The Driven Developer: Recent Episodes
Byron Sommardahl
Garret Hamann is currently working as a Senior Software Engineer at Google working on Google Play. He has worked for several large corporations for extended periods of time. He worked for Nokia for ten years. He shares his experience working for large corporations.
You can find Garret on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamanng
What You Will Learn:
- What great developers do at large corporations
- The difference between a manager and a coach
- When a junior developer is ready to become a senior developer
Colleen Reidelbach is CRO at Acklen Avenue. She is the host of the podcast Build Better Tech, a podcast on how the nation’s leading companies use tech as a business strategy to win. She gives her advice on the best ways to work with clients as a great developer and communicator.
You can listen to her podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/build-better-tech-how-the-nations-leading-companies/id1486402397
What You Will Learn:
- The conversations that great developers need to have
- How to talk with clients in an effective way
- How to work with non-technical clients
Jeremy DeYoung has been building software applications for about the last 20 years. He also has worked with many startups. He is a self-defined coder but not a developer and goes through the distinction. He shares how he got into programming without going to college. He talks about the dangers of creating code just to impress your boss as opposed to creating good code that works well.
What You Will Learn:
- How to be a great Senior Developer
- The benefits of the 18-month rule
- Pair Programming
- The rule of 7 backups
Fernando Isias is an IOS Developer at Google for the past six years. He sits down with Byron to talk about the evolution of machine learning and how QA could be improved by developers. He shares what he thinks makes a great developer at both start ups and big companies. You can follow Fernando on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fernandoescher?lang=en
What You Will Learn:
- How BlockChain is opening people’s minds
- The future of machine learning
- Where QA fits
- Working at a startup vs. working for a big company
Rene Rosa from X-Team joins the show today. He wanted to enter the field of electrical engineering but not enough people had signed up for the classes. So out of necessity, he switched to studying programming. He gives his tips on how geeks can be less geeky and how shyness can hurt your career. Learn more about X-Team here: https://x-team.com/
What You Will Learn:
- The new faces of programming
- The biggest thing that will hold you back
- The value of working with intention
- Why you need to balance your career and personal life
Derek Greer is a software developer specializing in C Sharp for about 15 years. He started studying computer science in school not knowing much about it. He served as a mentor to Byron and talks about why sharing your knowledge is important.
What You Will Learn:
- New implementations of code that are changing the game
- Test-driven development v. Behavior-driven development
- Is test-drive development appropriate for every project?
- What component-level tests are and how they are useful
The Technical Product Manager from Minno, Andres Flores is here today. He talks about what managers really do even when it seems like they’re just in meetings. He started coding in college, which lead to interning for Hero Unit under Byron, where he had to learn a brand new language. Byron tells the story of why he threw Andres through the wringer during his internship.
What You Will Learn:
- What happens when you switch into management
- How to quickly learn a new language
- Why you need to come out of your comfort zone
- Why great developers take notes
From Dallas, Texas Tim Corey, a developer, Microsft MVP, and the host of his YouTube Channel I am Tim Corey, joins Byron today. He got started in programming when his grandfather gave him a computer that was going to be thrown out. He talks about learning how to code from a book when he was a kid. Tim shares his story of when he almost quit coding and what brought him back. You can listen to his podcast “Dev Questions” or watch his YouTube Channel I Am Tim Corey.
https://www.youtube.com/user/IAmTimCorey
What You Will Learn:
- The importance of owning up to your problems.
- What makes a great senior developer
- The steps of the learning cycle
- Why hello world is more important than you think
Cristian “Thecap” is started studying astrophysics but was surprised to learn that there was not a lot of money in the field. He then began coding as a hobby and then decided to follow his dreams and make coding a full-time career. He discusses how to write code for humans not for computers. Cristian also talks about when it’s time to make a transition in your career.
