job hunt stats (25:51)
• An interview process from hell (16:15)
• How Ollie got his current job - it started with a rejection (30:13)
• How to deal with rejection and when is the common advice about it actually useful (31:03)
• The interview that got Ollie his current job... and how it went wrong (33:30)
• First months on the job and imposter syndrome (38:33)
• Ollie's closing advice for new developers: do the projects you think are fun and focus on showing up. It's a marathon, not a sprint!

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• The Frontend Developer Career Path
• "Happy", by Derren Brown

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Guil Hernandez 🇺🇸! You've heard of a learning curve, but what about the forgetting curve? Don't worry, Guil can help you not get overwhelmed. He is a developer and educator with over 15 years of experience in tech, and in this episode, he teaches you how to get better at learning. Guil and Alex also talk about Scrimba Bootcamp, a brand new study program that Guil has been working on.

Guil has developed over one hundred coding courses and workshops and comes from a teaching environment, so he also answers the dreaded question of what makes a good teacher. You'll also learn different learning techniques that might work for you, what's the Ebbinghaus' forgetting curve, and what it was like to make stuff for the web back in the early days of Web 2.0. Alex and Guil also discuss scopes, structure, and the importance of storytelling in teaching, as well as why you won't vibe with every YouTube tutorial out there... but you might still want to learn from multiple sources.

🔗 Connect with Guil

• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 Github
• 🔈 The Coder Career podcast episode with Simon Barker
• 🤖 Guil from Scrimba#6455 on the Scrimba Discord

⏰ Timestamps

• How Guil got into coding (01:18)
• Web development in the early days of Web 2.0 (03:02)
• Do you need a computer science degree to consider yourself a developer? (04:50)
• How Guil became a teacher (06:17)
• What makes a good teacher (07:18)
• The science of learning (10:38)
• What's the forgetting curve, and what you can do about it (11:54)
• How to not make a learning process overwhelming (14:07)
• Learning techniques that work for Guil: Scheduling study time, Pomodoro technique, Keeping a study log (16:15)
• Scrimba now has Solo projects: What are they, and how can they help you learn better? (20:32)
• What is Scrimba Bootcamp and the benefits of code reviews and getting feedback (25:24)
• Quick-fire questions: Code editors, coding music, Web 3.0, and Puerto Rico (27:48)
• Closing advice: be a librarian, not an encyclopedia

🧰 Resources mentioned

• Scrimba Bootcamp
• Comparing Scrimba Pro and Scrimba Bootcamp plans

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Yin Chu Rijnaard 🇳🇱! Yin Chu is a new developer who landed a job offer after only seven months of learning to code! In the meantime, he also became a Scrimba Community Hero.

In this episode, Yin Chu shares his approach to learning to code, why he chose front-end development and some of the struggles he encountered along the way. He also talks about his involvement in the Scrimba Discord community and how he became our Community Hero. On Scrimba's Discord, you can award karma points to other users, and Yin is currently on top of the leaderboard. You'll learn more about online communities, their unexpected benefits, and Yin Chu's approach to helping other newbie developers online.

Plus: Alex shares Scrimba's origin story!

🔗 Connect with Yin Chu

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🤖 YinChuRijnaard#2266 on the Scrimba Discord

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Yin Chu got into coding by way of business school (01:27)
• Front-end development for visual learners (02:40)
• How Yin Chu learned to code while at work (04:11)
• Yin's approach to learning (05:11)
• Learning to code when English is not your first language (09:04)
• How to become a Scrimba community hero (11:39)
• A surprising benefit of being in Scrimba's Discord community (15:10)
• Why you should help people (16:20)
• Yin Chu's new job... and LinkedIn's Easy Apply (17:23)
• Good LinkedIn profile strategies (19:29)
• Yin Chu's interview process (21:24)
• You have to play the long game (24:50)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Free JavaScript course
• Scrimba's Discord Server

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Cameron 🇬🇧! Cameron is a full-stack software engineer, podcaster, and co-founder of The Coder Career. But before learning to code, he studied business... and worked as a tech recruiter! This episode is all about networking. How to do it? What to say? And... To whom? Do you have to be an extrovert to become good at it?

Cameron will teach you why networking is important and how to go about it. He will also give you scripts for different situations - from reaching out to a recruiter on LinkedIn to starting a conversation with somebody at a meetup. Alex and Cameron discuss how to stand out when applying for a job and how recruiters operate. There are more junior developers than junior positions, and we hope this episode will help you get your foot in the door! Or, at least, nurture your professional relationships - you never know when can they come in handy.

🔗 Connect with Cameron

• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 The Coder Career
• 🔈 The Coder Career podcast episode with Simon Barker

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Never Eat Alone

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Ansub Khan 🇮🇳! Ansub has always been drawn to front-end development, but he took a couple of detours: he studied computer science and tried to learn C, C++, Java, and Python. In the end, he got a job by creating a website for a self-sustaining AI, while chatting to his now CEO about robots and quantum mechanics.

In this episode, you'll learn how to know when to go back to the basics of what you're learning, why rushing to get a job isn't always a good idea, and how a sprinkle of stoic philosophy can help you on your journey. Ansub shares details of his pretty unconventional job interview, as well as his approach to figuring out which jobs to apply to. He also talks about all of his failed job applications and what he learned from them.

🔗 Connect with Ansub

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Scrimba's Front End Career Path
• Bob's React course (FREE!)
• Maya Labs

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Shannon Brown 🇺🇸! Shannon is an experienced tech recruiter in a company known for diversity. In this interview, she will teach you how to get your foot in the door even if you're coming from an unconventional background. A good recruiter should know how to recognize an overlap between your skills and job requirements, but there are also things you can do to make your application stand out.

In this episode, we're talking about the dreaded ATS, the importance of storytelling, and cover letters (which might not be as crucial as you'd think... unless they're required)! You will learn how recruiters operate and what they're looking for, and why both recruiters and job applicants should be in it for the long game. You'll also find out when is the right time to apply for a job and how to troubleshoot an unsuccessful application. Plus: photos on CVs, font preferences, free resume reviews, and tough coffees.

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Shannon's work as a technical recruiter (01:02)
• The importance of domain knowledge (03:57)
• What recruiters do, what they should do, and why some of them have a bad reputation (05:54)
• Why both recruiters and job-seekers should focus more on building relationships (10:21)
• How to contact a recruiter, and what's the ideal first message (12:31)
• Should you be afraid of an ATS (application tracking system)? (14:39)
• When is the best time to apply for a job? (16:29)
• What is a well-optimized resume? (19:01)
• Are cover letters necessary? (22:48)
• Cover letters as a tool to provide additional information (24:50)
• Storytelling on your resume (28:34)
• How to know when not to use job-hunting advice from influencers (30:00)
• Setting career goals helps you write a better job application (31:17)
• How to get free feedback on your resume (32:46)
• Quick-fire questions: fonts and photos on a resume, practicing self-care during a job search, debugging your job application
• What is the most important thing to do when looking for a job? (38:21)

🔗 Connect with Shannon

• 🐦 Twitter
• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Kynnedy 🇺🇸! She recently made history as the first student who found a job through Scrimba's Discord! She originally wanted to be an air traffic controller, but ended up working in hospitality. After she became a mom, Kynnedy decided on a career change. And she succeeded! 🎉

In this episode, you'll get handy tips on how to learn better and make whatever you're learning stick. Kynnedy shares what she did right, but also what she did wrong, as well as her approach to creating a more memorable developer portfolio. You'll hear her story about learning enough about front-end development to go from zero to becoming a code reviewer on Scrimba in only a few months. Plus: how to know you're ready to apply for jobs, and how how to code with a baby. :)

🔗 Connect with Kynnedy

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 🐦 Twitter

*⏰ Timestamps*

• How Kynnedy got into coding (02:00)
• Bootcamp vs a self-directed route (04:03)
• Learning to code while being a new parent (04:57)
• Kynnedy's path and learning style with Scrimba (05:49)
• Dealing with self-doubt when learning to code (06:58)
• How to choose projects for you developer portfolio? (09:38)
• How Kynnedy knew she was ready to start applying for jobs (14:22)
• How Kynnedy put herself out there... and got no results (14:57)
• Getting an interview through Scrimba's discord (16:00)
• Kynnedy as a code reviewer on Scrimba (17:42)
• Kynnedy's interview process (19:50)
• Coding advice for younger Kynnedy (25:48)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Scrimba's Front End Career Path
• Gary Simon on YouTube
• Build and deploy your portfolio with Kevin Powell

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Kevin Powell 🇨🇦! Kevin is a CSS Evangelist and educator. He makes weekly YouTube videos, streams on twitch, writes articles, and teaches courses. His mission is to show new developers that CSS is fun and teach them how it works... and why it works the way it does.

In this episode, you'll learn how not to get frustrated with CSS, how to debug it, why people struggle with it, and how come we might never see a launch of CSS 4. Kevin also explains why different browsers render CSS differently and how much should you actually care about that. Alex and Kevin also discuss how the web gets made behind the scenes and how you can join the conversation and suggest the features you'd like to see in certain technologies. Plus: Bad design trends, tools and plugins, CSS memes, and tabs vs spaces.

