We're Emma Bostian, Sidney Buckner, Kelly Vaughn, and Ali Spittel - four seasoned software developers working in different sectors. Since there's a major lack of technical podcasts out there, we've decided to start one. Just kidding -- there's already a ton! But, we wanted to add our voices to the space and share our experiences and advice. We'll have great discussions around how to start coding, the hot technologies right now, how to get your first developer job, and more! Check out our website!
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How to Create a Study Plan
What is it about sitting down building a good study plan that... kinda sucks? Is it the planning? The execution? The Time commitment? Are we committing to learn too much? Regardless of this answer, today we’re sitting down to talk about how to better prepare to learn, how to execute a study plan to meet your goals, build better habits to help you learn and some of our own experiences learning how to learn. Show Notes [05:22] What is a study plan? [14:25] How Do You execute it? [29:05] Learning how to learn [42:48] Make a todo list [47:32] Start with something small [53:06] At least touch it once a day [1:02:03] Analyzing Your habits [1:03:40] Showing or sharing your progress & results [1:05:39] What If You get Stuck? [1:09:16] Shoutouts Resources How to create a study plan video Atomic Habits We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers Mindset by Carol Dweck Start With Why by Simon Sinek Learning How To Learn Ladybug Episode Coursera's Learning How To Learn Make It Stick Moonwalking With Einstein The Power of Habit Why We Sleep Tiny Habits Trello Todoist Asana Ali’s trello set up Badass Habits by Jen Cincero You are a Badass by Jen Cincero DynamoDB book by Alex DeBrie Getting Started In Tech Wellington Johnson The Beginning Software Engineer’s Playbook Amy Cruz Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 2nd Edition Transcript Here is this episode's transcript
How to Choose a Tech Stack
Welcome back to the 6th season of the Ladybug Podcast!! In this episode, we’ll be chatting about choosing a tech stack for your project is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as an engineer. It will determine many aspects of your app, from development speed, to scalability, to the cost to run it. We’ll talk about how to choose technologies from two angles: one from an individual developer’s perspective: how do you decide what to learn? And the second from an architectural perspective: how do you decide what technologies to use for your project? Show Notes [02:53] What is a tech stack? [06:01] What are some main points to think about when choosing what to learn? [13:11] Look at job posts in your area [19:49] How to deal with overwhelm [25:28] Think Through your app [31:01] Your engineering resources [39:51] Is the technology production ready? [52:18] Technical concerns [1:00:09] Other important thoughts [1:08:52] Shoutouts Resources Ladybug interview episode Ladybug resume episode Ladybug learning path episode Core-js Article Colby Fayock Ladybug Systems Design Episode Lodash vs. underscore StackShare Transcript This episode's Transcript
So You've got a Job Offer, Now What?
You studied a bunch, landed the interview, passed the whiteboarding exercises, nailed the behavioral interview, and finally got the job. Congratulations on your new position! So now what? Today we’re sharing some of our experiences to help your job transition happen smoothly. Let’s get into it. Show Notes [01:54] Salary Negotiation [11:43] What to do in the first two weeks [50:42] Shoutouts Resources Grammarly - https://www.grammarly.com/ 5 Reasons Why Spotify’s onboarding is better than yours - https://compiled.blog/blog/five-reasons-why-spotifys-onboarding-is-better-than-yours Cross-cultural Communication - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/cross-cultural-communication?rq=culture Crucial Conversations - https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Conversations-Talking-Stakes-Second/dp/1469266822 Gusto - https://gusto.com/ Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/70-so-you-got-a-job.md
Getting Hooked on React Part 2