What You Will Learn:
- The skills you need to succeed as a developer
- How to be a full stack human
- The importance of turning off your phone
- Balancing making money vs. what you want to be doing
From all the way across the pond, UK developer David Roberts shares his experience working at Arc.Dev, where he helps developers get jobs. He started developing when he didn’t know what he wanted to study and his dad encouraged him to pursue a career in coding. While he didn’t love it at first, he shares how his passion for coding grew. Learn more about Arc.Dev here: https://arc.dev/
What You Will Learn:
- The benefits of diversity in technology
- How imposter syndrome can hurt you
- How to sell yourself for the job
- What a client is looking for in a developer
- The importance of a side project
Straight from Berlin, Alex Migusky is a senior developer working a Microsoft working on the GitHub Team. He moved to Berlin to join several startups before ultimately landing a job a Microsoft. He discusses the new Microsoft and how it has become more developer-oriented. He discusses what makes a great developer and team player.
You can find Alex on GitHub: https://github.com/mr-mig
What You Will Learn:
- What developers need to get better at
- Why it’s important to improve your communication skills as a coder
- Why you should taking ownership over your projects
- How to adapt to a new team
Tommy Norman is Vice President of Agile Operations at Acklen Avenue in Nashville, TN. For almost 30 years he has been helping clients build solutions using Agile approaches. Tommy discusses his take on the future of AI and the importance of continuous improvement.
What You Will Learn:
- Fail fast and learn quickly
- Consumer first, technology second
- When to have those crucial conversations
- How to accelerate your path
Alejandro Corpeño is a software developer who runs Hello Iconic. He knows works with a range of clients from Disney to new startups. He created the app Dead Yourself for the Walking Dead. When he was young, he learned how to draw with code by recreating Beavis and Butthead. Now he’s excited that software has expanded beyond coders to everyone. You can find out more about his company
Hello Iconic here: https://www.helloiconic.com/.
What You Will Learn:
- How to be productive even if you’re not coding
- The pros and cons of having a deep knowledge of one field
- What the ideal T-shape developer looks like
- How developers can communicate and sound more human
Isaac Martinez is an experienced software developer. He talks about how winning his first laptop in a cookie raffle led to him learning how to code. They discuss a new take on how to deal with technical debt. Isaac gives tips to Junior Developers to stay on top of the industry.
In this episode, we're talking about some more "senior" ways to approach technical debt in a software project.
What You Will Learn:
- What makes a great coder
- How to deal with technical debt
- How to document technical debt in a way that’s productive
- The value of writing less code
Today’s guest Viktor Zavala is the Senior Front End Developer at Cool Blue, an electronics store in the Netherlands. In high school, he began programming in his senior year. Now he’s excited for the future of front-end development. He talks about the importance of continuing to learn and communicate with your team even as you grow in your career.
In this episode, we're talking about how to develop a mindset that is more "senior-like".
You can find Viktor on Github at https://github.com/ZSnake .
What You Will Learn:
- The key aspects of a senior developer
- What developers should get better at
- Communicating clearly with your team and asking questions
- How to show a non-technical client you care about their project
Will Johns is a staff engineer at the Butterfly Network. He is a strong believer in giving back to the community through coding. They discuss how the recruiting landscape has drastically changed over the past years.
Today we're going to be taking a tour of some healthy habits of senior developers and some unhealthy habits of junior developers.
What You Will Learn:
- The future of software development
- How companies are using low code and no-code solutions
- When and how to ask questions at a new job
- What software developers need to get better at
- Hallmarks of a great developer
Carlos Solorzano is the Director of Technology at Acklen Avenue. He has been coding since he was 10 years old when he wanted to know how video games were made. Currently, he’s been working in Godot to create new games. He tells the story of the worst thing he’s ever done with code when he was working at a pharmacy. He goes over the best way to prioritize your work in the most productive way and the importance of being a well-rounded coder. And he gives advice to young developers.
In this episode, we're discussing client management, time management and all things "senior developer."
You can learn more about Acklen Avenue at https://acklenavenue.com/ .
What You Will Learn:
- Where the F5 button came from
- The pros and cons of quantum computing
- The difference between a coder, a developer, a programmer, and an engineer
- The importance of client management
The Driven Developer is a podcast for aspiring master developers. Each week we will host a new guest with new advice for anyone wanting to level-up their game.