🔗 Connect with Kevin

• 📹 YouTube
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub

*⏰ Timestamps*

• How Kevin found himself in the world of web design (01:28)
• Can a new developer focus solely on CSS? (04:26)
• What is a CSS Evangelist? (07:12)
• Why do people struggle with CSS? (09:04)
• Why CSS works the way it does (12:15)
• CSS tools you should use (14:12)
• CSS extensions for your editor (16:14)
• The learning curve of CSS and the importance of experience 18:04
• Why different browsers render CSS differently (and why it sometimes doesn't work) (21:18)
• Progressive enhancement and accessibility (25:53)
• The history of CSS (29:21)
• Will there ever be a CSS4? (33:11)
• How to stay in the loop and join the conversation around features (35:18)
• Quick-fire questions (37:33)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Kevin's courses on Scrimba
• Miriam Suzanne
• Adam Argyle
• Modern CSS

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Anthony 🇳🇱! Anthony worked as a Guest Experience Teamleader at the Sea Life aquarium in Scheveningen, where he got his feet wet in the world of the web by helping set up and manage the aquarium's new website. Web development enticed him with its unlimited possibilities and he quickly realized he wanted to do it as a job.

In this episode, you'll learn why to set goals, why deadlines are important, how to use the Pareto principle, and how to create consistency in your learning. Anthony also shares his tips for crafting a resume (very important if you're switching careers!) and choosing your portfolio projects.

🔗 Connect with Anthony

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🤖 Ant Casson#2260 on the Scrimba Discord

*⏰ Timestamps*

• How Anthony got started with web development (01:32)
• How Anthony switched careers in a year (03:36)
• Keeping a consistent schedule (04:44)
• How Scrimba provided Anthony with structure (06:48)
• Anthony's strategy for getting his first junior developer job (11:18)
• Putting effort into applications (13:09)
• How many emails should you send? (14:24)
• Getting a job within ten minutes from an interview! (16:11)
• Negotiating an offer when changing careers (19:57)
• The importance of setting a goal (22:43)
• The Pareto Principle (23:58)
• Learning on YouTube, or from documentation (26:05)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Scrimba's Front End Career Path
• The new React Docs
• MDN Web Docs

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Meet Austin Henline 🇺🇸! Austin works at LinkedIn and has reviewed more than 1200 LinkedIn profiles. In this episode, Austin teaches you how to make your LinkedIn profile discoverable to companies.

*🔗 Connect with Austin*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🐦 Twitter

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Coming soon...

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

Coming soon...

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Jefferson Tang 🇦🇺! Being a doctor is one of the most prestigious jobs out there, but Jefferson's coding itch would not go away! Enoramoured with web3 and the unlimited possibilities, Jefferson learned to code using a Web3 Bootcamp and Scrimba's Frontend Developer Career path. Now he works as a full-time developer at a Decentralised finance start-up! In this episode, Alex and Jefferson discuss the challenges of changing careers after 7 years of study. Other topics include staying motivated when learning to code and what Jefferson wished he knew at the beginning that would help him now.

🔗 Connect with Jefferson

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🤖 jefferson#8477 on the Scrimba Discord

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet Ian Douglas 🇺🇸🇨🇦! Ian has been in the industry for 26 years and in this episode, imparts his wisdom about how stand out then succeed at technical interviews to you.

*🔗 Connect with Ian*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 🐦 Twitter

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Removing the stigma from the interview process (01:39)
• Why technical interviews are kinda broken (3:16)
• What the heck does culture fit even mean? (08:57)
• How to answer “What is your biggest weakness?” in an interview (14:04)
• More on culture fit (16:08)
• The truth behind why companies hide salaries in job descriptions (18:52)
• Your previous salary has nothing to do with your new one (20:50)
• Ian’s experience interviewing at 27 companies (23:28)
• How to increase your callback % when applying to jobs, even if you don’t have much experience yet (27:39)
• Ian’s LinkedIn #drama (31:15)
• Rejection isn’t personal and you never know what’s happening internally (36:42)
• It all works out in the end (39:15)
• How to practice your interview skills in the real world (40:49)
• Get your foot in the door and the rest will follow (43:14)
• How much loyalty should you have to a company? (46:06)
• How Ian botched an interview at Twilio (46:29)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Ian’s website, Techinterview.guide
• Rezi.ai

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

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You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

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Meet Ineza Bonté 🇨🇦🇷🇼! After completing #100DaysOfCode and building a beautiful portfolio, Ineza got his foot in the door by recording a charming "why you should hire me" video. As you might expect, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Ineza struggled with rejection in the early days but his persistence paid off when he was finally hired as a Junior Developer. In this episode, you'll learn exactly how he did!

*🔗 Connect with Ineza*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🤖 inezabonte#6980 on the Scrimba Discord

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (00:00)
• How Ineza got into coding (01:47)
• Do you need to do #100DaysOfCode in a row? (04:54)
• Learning how to learn (06:22)
• Deciding what projects to build (07:46)
• Why Ineza prioritised building a portfolio and how it helped him (10:20)
• Ineza's approach to finding a Junior Developer job (11:44)
• Why this company chose Ineza (14:13)
• What the interview process looked like (16:31)
• Challenges Ineza faced you might be facing too (18:57)
• Ineza's advice to aspiring Junior Developers (20:17)
• The importance of community when learning to code (21:59)

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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Meet Scott Hanselman 🇺🇸! Scott has been coding for 30 years, blogging for 20, and podcasting for 16. He helps new developers learn to code and find success in their tech career so they, too, can have long and happy tech careers. In this episode, Scott reflects on his career to share the most important things you should know as an aspiring junior. We discuss if you need to know algorithms and data structures to be successful and explore some interesting ideas around systems thinking and toast!

*🔗 Follow Scott*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Becoming an “old” programmer (02:21)
• How fast does do tools and technology move? (03:56)
• Upcoming technology to keep an eye on (08:25)
• Why coding is just like LEGO (10:17)
• Responsible AI and Alexa (16:39)
• Learning to code and social mobility (21:19)
• Systems thinking and burnt bread 🍞 (22:51)
• How deep down the technology stack should you go? (25:19)
• What you should know to be a successful junior (33:12)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Everything's broken and nobody's upset by Scott

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet Buse Hizarci 🇹🇷🇬🇧! She just got her first Junior Developer role in London. It’s one of the most competitive tech cities in the world, yet the recruiter came to her through LinkedIn. As an extroverted economics graduate, Buse wasn’t sure if coding was for her. After 5 unsuccessful interviews (and one shockingly rude interview experience, which you’ll hear about towards the end of the episode!), she eventually found success at a well-known company in the UK called Vision Direct. In this episode, you’ll learn how Buse utilised LinkedIn to find success and how she wowed her employers with the take-home task..

*🔗 Connect with Buse*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 📝Medium
• 🤖 Bhz#2497 on the Scrimba Discord

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• From economics graduate to developer (01:35)
• Why learning web development is great if you want a job (03:43)
• How to make what you learn stick with projects (04:30)
• Building confidence through early job interviews (06:42)
• Buse’s best interview advice (08:17)
• Working as a contractor for experience before finding full-time work (10:32)
• A recruiter reached out to Buse! (12:02)
• The take-home task that got Buse the job (12:44)
• Day in the life of a newly-hired junior web developer (14:19)
• Kill your ego (15:24)
• Don’t compare your real life to other people’s highlight reel (15:50)
• What Buse wish she knew at the beginning (16:18)
• Overcoming stress and anxiety (17:17)
• What’s next for Buse (18:35)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Reach out to Recruiters on LinkedIn (as a Developer)

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know 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 they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

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Meet Gregory Witek 🇳🇱! Greg is an experienced developer and engineering manager currently working at Booking.com. There, he made an alarming observation: While the industry is going nuts for experienced Senior developers, it would seem no one is really hiring junior developers. Why?

In this episode, we explore the state of the junior developer job market and how you can maximise your chance for success. Don't worry! Becoming a Junior developer was always going to be tough. Gregory maintains there's room for everyone in this industry and even shares what he would specifically do with the benefit of all his experience breaking into tech and now hiring developers.