React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces and is one of the most widely used libraries to date. Last season we discussed the basics of React and today we’re going to dive into the more advanced aspects of the library. Let’s get started. Episode Notes [04:16] React Hooks [22:28] State Management [26:43] Design Patterns [40:39] Performance [49:33] Testing [51:15] Prop types and TypeScript [55:21] Shoutouts Resources Getting Hooked On React - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/getting-hooked-on-react?rq=react React patterns - https://reactpatterns.com/ React Chrome Developer Tools - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/react-developer-tools/fmkadmapgofadopljbjfkapdkoienihi react-window - https://react-window.now.sh/#/examples/list/fixed-size react-virtualized - https://bvaughn.github.io/react-virtualized/#/components/List Methods of Improving & Optimizing Performance In React Apps - https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2020/07/methods-performance-react-apps/ React Testing Library - https://testing-library.com/docs/react-testing-library/intro/ Enzyme - https://enzymejs.github.io/enzyme/ Jest - https://jestjs.io/docs/en/getting-started A Complete Guide to useEffect - https://overreacted.io/a-complete-guide-to-useeffect/ Use Refs Sparingly - https://blog.logrocket.com/why-you-should-use-refs-sparingly-in-production/ Presentational and Stateful components thoughts - https://medium.com/@dan_abramov/smart-and-dumb-components-7ca2f9a7c7d0 Episode with Angie - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/teaching-code Kent C. Dodd’s Testing React - https://testingjavascript.com/ TypeScript book Stefan Baumgartner - https://typescript-book.com/ Playground Inspector Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@lukedonkin/video/6898240190133980418?lang=en Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/69-intermediate-react.md
An Introduction to E-Commerce
2020 was one of the biggest years in the history of e-commerce. In fact, the pandemic spurred such a growth in e-commerce that the industry as a whole moved forward about 10 years in 3 months’ time. Whether you’re interested in starting your own store or learning how to develop for e-commerce, this week on the podcast we’re breaking it all down for you. Episode Notes [02:40] Platforms [07:22] Why e-commerce over brick & mortar [11:08] Starting your own store [41:16] Developing for e-commerce [49:03] Shoutouts Resources The Originals - https://www.amazon.com/Originals-How-Non-Conformists-Move-World/dp/014312885X The Power of Habit - https://www.amazon.com/Power-Habit-What-Life-Business/dp/081298160X Printful - https://www.printful.com/ Printify - https://printify.com/ TeeLaunch - https://teelaunch.com/ Creative Market - https://creativemarket.com/ Steve Schoger's Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/design-for-devs?rq=design Placeit.net - https://placeit.net/ Jenna Kutcher Writing a Bio - https://jennakutcherblog.com/5-ways-write-better-bio-page/ Accessibility Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/web-accessibilitiy?rq=accessibility Growth Hacker Marketing - https://www.amazon.com/Growth-Hacker-Marketing-Primer-Advertising/dp/1591847389 Such a Fun Age - https://www.amazon.com/Such-Fun-Age-Kiley-Reid/dp/052554190X Think Again - https://www.amazon.com/Think-Again-Power-Knowing-What/dp/1984878107 Jamstack Ecommerce - https://github.com/jamstack-cms/jamstack-ecommerce Next.js Ecommerce Starter - https://nextjs.org/commerce Shopify.dev - https://shopify.dev/concepts/shopify-introduction Shopify Devs Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/shopifydevs Shopify Partners - https://www.shopify.com/partners Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/68-ecommerce.md
Cryptography
Cryptography is a method of protecting information and communication through the use of code so only those for whom the information is intended can read and process it. Cryptography is used for many things from online banking to GitHub commits. Today we’ll dive into the basics of cryptography. Let’s get started! Show Notes [0:25] Our experience with cryptography [03:08] What is cryptography? [04:21] Four objectives of cryptography [09:44] Types of cryptography [23:34] Historical Cryptography [30:54] How to learn cryptography [32:34] Shoutouts We got this note about RSA private/public keys from a listener: "The point of having public and private keys is that the public key can only encrypt a message, and only the private key can decrypt the message. So the public key is safe for anyone to have, since you can’t use it to read anyone else’s message. The private key needs to stay private so only you can read messages encrypted by the public key" Thanks for the clarification, Brad! Resources Coursera course - https://www.coursera.org/learn/crypto#syllabus Crash course - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhXCTbFnK8o Khan academy - https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/cryptography Passport JS - http://www.passportjs.org/ OAuth - https://oauth.net/2/ Episode with Tailor Tolliver on security - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/web-security?rq=security The Code Book by Simon Singh - https://www.amazon.com/Code-Book-Science-Secrecy-Cryptography/dp/0385495323 Carcassonne - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/822/carcassonne Auth0 - https://auth0.com/ Amazon Cognito - https://aws.amazon.com/cognito/ Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/67-cryptography.md