*🔗 Connect with Gregory*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter

⏰ Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• Becoming an engineering manager (01:24)
• Why nobody hires juniors anymore (02:20)
• The tragedy of commons (04:37)
• Companies who only hire mid-level developers cause problems (08:37)
• Changing jobs normally yields the most profitable salary bump (11:02)
• Don't we need more juniors to satisfy the demand for online software and services created during the pandemic? (12:14)
• Juniors are needed but not right now it seems (14:57)
• Onboarding junior developers remotely is hard (16:56)
• You can still find success! (19:07)
• Companies where you'll have the best chance of success as a junior (19:54)
• How Gregory found his first tech job (22:58)
• Even if you lack experience you can contribute to experience or volunteer (24:12)
• If you don't have a job your job is finding a job (25:25)
• How to know if you're ready to apply for jobs (26:53)
• Always ask for feedback and don't be afraid to apply again (28:40)
• How to impress Gregory as a candidate (30:02)
• How much time to engineering managers spend per resume or application? (31:45)
• What Alex learned about finding work from Tinder (33:11)
• What motivates Gregory to help? (36:12)

🧰 Resources mentioned

• Why nobody hires junior developers and what happens next by Gregory
• GitLab Handbook

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

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Meet Robert Corrado 🇺🇸! Rob tried to become a coder several times, but as a business owner and Dad, it was hard to carve out time and really make it stick! It was during the pandemic, Robert realized his opportunity to double down on his passion and finally learn to code with Scrimba. As his confidence in JavaScript grew, he started to apply for jobs and sending out feelers. In this episode, you'll learn from Rob's experience doing several coding interviews and how he finally found success!

*🔗 Connect with Robert*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🤖 RobbyCors#0066 on the Scrimba Discord

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• From business owner to coder (01:45)
• Deciding to finally go for it (04:01)
• Learning Spanish vs. learning JavaScript (05:01)
• Robert’s greatest challenges and how he overcame them (06:37)
• Employers don’t want someone who only knows HTML and CSS? (08:33)
• As a Junior, you can do the task, you just need a bit more time (10:11)
• Learning to code and career a little later in life and with kids (11:07)
• What Rob learned from his unsuccessful interviews (13:18)
• Self-confidence and the job search (15:54)
• How Rob got 8 job interviews (17:18)
• How Rob got his first Junior developer job (18:48)

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet Mike Karan 🇨🇦! Mike is a successful web development business owner and a co-host of the HTML All The Things podcast. His podcast and social media platforms have had tremendous growth in 2021, but Mike explains it's not all about the stats: it's about creating value and connecting with people.

In this episode, we're talking roadmaps! If you're learning to code, it's easier to follow a roadmap that somebody else has made. But, that can also be tricky: it's not always clear when to branch out or move on to another part of a roadmap. You'll learn how to recognize these opportunities, how to figure out if you should quit learning something, and why you should only focus on one framework at a time. Plus, there's a rant about regex.

*🔗 Connect with Mike*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Mike's podcast and Twitter growth (02:00)
• How Mike chose the front-end developer career path (07:08)
• Step by step guide for learning to become a front-end developer (09:08)
• What can you achieve with just HTML and CSS? When is the right time to learn JavaScript? (14:00)
• How should you look at a roadmap? (17:49)
• Figure out what you hate! (18:48)
• How to know you've given something enough of a try? (21:34)
• When to monetize your skills? (24:51)
• On roadmaps and choosing the right framework (27:21)
• What does a junior developer have to know? (33:47)
• Apply your knowledge! (36:45)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• HTML All The Things web developer roadmap
• Junior web developer checklist
• Mike's podcast

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5-star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet Stefi Rosca 🇷🇴🇪🇸. Stefi worked as a marketer but couldn't ignore her passion for tech anymore! Using Scrimba and other resources, Stefi learned to code online and now works at Adevinta - a company almost everyone in Spain knows. Believe it or not, when she first applied, they ignored her! It was only through her perseverance (following up and connecting with people in the company) that Stefi earned this prestigious opportunity. In this episode, you'll learn how meetups gave Stefi the connections and confidence she needed to find success.

*🔗 Connect with Stefi*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Stefi’s experience doing a mock React interview with Scrimba (01:30)
• Transitioning from marketing to development (02:46)
• Working at a company all your friends and family recognise 🤩 (06:41)
• Recurse center (07:34)
• Code Bar (09:51)
• How meetups impacted Stefi’s career success (12:29)
• Navigating meetups as an introvert (13:45)
• Challenges transitioning from marketing to coding (15:14)
• How to market yourself as a developer, according to a developer (20:04)
• Stefi’s EPIC story about how she got a job at Adevinta (25:49)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Stefi’s mock React interview with Scrimba
• Recurse center
• Code Bar

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet Ben Hong 🇺🇸! Ben is a Senior Staff Developer Experience Engineer at Netlify, Vue Core Team member, Google Developer Expert, and teacher. After studying psychology at school, Ben picked up programming in his own time, making him one of the most successful self-taught programmers on the podcast to date! He joins us to share his best advice about learning to code and the many career benefits of getting involved with open source.

*🔗 Connect with Ben*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Ben’s transition from psychology to programming (01:06)
• Developer experience and why it matters more than you think (04:26)
• Developer experience as a profession (05:25)
• Ben is part of the Vue core team (07:08)
• How Ben got involved in one of the biggest JavaScript open source projects in the world (07:53)
• How to start with open source yourself (10:38)
• Why Ben works so hard (16:21)
• Passion vs. discipline as a profesional (18:36)
• How Vue compares to React and other front-end tech (20:56)
• Should you abandon React to learn Vue?? (23:27)
• Ben’s best advice for anyone learning to code (25:27)
• Quick-fire questions (29:36)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Vue Mastery
• Computed properties in Vue
• Watch Ben code on Twitch
• Learn to take notes in Obsidian with Ben

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know 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 they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet Joshua Smith 🇦🇺! While working full-time as a property manager, Joshua made time after work to learn to code on Scrimba. After just 10 months and, in part, thanks to a referral, Josh was recently hired as a junior web developer 🎉! In this episode, you’ll see how networking and referals don’t have to be complicated. In Josh’s case, he proved his skills to a friend who then vouched for him. From here, it was still up to Josh to crack the coding interview and take-home task.

*🔗 Connect with GUEST*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🤖 jshsmth.eth#7668 on the Scrimba Discord

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Why Josh is participating in a bootcamp even though he has a job (02:56)
• How bootcamps compare to Scrimba (04:06)
• A day in the life of a newly-hired junior dev (07:31)
• How Josh found success by securing a referral (09:24)
• What the interview process looked like for Josh (11:02)
• Josh got the job in around 10 months 🎉(12:12)
• Josh’s advice for anyone else learning to code (14:28)
• Josh found success quicker than he was planning - does he regret not applying sooner? (16:36)
• A job is the ultimate learning environment (19:03)
• Challenges learning to code alongside a full-time job (19:48)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Josh’s Rick and Morty website
• Learn React on Scrimba

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Jason has been recruiting and supporting Junior Developers for more than a decade! He joins us to share his inspiring story breaking into tech after sustaining a head injury, and what he’s learned about how to find success as a Junior without a degree along the way.

*🔗 Connect with Jason*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• How a head injury at 16 influenced Jason’s career path (01:27)
• Interns vs. juniors (05:07)
• Job titles matter, but not for the reasons you might think (08:04)
• Are there more juniors than junior jobs? (10:35)
• Why recruiters sometimes get it wrong and what that means for you, the candidate (11:38)
• The job description is not a list of hard requirements (15:44)
• How to improve your self-awareness (19:05)
• Coding vs. programming and why it matters (22:04)
• Justin’s favourite question to ask during interviews: What games do you play? (23:40)
• Are you born or made a programmer? (24:56)
• Tech is vast and has many career paths to offer (27:26)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Tell Alex from Scrimba @bookercodes what you thought of the episode
• Read Jason’s fantastic advice on dev.to

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Anna is well-regarded as the Opera singer who turned into a Developer! Before serenading the masses, Anna was a marketer and code-tinkerer. This concoction of marketing know-how, work experience, and an inclination to solve problems enabled Anna to find work as a Junior Developer in the wake of the pandemic in record time. Aside from working full-time, Anna also coaches Junior Developers on her YouTube channel, Twitter, and around the web. In this episode, we peel back the curtain to learn Anna’s streamlined advice for new programmers looking to find their success as a Junior.

*🔗 Connect with Anna*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 📹 YouTube

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• From opera singer to developer (01:01)
• How long does it take to become a developer? (03:36)
• Born programmer vs. made programmer (07:23)
• 9 Belbin Team Roles (12:32)
• Coding in a team and how it differs from solo work (13:30)
• Answering “what is your biggest weakness?” (16:02)
• Remember: Rejection is redirection (17:08)
• How Anna found success as a Junior quicker than she anticipated (18:51)
• Pitching yourself like a pro (23:46)
• It’s not enough to be the best coder, sorry! (28:17)
• Dissecting Anna’s winning video (29:44)
• Quick-fire questions (30:28)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Anna’s iconic Tweet and video
• How to build a programming career book by Anna
• 9 Belbin roles

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet Fredrik Ridderfalk from Sweden 🇸🇪! He went from not knowing any code to landing a Junior Developer role in just 3 months! Having studied before, Fredrik knew exactly how to structure his learning on Scrimba so that it worked best for him. Thanks to trying some other jobs in the past, he also had a good idea of how to crack the coding interview. In this episode, Fredrik imparts the knowledge that got him hired in record time to YOU.

*🔗 Connect with Fredrik Ridderfalk*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🤖 Deepity#4791 on the Scrimba Discord

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Creating your own Junior Developer roadmap (03:37)
• How Fredrik became job-ready in 3 months (06:13)
• How to remember what you learn better (08:08)
• Applying to 600 jobs (11:01)
• Remember: A job ad is a wish list not a must-have list (12:48)
• Accidentally being interviewed for Senior roles (14:18)
• Fredrik lost faith in tailoring cover letters to the job - is it really necessary? (15:35)
• Building original projects to stand out (17:18)
• Expanding on Scrimba Career Path projects (20:49)
• What the interview process looked like specifically (24:15)
• What does a Junior Developer do now they’re hired? (26:42)
• Getting paid to learn (28:22)

🧰 Resources mentioned****

• AngelList

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet Danny Thompson 🇺🇸! Danny worked in gas stations frying chicken for 10 years before teaching himself how to code. Since then, he’s gone from strength to strength, working at Google for a stint before returning to a company called FrontDoor as a Software Engineer. Along the way, he’s amassed 140k+ followers on Twitter, helping others learn to code and break into tech with measured, actionable advice. He joins the Scrimba Podcast to talk job-hunting strategies and mindset, plus answer quick-fire questions so we can get to know him better.

*🔗 Connect with Danny*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 📹 YouTube
• 💯 TikTok

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Danny has 141K followers but he doesn’t want you to follow his advice blindly (01:22)
• Danny’s new role - returning to work at his previous company after working at a FAANG company (03:02)
• Should Juniors look for work in their local area, remote, or both? (14:59)
• Transferring skills from your previous non-technical jobs with confidence (17:32)
• Alex challenges Danny about what to do if you’re sensitive to rejection (21:24)
• “The best thing that never happened to me” (25:34)
• Tailor your application to the role or you’re probably going to fail (27:37)
• Anticipate what employers want to know and prepare an elevator pitch (30:05)
• Quick-fire questions (32:20)
• Closing words by Danny (37:16)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• HOW TO USE LINKEDIN PROFILES TO GET JOBS! Stand out where the hiring managers hang out!
• Ask an Expert: Improve your LinkedIn Page with Danny Thompson
• Ask an Expert: How to get a job with no CS degree
• Danny’s Commit your Code Discord community (join link)
• Code Connector
• Find a Google Developer Group

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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*🎙 About the episode*

Meet Elly! She dropped out from their CompiSci degree to double down on frontend web development with Scrimba. After showing a recruiter their beautifully-presented portfolio, Elly managed to secure their first “real” job: A Junior Developer role at a purpose-driven web agency!

*🔗 Connect with Elly*

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🤖 elly#5924 on the Scrimba Discord

*⏰ Timestamps*

• Introduction (0:00)
• Elly dropped out from their CompSci degree to pursue front end (02:59)
• Replacing university with Scrimba’s Frontend Career Path and community (06:00)
• Did Elly need to know Data Structures and Algorithms? (08:03)
• Elly’s wonderful HTML resume template (09:05)
• HTML vs. PDF resume in Elly’s opinion (12:39)
• All about Elly’s new job at Portable (13:24)
• Elly’s experience working with an external recruiter (15:20)
• How Elly stood out and found work so quickly (19:17)
• The importance of having a good vibe (rapport) with your interviewer (20:24)
• The interview! (21:25)
• What would Elly have done differently? (22:51)
• Elly’s advice to aspiring Developers and closing words (24:34)

*🧰 Resources mentioned*

• Ask an Expert: Chat with a Tech Recruiter
• Ask an Expert: CV Review with a Tech Recruiter
• Want to learn frontend development and secure your first technical job like Elly did? Enroll in the Scrimba Frontend Developer Career Path 🎉

*⭐️ Leave a Review*

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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🎙 About the episode

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! In this special episode, Scrimba co-founders Per (CEO) and Sindre (CTO), plus Bob, Leanne, Michael, Abdellah, and Matias from Team Scrimba join to answer your questions - some serious ones (like the origin of Scrimba) and some totally random and fun ones (like what we would all do if we won the lottery).

🔗 Connect with Team Scrimba

• 🐦 Alex from Scrimba (Host)
• 🐦 Per from Scrimba
• 🐦 Sindre from Scrimba
• 🐦 Bob from Scrimba
• 🐦 Leanne from Scrimba
• 🐦 Michael from Scrimba
• 🐦 Matias from Scrimba
• 🐦 Abdellah from Scrimba

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🎙 About the episode

Meet Mark! Mark maintains Redux and is a seasoned developer with more than a decade of professional experience coding and working with Juniors. In this episode, Alex and Mark explore if beginners need to know Redux before delving into Mark's best coding career advice around searching and evaluating online information efficiently and how to find meaningful information on even the most obscure programming errors!

🔗 Connect with Mark

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter

⏰ Timestamps

• Introduction (0:00)
• Working at the same company for a decade (01:47)
• What is Redux and should newer developers bother learning it? (02:38)
• Where does Redux shine? (06:24)
• Quick introduction to TodoMVC (09:58)
• Redux vs Context API (12:12)
• Does Mark with more than a decade experience need Google anymore? Yes! (17:40)
• How to search information efficiently (20:10)
• How do you search hairy error messages to find meaningful results? (20:44)
• Why TypeScript errors trip a lot of people up (23:53)
• Mark's best advice to folks new in their career (25:07)

🧰 Resources mentioned

• Redux
• Redux documentation
• Fundamentals of Redux Course from Dan Abramov
• Mark's coding career advice series of posts

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If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review hereand let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

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🎙 About the episode

Tony is a successful Scrimba student from Los Angeles who was recently got their first Junior Developer job at Activision! Tony used to work in finance but hated it. He knew he wanted to find meaningful work that allowed him to prioritize his mental health but couldn't afford to quit outright. For months on end, Tony learned to code alongside his full-time job. Despite many setbacks, he managed to come out on top by niching down and becoming an expert at creating email templates. In this episode, you'll learn all about it!

🔗 Connect with Tony

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🤖 tonymoreno86#6931 on the Scrimba Discord

⏰ Timestamps

• Introduction (0:00)
• Tony transitioned from the world of finance to coding (01:04)
• Learning to code alongside a full time job (02:33)
• The role of community and friendships in Tony's success (04:00)
• How to make your Dad proud (05:02)
• Joining Activision! (07:30)
• Finding riches in niches by coding email templates (08:29)
• Working 400+ hours on UpWork to earn reputation (12:33)
• How Tony discovered their niche for email templates (14:31)
• Activision reached out to Tony on LinkedIn (16:45)
• Perks of the job (18:03)
• Moving around in the company a little (18:49)
• What do you think were the most significant contributors to landing this job based on what you experienced during the interview process? (21:23)
• What would you do differently? (22:23)

🧰 Resources mentioned

• Ask an Expert: CV review with Jermaine Jupiter 1
• Ask an Expert: CV review with Jermaine Jupiter 2

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review hereand let us know 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 they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

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🎙 About the episode

Claire Ramming is a successful Scrimba student from New York City 🇺🇸, who recently got their first full-time developer job 🎉! Before learning to code, Claire studied Data Science and received mentorship on how to choose projects that standout and navigate the job market without a degree. Claire joins us today to share the tactics she learned and how specifically they helped her land this awesome new opportunity. Stay tuned for the end where Alex asks Claire a mock job interview question.

🔗 Connect with Claire

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🤖 clay2k#2840 on the Scrimba Discord

⏰ Timestamps

• Introduction (0:00)
• Claire's first lines of code (01:30)
• Building a standout portfolio full of projects (03:55)
• Can you use Scrimba projects in your portfolio? (05:23)
• Changing companies without your boss knowing 🤫 (06:45)
• Claire's clever idea to apply to Asana by cloning their app (08:50)
• Finding success on Hired (09:07)
• How to successfully answer "Tell us about yourself" (14:23)
• Do. Your. Homework. (15:41)
• How to answer "Do you like to work alone or as part of a team?" (16;08)
• In-depth account of Claire's interview process and how long it took for them to get back (17:17)
• What would Claire do differently if they did it again? (24:42)
• Mock interview question: "What is the hardest thing you've ever done?" (26:35)

🧰 Resources mentioned

• Hired
• Mapbox (SDK for adding maps to apps like Uber Eats)
• The data science bootcamp Claire attended (Springboard)

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review hereand let us know 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 they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

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Christopher Kühn is a Scrimba student from Cologne, Germany 🇩🇪, who recently got their first Developer job 🎉! At the ripe age of 35 and after 3 arduous years learning to code alongside a full-time job and 70 job applications, this is the interview about how Christopher finally completed the transition from Photographer to Developer. In the conversation, Alex from Scrimba and Christopher talk about changing careers later in life, keeping motivated, and what the job interview process specifically looked like.