Financial Planning
It’s no secret that a major perk to working in development is the salary. Developers are often paid higher than the average salary, and as you move up in a company, you can see significant growth in your income. We all know financial literacy is often skipped in early education, which is why this week we’re talking all things financial planning with our special guest, Shannon Lee Simmons, to teach you what you need to know about managing your finances as a high earner. Show Notes [0:41] Tell us about yourself and what you do [02:00] Where to find a financial advisor? [03:48] What does it mean to be a high earner? [06:47] One of the biggest questions I see asked is whether you should save your money or pay off your debt first. How do you decide what to do with your money? [10:57] What benchmarks exist for net worth? Should we care? Where should you keep your money? How much should be kept in cash vs. investments? [19:14] How should you balance your lifestyle with wealth building? How do you recommend avoiding lifestyle creep but on the flip side, how do you make sure you’re allowing yourself to enjoy your money while also saving for the future? [23:09] We have an international audience so without getting too specific about different types of retirement accounts, what general advice can you give to those looking to save for retirement? When is the right time to see a financial advisor [28:27] What are your thoughts of the FIRE movement? [32:28] What are options and restricted stock units/RSUs? When should I consider taking equity for a lower salary? [36:04] Do you have any thoughts/ advice to any of these Wall Street Bets people investing in GME stocks? What tools do you recommend to people to help manage their finances? [41:42] Shoutouts [44:29] Where can our listeners find you on the internet? Resources New School of Finance - https://newschooloffinance.com Worry-Free Money - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07169VZRM Financial Starter Kit - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B2LQ98X Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/66-personal-finance.md
Getting Started With The Cloud
Episode Notes You may have heard about the Cloud and thought, what do the fluffy things in the sky have to do with computers? Today’s episode is all about what the cloud is, how you can use it, and common cloud services. Show Notes 2:29 - What is the cloud? 14:09 - Benefits of cloud vs. physical servers 23:06 - Four types of cloud computing 28:42 - Cloud providers 32:39 - Gettings started with AWS 36:33 - Big services Resources AWS Six Advantages of Cloud Computing - https://docs.aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/latest/aws-overview/six-advantages-of-cloud-computing.html (some phrasing from the benefits section is from this article) Pummelling the Platform–Performance Testing Shopify: https://shopify.engineering/performance-testing-shopify Explain the Cloud Like I'm 10: https://www.amazon.com/Explain-Cloud-Like-Im-10-ebook/dp/B0765C4SNR 97 Things Every Cloud Engineer Should Know - https://www.amazon.com/Things-Every-Cloud-Engineer-Should/dp/1492076732 A Cloud Guru - https://acloudguru.com/ AWS Heroes - https://aws.amazon.com/developer/community/heroes/ Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/65-cloud-101.md
Writing Ebooks