🔗 Connect with Christopher

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 🐦 Twitter
• 🌐 Website
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🤖 KlarLuCK#1266 on the Scrimba Discord

⏰ Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• Christopher on learning to code at 35 (00:57)
• Christopher's bizarre encounter that made them want to learn React (03:03)
• "The JavaScript Masterplan" (05:49)
• Learning and managing your energy learning to code alongside a full-time job (07:44)
• How to know if you're ready to apply (10:59)
• Christopher worked for free to build a reputation - it worked (14:01)
• Be honest about what you want with recruiters (15:18)
• Remember to subscribe to job alerts by email (16:48)
• How Christopher specifically got this job and what the interview process looked like (19:16)
• Christopher got the job (24:47)

🧰 Resources mentioned

• "JavaScript Masterplan" spreadsheet
• Xing

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Once upon a time, Randall learned the unsettling truth that almost everyone on her team earned more money than her. She mustered the courage to confront her her boss and said, “Hey! Google are interested in me. I could go there or you can give me the fair salary bump I deserve!” They obliged and in that moment, Randall learned just how important it is to advocate yourself.

Randall wants you to have the best possible start to your tech career and joins the podcast to share what she’s learned about how to stand out and thrive in tech. Spoiler: It’s not just about your coding skills.

⏰ Timestamps

• Introduction (0:00)
• How Randall got into tech (01:25)
• How to actually improve your communication and collaboration skills (03:24)
• Make the most of LinkedIn with these tips (04:26)
• How to stand out in tech (11:06)
• Randall and Alex get DEEP (14:34)
• How to write a superb Junior Developer resume (15:39)
• Randall's scariest moment in tech - confronting her employers because she was underpaid (20:18)
• Are you a dark matter developer? (25:41)
• How to structure your learning as a self-taught developer and stay motivated (27:33)
• Your unfair advantage as a self-taught developer (33:57)
• How to genuinely and convincingly answer "why do you want to work here?" (36:10)

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Maeling earned a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering before realising her passion for code! After months of practice and with help from her new friends in various communities, she’s now working as a Junior Developer at a remote start-up. In this episode, you’ll learn how Maeling found the job through a virtual career fair and how you, too, can find success.

Timestamps

• Introduction (0:00)
• About Maeling's new job (00:48)
• How Maeling found this opportunity through a virtual job fair (02:30)
• How Maeling used Twitter to lern to code (02:55)
• Community and learning to code (06:35)
• Self-directed learning compared to university (09:33)
• Don't compare yourself to others (11:37)
• Homeschooling while learning to code (14:02)
• Building a homeschooling journal app (15:30)
• What the interview process looked like  (18:59)
• Maeling's top tips for anyone wanting to become a Junior Developer (23:19)

Links

• Follow Maeling on Twitter
• Maeling's homeschool journal web app
• Career Karma
• Virtual Coffee
• Code Connector

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Swizec Teller moved from Slovenia to Silicon Valley to work with the best engineers on the most challenging problems. Along the way, he hired and continuous to mentor countless juniors. In this episode, you'll learn what Swizec looks for in Junior Developer in 2021 and how you can crack the coding interview by highlighting your potential.

Timestamps

• Introduction (0:00)
• What employers look for in Juniors (02:32)
• What projects will impress employers? (05:01)
• The difference between front-end engineer and front-end developer (07:28)
• An introduction to JSON bureaucracy (10:57)
• How to measure your own ability and skill (14:39)
• How Google hire Juniors (20:50)
• What Swizec learned from Richard Hamming (23:11)
• Swizec's career vision (25:37)
• An introduction to the Senior Mindset (28:07)
• What Juniors can expect from seniors (29:09)

Links

• Follow Swizec on Twitter
• Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter
• Swizec's website
• Your career needs a vision by Swizec
• Senior Mindset series

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John Mckay (also known fondly as Johno in the Scrimba community) used to work as a Guitar Teacher. After learning to code on Scrimba, he now works as a full-time trainee developer at one of the UK's largest supermarkets! As a trainee, Johno will spend 20 months working on different real-world parts of the business, while learning from mentors and some dedicated training. In this episode, you will learn how you, too, can earn to learn!
Timestamps

• Introduction (0:00)
• How John found a 20 month employee training program (1:24)
• How John got started programming (03:07)
• John's experience with procrastination (04:38)
• Don't just learn to code - learn to market yourself too (09:29)
• How to write your first developer resume when you have no experience (10:48)
• Communication skills are key (12:50)
• What John finds intimidating about their new job (14:08)
• Competency based interviews deconstructed (17:27)
• What surprised John now he's on the team (27:11)
• The role of the Scrimba community in John's success (28:59)

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The month-long celebration of Hacktoberfest is nearly over but don't threat! There's still time to get involved and potentially earn a Hacktoberfest T-shirt. In this episode, GitHub Star of the Year 2020, Eddie Jaoude shares everything you need to know to get involved in these remaining days.

Who is Eddie? Eddie Jaoude is an open source advocate and leader of the EddieHub open source community. He believes OPEN SOURCE is NOT just about code, it is about people, communication and collaboration.

Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• What is Hacktoberfest (01:13)
• Is it too late to get involved? (01:50)
• Open source can catapult your career as it did for Eddie (03:02)
• Genuinely meaningful ways to contribute to open source that don't even involve writing code (07:10)
• Where to find your first open source project (09:21)
• How Hacktoberfest measures your contributions (14:32)
• "It's always about adding value, not amount of lines that have changed" (15:43)
• Challenges you might encounter and how to overcome them (18:52)
• Maintaining your own project and taking part in Hacktoberfest (20:23)
• Quick-fire questions with Eddie Jaoude (22:35)

Links

• Follow Eddie Jaoude on Twitter
• Follow Alex (host) on Twitter
• Check out the EddieHub inclusive open source community
• Contribute to Scrimba's Weekly Web Dev Challenge page

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Florin Pop is a JavaScript developer who made $22K in August. After years of experimentation and brand-building, Florin has uncovered several sources of income that enable him to earn good money without a boss and, in some cases, without working at all (Florin earns some passive income). In this episode, Florin and Alex outline several ways to make money if you know how to code and are willing to put in hard work.

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At 32 years of age and after 10 years of climbing the ranks in the theatre industry, Milos Dokic from Australia had to start again because of the pandemic.

While many entertainment workers weathered the storm, Milos mustered the discipline to explore his growing interest in programming, enroll in a university course, and get ahead. The university course was fine but when Milos started to look for work he realized he was totally unprepared. There weren't many jobs around C or C++, which he was learning at school, and because Milos hadn't yet graduated, he didn't have any credentials to get in the door.

Around that time, Milos discovered Scrimba and the Front-end Developer career path! He built some exciting front-end projects and developed a stand-out portfolio and LinkedIn page. Along the way, he realized more of his experience was transferrable than he first thought.

Milos joins us to share all the specific details about how he found his job and what the interview process looked like. You will learn more about what to expect and how to succeed yourself!

Links

• Guest
  • Connect with Milos Dokic on LinkedIn
  • Join the Scrimba Discord and message Milos (their username is Samurai#3301)
• Host
  • Follow Alex Booker from Scrimba on Twitter

Timestamps

• Introduction (0:00)
• Milos' journey from Cirque du Soleil to Junior Developer (00:50)
• When the pandemic hit Cirque du Soleil came to a halt but Milos was determined to turn it around (05:54)
• How Scrimba compared to Milos' experience at university? (09:31)
• Milos' experience buying a CV template from Etsy (10:19)
• Staying focused and on-track even when you experience setbacks (13:28)
• How learning Linux helped Milos feel comfortable with commands and servers (14:48)
• How Milos specifically found this job and what the interview process looked like (15:49)
• Milos' take-home task and how it went (17:56)
• Changing carers at 32 and after 10 years in theatre (20:42)
• How to stand out among thousands of developers according to Milos (22:42)

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What do you wish someone had told you when you were just starting out? If you are a new developer (we’re not using “junior developer” here - listen along to find out why!), there are skills you have, skills you can transfer from somewhere else, and skills you don’t even know you need. You probably also have a lot of assumptions… and not too many people who can tell you whether they’re true. Dan wants to change that!

Who is Dan Moore? He is the author of Letters to a New Developer - a blog and book of advice he wishes he had gotten at the beginning of his career. Dan is a developer with twenty years of experience, currently working as a Solutions Architect at FusionAuth.

Links

• Guest
  • Follow Dan Moore on Twitter
  • Follow Dan Moore on LinkedIn
  • Check out Dan’s blog
• Host
  • Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter
• Episode links
  • Dan’s book of letters to a new developer

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Scrimba student Serhan almost canceled his interview at Microsoft because he was nervous. Even though it turned out to be an unsuccessful interview, overcoming that initial hurdle set everything into motion for Serhan. The worse thing that could happen had already happened. Turns out, being rejected from a company wasn't that bad.

After that, Serhan was much calmer in interviews now and was offered a job much sooner than he expected! We think the same could happen to you if you adapt Serhan's mindset when teaching yourself to code and applying for Junior Developer jobs.

Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• Serhan's transition from Economics to code (01:07)
• How Serhan taught himself to code (01:59)
• The most frustrating thing about learning to code (03:14)
• The importance of community when learning to code (05:41)
• How Serhan got an interview at Microsoft (06:42)
• Recovering from a rejection by Microsoft 😪 (10:16)
• Serhan started doing interviews to get used to hearing "no" (10:36)
• How Serhan ensured a constant pipeline of job interviews (15:14)
• What Serhan learned from a consultation with a recruiter (19:19)
• Serhan got two job offers and finally found success 🎉 (22:32)

Links

• Guest
  • Connect with Serhan on LinkedIn
  • Serhan is Serhan#6676 in the Scrimba Discord community (join)

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Your resume determines if you will be called in for an interview or not. It’s an advertisement targeted towards your future boss and it can make or break your application. Yet, most programmers fail to write a good resume! In this episode, you will learn to increases the chances that your resume makes it to the “yes” pile according to an actual Hiring Manager.

Who is Gergely? Gergely is the author of The Tech Resume Inside Out - a highly-rated book about what the hiring process look like inside companies and how to make sure your resume stands out. Before that, he worked as an Engineering Manager at Uber for 3 years.
Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• Most resumes suck so Gergely wrote The Tech Resume Inside Out (01:27)
• Remember: Your resume is a sales tool (07:52)
• Create a master resume template (14:26)
• The problem with using LinkedIn as your resume (15:20)
• How hiring funnels work from the inside out(18:35)
• Myth-busting Application Tracking Systems (26:20)
• Avoid photos on your resume (35:22)
• Why resumes should look plain Jane (35:25)
• References available upon request? Obviously (36:34)
• Internships and Computer Science degrees (36:48)
• Employment travel visa options for new programmers are few for a reason (39:12)
• The dreaded reference check (41:29)

Links

• Guest
  • Follow Gergely Orosz on Twiitter
  • Follow Gergely Orosz on LinkedIn
  • Check out Gergely's blog
• Host
  • Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter
• Episode links
  • Gergely's book on writing a tech resume

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With every rejection, Gandev felt more determined than ever. It didn't matter to him that no one had replied positively yet because he was only really testing the waters - applying to jobs before he was ready in order to see what he could learn about job-hunting while simultaneously skilling up on Scrimba. In the end, Gandev learned the key to his success was to connect with the people behind the jobs. In this episode, you are will learn how to do the same.

Who is Gandev? Gandev is a Scrimba community member and Frontend Career Path graduate with a tenacious attitude. He was recently hired as a Junior Frontend Developer at a London-based web development agency, and joins the podcast to share exactly how he got there.

Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• Gandevs immensely productive Scrimba schedule (01:45)
• Recovering from failures and finding your drive  (08:07)
• What Gandev learned applying to 400 jobs (13:57)
• How to make your own luck by connecting with Senior developers and recruiters (17:22)
• How to assure employers you will pull your weight (22:53)

Links

• Follow Alex Booker (host) on Twitter

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For every sucky recruiter conflating Java and JavaScript (oh boy), there is a recruiter like Taylor Desseyn ready to listen to your goals, craft your resume, and help you land your first Junior Developer job. Yes, even new programers are eligible to work with a recruiter! In this episode, Taylor breaks it down step-by-step.

Who is Taylor? Taylor is a Senior Recruiter who has been recruiting since 2011 and has helped place more than 450 people land their dream jobs. He joins us today to share his best advice on how to connect with and utilize recruiters in general.

Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• Recruiting is inherently broken (01:52)
• Differentiate between agency and internal recruiters (04:11)
• How to connect with agency recruiters even if you are a Junior (05:38)
• You wouldn't wait to go to the gym until you're in shape... (09:37)
• 3 rules to write an impressive cold message (10:10)
• LinkedIn is where it's at but do not discount Twitter and Polywork (14:57)
• How to stand out on LinkedIn (17:50)
• The tenants of a standout resume (21:37)

Links

• Follow the guest
  • Follow Taylor Desseyn on Twiitter
  • TaylorDesseyn.com
• Follow the host
  • Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter
• Links mentioned in the episode
  • Vaco
  • Taylor's foolproof resume
  • How social media can land you your dream job

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Ali has helped hundreds of new developers learn to code through her work as a lead bootcamp instructor and author. She’s an equally talented developer and teacher and In this episode, shares techniques and tips to help you better understand what you’re learning and make it stick once and for all!
Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• How Ali got her first Junior Developer job (01:31)
• What Ali learned helping new programmers as a Lead Instructor at General Assembly (06:16)
• What you can learn from successful bootcamp students (07:51)
• How to know if you're ready to apply to jobs (11:28)
• Ali's experience as a hiring manager (11:39)
• Is the first programming language the hardest to learn? (15:38)
• How to remember everything you learn (21:34)
• How to escape tutorial hell (22:23)
• Should you hustle non-stop or take breaks? (28:15)
• Focused vs. diffused thinking (30:13)
• How Ali schedules time to learn on the job (31:16)
• Ali's progression to a Senior role and what Juniors should know about Seniors (33:39)

Links

• Follow Ali Spittel on Twitter
• We Learn Code (Ali's website)
• Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter

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The demand for Developer Relations candidates has never been greater. Yet, employers are struggling to fill this unique role. In this episode, Phil Legetter (Head of Developer Relations at PostHog), teaches you what Developer Relation is, the versatile roles within Developer Relations, and what experience you need to succeed. As an experienced Hiring Manager himsself, Phil also shares his experience hiring from the inside out.
Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• What Developer Relations is (02:30)
• Can introverts work in Developer Relations? (10:23)
• How much and what kind of experience do you need? (13:12)
• Phil cares less about your education and more about your public contributions - very encouraging for self-taught developers (15:10)
• What did the Developer Relations hiring process look like at an enterprise company? (16:35)
• How long does Phil spend reviewing each resume? (18:21)
• Does LinkedIn easy apply ever work? (20:57)
• How do companies decide on the X in "X years of experience required" (21:20)
• Tell us about a memorable candidate (25:08)

Links

• Developer First/Developer Plus
• Roles within Developer Relations
• Phil covers many of the activities within DevRel in his older post around Defining DevRel
• Phil and PostHog's Developer Educator role that he updated the requirements for following the interview 😀

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Meet Dan (35) from Australia 🇦🇺🦘. After working as an Air Conditioning Technician for 9 years, Dan enrolled in Scrimba's Frontend Developer Career Path to become a hireable web developer. 6 months later, here we are!

Success found Dan much quicker than he expected - not because he was the absolute best coder (Dan admits he stumbled through the technical interview) but instead because Dan successfully demonstrated his teachability and potential. Now Dan is earning to learn. If you follow Dan's advice, you could too!
Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• How Dan became a Junior Developer in 7 months (01:32)
• How Dan managed to stand out to an employer and get a callback (06:45)
• Dan assumed his test questions were JavaScript but they were actually PHP 😧 (09:44)
• Instead of idly waiting for a decision Dan improved his skills (14:06)
• Dan continued to follow-up and sell himself after the interview (15:57)
• Dan think he stumbled through the on-site interview but the employer reassured him (17:07)
• Dan got the job 🎉 (19:06)
• How Dan's experience talking to customers surprisingly helped him land a a Junior Developer job (20:16)

Links

• A screenshot of the cover letter that earned Dan his interview
• Dan wrote about his whole experience in more detail here: Changed career from HVAC-R tech to junior web dev at 35. Here’s my story...
• Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter

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Tom Hirst's inbox is full to the brim. It's practically spilling with emails from companies and clients inquiring to work with him! This demand comes from Tom's effective personal website and earns him six figures a year as a freelance WordPress developer.

Whether you are a would-be freelancer or aspiring Junior developer, Tom believes you should build a personal website, niche down to scale up and - above all else - put yourself out there (even if you're an introvert like him!) In this episode, Tom shows you how.

Timestamps

• Introduction (00:00)
• Why you need a personal website in 2021 (01:47)
• How to get your personal website off the ground without getting side-tracked (04:02)
• A quick quick introduction to SEO and Domain Authority (05:51)
• "Specialisation at the beginning of your career is one of the smartest things you can do" (10:42)
• The discipline of specialisation (12:38)
• How to start freelancing like Tom (15:04)
• Putting yourself out there as an introvert (17:29)
• UpWork: Yay or nay? (17:44)
• How to increase an employers confidence in you when you don't have much experience yet (20:19)
• Should you work on the cheap to get your foot in the door? (21:32)
• Building equity in yourself (24:39)
• Avoiding troublesome employers and manipulative clients (25:20)
• Tom wrote a book and it's free (27:21)
• Pricing yourself relative to the competition (28:58)

Links

• Tom's portfolio
• Ten Steps to Becoming a Better Developer by Tom
• Follow Tom on Twitter
• Follow Alex from Scrimba on Twitter

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There are two sides to every story, and a job interview can seem very different depending on whether you’re the interviewee or the interviewer. Cassidy Williams (Director of Developer Experience at Netlify and teacher here at Scrimba) has experienced both. She joins us today to share her experience and prove the interview process isn't as scary as it may seem.
Contents

• Introduction (00:00)
• What does Cassidy do at Netlify? (01:51)
• How Cassidy stays super productive (and how you can too) (03:58)
• How to "kill two birds with one scone" (07:31)
• Why you should learn and work in public (11:21)
• "The difference between a developer and a senior developer is that the senior developer says, 'I don't know' more." (13:50)
• How to start your career in tech (17:30)
• Why rejection is not a reflection of you or your ability (21:48)
• Should you apply to lots of companies or a few specific ones? (25:48)
• Small companies or big companies? (29:23)
• Cassidy's cool sister's (Cammi Williams) experience working at Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook (30:10)
• The importance of friendship in the developer community (34:00)
• Networking doesn't have to be gross 😷 - think about it like relationship-building (37:37)

Links from the show

• Getting a Gig: A Guide
• Mock React job interview (featuring Cassidy Williams and Stefi Rosca)
• Mock React job interview (featuring Cassidy Williams and Alejandro Aspinwall)
• Build Your Dream Network by J. Kelly Hoey

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When Erik started his coding career, several companies rejected him. Today, he works as a Front End Engineer at Amazon Web Services! Can you imagine how different things might have been had Erik let rejection block him? In this episode, Erik talks about how to think about rejection so it doesn't bother you, the tactics he would use to get a junior developer job in 2021, and how to glide into a recruiter's inbox. Finally, Erik compares React and Vue, and talks about the job prospects for each.