Last season we discussed the broader topic of creating digital content. This week on the podcast we’re doing a deeper dive into e-books: our experience with writing and releasing them, the tools you need to write your own ebook, and best practices for marketing and selling your book. Episode Notes [1:33] Our experience with E-books [6:05] Self-published vs. Publisher [11:20] Software for creating an E-book [15:49] Where can I sell my E-book? [25:01] Pricing [34:51] Top tips [43:00] Shoutouts Resources Canva - https://www.canva.com/ Bookwright - https://www.blurb.com/bookwright Leanpub - https://leanpub.com/ Shopify - https://www.shopify.com/ Payhip - https://payhip.com/ Podia - https://www.podia.com/ How I Made $40,000 Off An E-Book Before I Published It - https://compiled.blog/blog/how-i-made-40000-dollars-on-a-book 10 Things I Wish I knew before learning to code - ebook.welearncode.com The Beginner’s Guide To Blogging - https://payhip.com/b/FX8C Start Freelancing Today - https://startfreelancing.today/ De-Coding The Technical Interview Process - https://technicalinterviews.dev/ Adobe Indesign - https://www.adobe.com/products/indesign.html Otter.ai - https://otter.ai/ Send Owl - https://www.sendowl.com/ Nikema's Book - https://nikemaprophet.com/ Mailchimp - https://mailchimp.com/ ConvertKit - https://convertkit.com/ Stripe - https://stripe.com/ Sendy - https://sendy.co/ Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/64-ebooks.md
Get to Know Your Co-workers: Non-Developer Tech Roles
There are a bunch of people you’ll work with as a software engineer -- many will be other developers, but many have other jobs as well. In this episode we’ll talk about the other people you may work with: the designers, project managers, marketers, and more and how to best work with them. Let’s dive in. Show Notes [3:29] Product Management [7:37] Design [11:34] UX Research [13:53] Management [18:57] Marketing [20:50] Sales [22:06] Business Development [22:53] Technical Writing [25:28] Account Management [29:16] QA Engineer [32:22] Scrum Master [34:35] DevRel Resources Growth Hacker Marketing - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18454317-growth-hacker-marketing Project managers vs. product managers - https://www.paymoapp.com/blog/product-manager-vs-project-manager/ Google Optimize - https://optimize.google.com LB Episode With Amal - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/engineering-management?rq=engineering%20management The Manager’s Path - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33369254-the-manager-s-path Crucial Conversations - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15014.Crucial_Conversations Resilient Management - https://resilient-management.com/ Testing episode with Angie - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/testing-101?rq=testing Kim Maida’s episode about dev advocacy - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/developer-communities?rq=developer%20advocacy Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/63-non-dev-jobs.md
Web Security
It’s more important than ever to build secure web applications, but many developers forget to account for web security. In this episode, we’re joined by Tailor Herrarte, an Infosec Engineer, Cybersecurity Career consultant, beauty ambassador & content creator who goes by the moniker The Digital Empress. Today we're discussing types of web security, the dangers of lacking said security and a few things you can do to keep your site secure. Let’s get started. Show Notes [2:20] All About Tailor [12:33] Content Security [27:36] Connection Security [30:35] Data Security [35:02] Integrity [39:40] Clickjacking [43:28] Questions from Twitter [52:09] Shoutouts Resources Tailor’s Website - https://thedigitalempress.com/ Tailor’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/digitalempress Tailor’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_zhS3gcMQrruGcv6WVm_w The Ultimate Guide For Getting Into Cybersecurity For Beginners - https://thedigitalempress.com/store/p/the-ultimate-guide-for-getting-into-cybersecurity-for-beginners-ebook Proton Mail - https://protonmail.com/ Dashlane - https://www.dashlane.com/ LastPass - https://www.lastpass.com/ OnePass - https://1password.com/ Security Plus - https://www.comptia.org/certifications/security MDN Security - https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Security Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/62-security.md
Coding Bootcamps: What You Should Consider Before Signing Up