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Darin started his developer career as an intern. Now he works as a Senior Engineer at Wistia! This his advice for  new programmers considering an internship or junior developer position. We also delve into what companies look for in new programmers and if you really need the experience threshold before applying.

Links

• @_darindoria on Twitter
• @bookercodes from Scrimba on Twitter
• Subscribe to Darin on YouTube
• How I Landed My First Developer Job: My Internship Story by Darin
• Code With Me | 1hr Real Time w/ Lo-Fi Beats by Darin

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Kent has authored 180 blog posts, created courses on React and unit teseting, hosted podcasts like JavaScript Air and Angular Air. He's also given countless talks and eppared on presentations. From the outside lookign in, it's hard to imagine how he gets so much done!

Links

• @kentcdodds on Twitter
• @bookercodes from Scrimba on Twitter
• Zero to 60 in Software Development: How to Jumpstart Your Career (Kent C. Dodds)
• Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning (Peter C. Brown et al.)
• How I Teach (Kent C. Dodds)
• How to get experience as a software engineer (Kent C. Dodds)
• Intentional Career Building (Kent C. Dodds)
• Epic React course (Kent C. Dodds)
• Solidifying what you learn (Kent C. Dodds)

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Shawn (Swyx) Wang joins us to discuss his book, The Coding Career Handbook. In this episode, you'll learn principles, strategies, and actionable tactics that will help you become a hireable junior developer. For everything else, there's Swyx's book, for which you can receive 30% off using special code, SRIMBA30.

Timestamps

• 00:00 Introduction
• 1:37 When are you ready to apply for junior developer jobs?
• 03:40 What is learning in public and why is it important?
• 07:05 Learning in public is more selfish than alturistic
• 09:56 How to start learning in public
• 11:05 Preview of next week's episode 👀
• 12:30 Introduce a learning exhaust
• 15:00 The four gears of learning in public
• 17:47 Why working in the open can be magnetic
• 19:34 Teaching forces you to learn (and learn in depth)
• 20.05 Should you apply to lots of companies or just a few you really like?
• 22.44 How to get "lucky" more often
• 25.55 Alex shares his experience with learning in public
• 27:57 Swyx shares his experience learning in public

Links

• The Coding Career Handbook by Swyx (30% discount applied when you use this link)
• Learn in Public by Swyx
• Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
• Luck and the Entrepreneur by Marc Andreesen

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When you don't have a CompSci degree, you have to get creative 👀! Ehtisham found freelance work on UpWork by doing the work without permission. Next, he transferred his excellent reviews to earn a job interview! Now his job title is Front-end developer and he works remotely.

Timestamps

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:03 Start freelancing with no experience
• 03:36 Getting your first client
• 05:06 The impact of customer recommendations
• 06:40 Pricing yourself for opportunity
• 09:20 Turning freelance work experience into a full-time role
• 11:00 Ehtisham's new job
• 11:57 What the interview process looked like
• 13:15 Ehtisham's recommended resources

Links

• AIESEC
• Ehtisham on LinkedIn

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If you want to become a successful developer in 2021, communication skills are more important than you might think.

In this episode, Dylan Israel from Amazon talks about Agile software practices, teamwork, working with your manager, boundaries, and dealing with anxiety as someone on the shyer or introverted side.

Timestamps

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:40 What to expect when you join a new team
• 03:39 What is Agile development all about?
• 08:35 Beware companies masquerading as "Agile"
• 12:18 Ask these questions in your interview (and avoid a death march)
• 12:55 Why communication skills are more crucial than you might think
• 15:10 Effective communication is a learned skill
• 16:55 Introverts and extroverts
• 19:00 Communication in the workplace is unique - treat it as such
• 21:40 Books Dylan used to sharpen his communication skills (see links from the episode below)
• 24:17 You don't need to understand Agile that well before applying for jobs
• 25:39 One-way communication (screencasts, talks) vs. two-way communication (team communication)
• 27:30 How to deal with social anxiety (and how anxiety differs from stress)
• 32:30 What to expect from your manager and teammates

Links

• Check out Dylan
  • Watch Dylan's courses on Scrimba
  • Connect with Dylan on LinkedIn
  • Hire Dylan to mentor you via MentorCruise
• Links from the episode
  • Introduction to Clean Code (Scrimba) by Dylan himself
  • Clean Code by Uncle Bob
  • The Clean Coder (a code of conduct for professional programmers) by Uncle Bob
  • Clean Architecutre by Uncle Bob

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Karan found a job that needed two years of professional experience but as a recent Frontend Developer Career Path Graduate he didn't have any yet 😬 !

Equipped with a stunning portfolio and active GitHub profile, Karan applied anyway...

They practically hired him on the spot 🎉 proving these requirements don't always apply to the individual, and you should apply anyway!

Now Karan's learning lots while working on a project for a Fortune 500 company.

In this episode, you'll learn how Karan became a hireable programmer by helping others and what resources he used to crack the coding interview on his first try.

Timestamps

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:44 Karan talks about his new role
• 02:50 How did you learn to code well enough that you felt ready to start applying for jobs?
• 04:00 How did you structure your learning?
• 04:48 What was your job-hunting strategy?
• 07:04 What did your interview process look like?
• 12:20 Preview of next week's episode with Dylan Israel
• 14:22 How does a company test your personality or culture fit?
• 16:46 Karan got the job offer 15 minutes after his interview 🎉
• 17:20 Community
• 19:07 "Helping other people made me a good programmer"
• 22:00 Karan's advice to anyone looking for work
• 24:11 What resources helped you get the job the most?
• 26:15 Future of the Scrimba community with Alex

Show notes

• Karan's portfolio
• The Tech Resume Inside Out by Gergely Orosz
• De-Coding The Technical Interview Process by Emma Bostian
• JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures
• Best Web Dev Resources by Karan himself

Want to learn frontend development and secure your first technical job like Karan did? Enroll in the Scrimba Frontend Developer Career Path 🎉

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Pete has interviewed hundreds of self-taught developers for his website, NoCSDegree. In this episode, he shares his top 6 stories that YOU Can learn from to make money as an employee, freelancer, or entrepreneur (Pete covers all 3)
Timestamps

• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:00 How Beatrice used a meetup to advance their career
• 07:15 Arvid Kahl founded a $55K/month business
• 09:45 Please remember to subscribe and share the episode 😇
• 10:15 Aldhair went from cruise ship worker to developer in 5 months with Scrimba
• 12:32 Do you need to meet 100% of the requirements to apply for a job (nah)
• 15:54 Josy got a remote job as a junior dev 🎉
• 18:26 Richard earned $15k a month at just 22 from a rural area with low living costs
• 23:21 Tae'lur from waitress to developer
• 26:22 What do al these developers have in common?
• 28:05 Outro and thanks

Links

• Check out Pete
  • Follow Pete on Twitter
  • Subscribe to the NoCSDegree newsletter
  • Find entry-level job on NoCSOK
• Links from the episode
  • Getting a developer apprenticeship with a sociology degree (Beatrice)
  • Learning to code with no CS degree and making $55k a month (Arvid Kahl)
  • Covid career change - from cruise ship cleaner to developer (Aldhair)
  • Josy learned coding and now has a remote developer job (Josy)
  • From Waitress to Software Developer in 8 months (Tae'lur)
  • This 22 year old self-taught PHP developer earns $15k a month and lives in an Austrian farmhouse (Richard)

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Jack is a twenty-something Front End Engineer at Google. In this episode, you will learn from his experience as he traveled an ambitious and twisty career path that, ultimately, landed him a high-impact job on the Google Chrome Developers team.
Contents

• 00:00 How did the opportunity at Google come about?
• 02:39 What it's like working at Google?
• 04:01 The decision to become a professional developer
• 05:52 Do you need a computer science degree to work at Google?
• 9:23 Becoming a speaker
• 17:31 Publishing a book at 21
• 21:38 Finding work you love
• 27:00 Front end engineer vs. developer?
• 28:57 How Jack got into Google
• 31:20 Google developer interview process
• 34:08 How to change jobs when you already have one
• 37:03 What it's like at Google
• 38:41 Quick-fire questions 🔥

Links

• Scrimba swag give-away terms

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David tried DoorDash part-time while he learned to code on Scrimba. He is also a successful landscaping business owner. If you think these experiences wouldn't help David become a professional developer, then think again! This interview is about how David leveraged his experiences to position himself and secured an exciting developer job 🎉

Contents

• 00:20 Introduction
• 02:55 How David  got into code
• 05:30 What David learned about SEO
• 11:20 How David Tell us about the JOB  and how you stood out (Associate SEO strategist)
• 12:40 Transferring skills from what seem like irelavent previous experiences
• 13:45 How the Scrimba community helped David
• 14:50 How David found the community
• 16:30 Why talking in front of people is scary and how to overcome it
• 18:00 Did you make friends at Scrimba and how did they help you?

Links

• The Frontend Developer Career Path
• Career advice with Career Coach & Tech Recruiter Jermaine Jupiter
• Scrimba swag give-away terms

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In this episode, YOU will learn how to become a freelance designer or developer in 2021 💸

Contents

• 00:30 Introduction
• 02:27 What does being freelance mean?
• 05:39 Winning your first customers
• 06:36 Learning to love UpWork and Fiverr
• 08:12 Why you need marketing (even if you hate it)
• 15:00 Setting and agreeing prices
• 19:30 Valuing yourself
• 22:08 Managing client expectations
• 25:20 Personal branding
• 29:45 Building the perfect portfolio (avoid skill bars)
• 34:34 Best technologies for freelancers?
• 35:40 Gary's biggest mistake
• 37:38 Are no-code tools like WebFlow a threat?
• 39:12 Quick-fire questions 🔥

Links

• 🎨 Practice making high-quality mockups a reality in the browser with five stunning projects created by Gary Simon and coded by you

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In this episode, I spoke to Per about:

• The story behind Scrimba?
• Where did the name Scrimba come from anyhow?
• How Per reached 24,000 followers on Medium and why does it matter?
• What makes an awesome Scrimba course?
• Why did Scrimba make the Front-end Career Path?
• Diploma of the 21st century
• Selfish reasons to help other people
• What people can look forward to at Scrimba and the Scrimba community

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Kevin is the teacher behind Scrimba's ✨ epic ✨ 15 hour Responsive Web Design Bootcamp. You may also know him from his HTML & CSS Crash Course. 

Leanne from Scrimba (@RybaLeanne) recently interviewed Kevin about CSS on a live stream and invited anyone watching to ask questions. This was great because the viewers probably had similar questions to you! 

The answers Kevin gave on the spot were so good we thought to adapt that interview for an episode of The Scrimba Podcast.  

Some of our favourite questions:

• Do you need to be good at design and CSS to get a job?
• What are your top 3 tips for improving CSS?
• How important and relevant is Sass in 2021?
• What do you hate about CSS?
• Where to learn advance CSS (Kevin's Responsive Web Design Bootcamp of course!)

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Annemarie Visser learned frontend web development and became a full-time Junior Developer in only 5 months.

The secret sauce?

Anne embraced rejection and turned it into opportunity.

With only a few months experience, Anne sent her resume to 25+ companies full well expecting them to reject her. It sounds unorthodox but here is why it worked.

With each rejection, Anne politely asked "why?" and with the answers she got, dramatically accelerated her learning.

Because Anne was resilient to rejection, she learned what employers are looking for and where her blind spots were. As a result, she was able to focus on improving in the areas that matter most using the Frontend Career Path.

It's uncomfortable to face your weaknesses head-on but Anne knew what most people won't accept: Embracing discomfort is quickest path to success!

Anne was uniquely brave in this way and proved to us all that the worse someone can say is "no".

Of course, they might also say "yes"!

To Anne's surprise, she got an offer much earlier than she had anticipated. Now she is earning to learn which, we think, is a dream scenario for any aspiring developer 💸

True to character, Anne asked "why?" when she was hired and shares the reasons with us in this interview!

In this interview, I also asked Anne about:

• How Anne learned to code while raising a newborn 👶🏻
• Some examples of specific feedback she received when rejected
• Why Anne made a portfolio early and how number of projects isn't as important as you might think
• How Anne stood out against the competition for her specific role (Anne could communicate her thought process much clearer)
• Anne's top tips she WISH she knew at the beginning

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Alejandro coded EVERY DAY for 100 days and Tweeted his progress with the #100DaysOfCode hashtag.

After this 100 days sprit, Alejandro had a beautiful portfolio 🤩 and compelling GitHub account full of projects that proved to employers he could do the job even though he didn't have a computer science degree. 

While Alejandro continued polished his skills using Scrimba's Frontend Career Path he applied to take part in a special mock React job interview we hosted with Cassidy Williams.

HE PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS 🎉 so it was no surprise when 2 months later, Alejandro shared word of his new job.

It wasn't that surprising to hear that Alejandro had a lot of interest from recruiters either. Alejandro has a knack for marketing himself. In this episode, you'll learn his top tips to stand out among the competition.

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Meet Paul Lee.

In September 2020 Paul decided to learn to code and stumbled upon Scrimba. Just 7 months later he got an entry-level job in Tokyo 🎉

In this interview, I spoke to Paul about:

• Anxieties and doubt learning to code
• How Paul learned to trust the process and all of a sudden had 2 job offers
• How developer jobs work in Japan (I learned two-day internships are common)
• At Scrimba we claim "Our career path helps motivated students become hireable frontend developers for 1% of the cost" I asked Paul if we're telling the truth 😬

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Meet Justin Lowen (Justin Lowen#3893 on Discord) from San Antonio 🇺🇸.

Justin lost his job in the oil industry because of COVID-19. Less than one year later (and after 163 job applications) he was recruited as a professional developer!

Being recruited isn't something that happens by accident.

After 163 applications and several failed interviews, Justin managed to progressively optimise his LinkedIn, polish his resume and used Scrimba to close skills gaps revealed in previous interviews. I spoke to Justin so YOU can learn from his experience.

In this interview, I also spoke to Justin about:

• Justin's shotgun approach wherein he applied to more than 160 jobs
• Changing career later in life - going from senior petroleum engineer to junior software engineer
• Who should you listen to when it comes to CV/resume advice?
• How to be humble and prove you don't think you're "over-qualified" while still highlighting your potential to transfer skills from your previous, more senior role
• How to compete with young computer science and traditional bootcamp graduates

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After a modest launch among friends, Josh earned the attention of local news stations. COVID INVADERS 👾. went from a few hundred players to a few thousand. It was an overnight hit!

On the topic of hits, Josh performed a freestyle rap to accompany the game. He even rapped about Scrimba in our interview since it was the Frontend Developer Career Path that helped him build the game!

In this interview, Alex from Scrimba spoke to Josh about:

• How Josh got freelance clients at 15
• Why Josh doesn't care about a Computer Science degree
• Do young people have an unfair advantage when learning to code?
• How a can-do attitude and a knack for marketing earned Josh such an exciting opportunity
• How Josh went viral by identifying a trend, making the game work on all platforms (à la Fortnite), and promoting the fact he was young to his advantage - fair play 👏!

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When Benedicte returned from her pregnancy break, she was shocked to find that her university had stopped teaching her class!

After weighing her options, Benedicte made a brave decision to pursue web development.

At first, it was overwhelming.Benedicte didn't think she was smart enough.

She repeatedly questioned if she could do it and wondered if she would have to return to retail. Deep down, she knew that wasn't an option because of Coronavirus.

18 months into the journey, Benedicte felt tired.

Companies still weren't responding to her applications, and it made her want to quit...

Less than 2 months later, she got a phone call.

It was from a huge newspapers in Norway (VG). "You're HIRED," the manager said cheerfully!

In this interview, I spoke to Benedicte about

• How Scrimba and the Frontend Career Path helped her find success
• How to become invincible to rejection
• What to do when a job requires "2 years minimum experience" or a degree 🙄
• The specific details of her coding tasks (could you do them??)
• Her unique interview experience where she did pair programming on a Google Hangout but wasn't allowed to type any code 🤔

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Nico's story is incredible. After working as a bus driver for 5 years, he recently landed his first professional frontend development job showing us all it's never too late to be the change you want to see in your life.

In this episode, Nico and I explore many interesting topics including,

• Escaping the dreaded tutorial hell 🔥
• Pushing your comfort zone to secure multiplejob offers
• What Nico's two-day interview process looked like 😱
• Nico's tips for creating a résumé and portfolio that stand out (here's Nico's portfolio)
• How Nico weirdly helped himself by helping others in the Scrimba Discord (??)
• And more

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Meet Austėja Kazlauskytė - new mom, law graduate, and "mom-and-pop" entrepreneur turned front-end developer. This is the gutsy story about how Austėja found her passion for front-end development. It's about conquering fears, taking risks, and learning to navigate JavaScript, CSS, and the technical job interview 😱