Episode Notes Coding bootcamps aim to help students gain the skills they need to land their first job in web development in months instead of years. Today we’ll be diving into some of the benefits and drawbacks of coding bootcamps, and we’ll explore our personal experiences learning from them and teaching at them. Shownotes [3:01] Our Bootcamp experiences [9:58] What are bootcamps [21:05] Benefits and drawbacks of bootcamps [42:29] What comes after the bootcamp [46:31] Shoutouts Resources Sidney's video on bootcamps - https://youtu.be/TTu8KQ1BdGs General Assembly - https://generalassemb.ly/ Emma’s DeCoding The Technical Interview Process - https://technicalinterviews.dev/ Launch Code - https://www.launchcode.org/ Savvy Coders - https://savvycoders.com/ Ladybug Learning how to Learn Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/learning-to-learn Georgia Tech Masters Degree - https://www.cc.gatech.edu/ Coursera Degree Programs - https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelors Emma’s Technical Resume Course - https://www.linkedin.com/learning/writing-a-tech-resume Ladybug Portfolio Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/technical-portfolios?rq=portfolio 200 Black women in tech to follow - https://hackernoon.com/200-black-women-in-tech-to-follow-on-twitter-2020-list-1uck31a9 Ladybug Technical Resume Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/resumes?rq=resume Ladybug Podcast YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCakPieAEGG42zBuaf-qZCBA Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/61-bootcamps.md
Getting Started with Next.js
One of the hottest new technologies in the frontend ecosystem is Next.js. Why is it so awesome? And what can you use it for? In this episode we’ll be talking all about it. Show Notes 01:45 - What is Next.js 7:05 - What are some of its benefits 23:09 - SSG vs. SSR 27:38 - Routing 38:17 - Shoutouts Resources Ladybug YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCakPieAEGG42zBuaf-qZCBA Chris Enns https://www.lemonproductions.ca/ Teenage Bounty Hunters https://www.netflix.com/title/80244296 DEV Toast Post https://dev.to/ekafyi/a-bite-of-toast-the-new-jamstack-meta-framework-4nel Toast GitHub Repo https://github.com/toastdotdev/toast Next.js Documentation https://nextjs.org/ Next.js E-commerce Starter https://nextjs.org/commerce Gatsby https://www.gatsbyjs.com/ Nuxt.js https://nuxtjs.org/ Nest https://nestjs.com/ Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/master/transcripts/60-nextjs.md
21 Web Development Trends We're Watching in 2021
Season 5 is finally here and we are so excited to kick it off with a new host, Sidney! We have finally said goodbye to 2020, so what can we expect to be the new trends, the hip tech. We can't predict the future but we can tell you our predictions for trends in 2021. [3:47] 1) Working Remotely [6:50] 2) Cloud Security [11:36] 3) Decentralization of tech workers [14:54] 4) Framer motion [16:50] 5) Metaframeworks [21:42] 6) Headless CMS [23:39] 7) Online IDEs [26:37] 8) Low code [29:15] 9) TypeScript [33:16] 10) Progressive Web Apps [36:20] 11) Styled components [38:47] 12) AI/ML [41:56] 13) Alternative interface development [45:37] 14) Minimalist web frameworks [47:04] 15) New CSS Libraries [50:24] 16) Static site deployment tools [52:25] 17) Responsive design [54:58] 18) Deno [57:13] 19) Ecommerce [59:46] 20) Server-side rendering [1:01:50] 21) System design [1:04:23] Shoutouts Resources A Software Engineer's Guide to Seniority - https://www.gitcuteguide.dev Jarvis Johnson’s Twitter Hack Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMG_KN7GMXI 2PM's book list for 2021 - https://2pml.com/2020/11/02/essential-reading Ladybug Animation Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/micro-interactions-and-animation-libraries?rq=animation Ladybug Working Remote Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/working-remotely Ladybug Microinteractions Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/micro-interactions-and-animation-libraries Scott Tolinski’s Framer Motion Course - https://www.leveluptutorials.com/tutorials/animating-react-with-framer-motion Ladybug Podcast Content Creation Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/creating-digital-content Code Sandbox - https://codesandbox.io/s Ives' Twitter - https://twitter.com/CompuIves Cloud9 - https://www.cloud9.gg/ Codespaces - https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/codespaces Nacelle - https://getnacelle.com Scott Tolinski's Styled Components Course - https://www.leveluptutorials.com/tutorials/styled-components Styled Components - https://styled-components.com/ Ladybug CSS Part 2 Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/css-part-2?rq=flexbox Ladybug Systems Design Episode - https://www.ladybug.dev/episodes/systems-design Tiny Habits - https://www.tinyhabits.com/ Transcript https://github.com/ladybug-podcast/ladybug-website/blob/e598a02a814f551cf8091729fe3b7b8944262979/transcripts/59-21-trends-2021.md
Python
Normally, we talk about frontend development -- but there’s so many other niches within programming out there. Today we’re going to talk about Python what it’s used for, why it’s great, and how it’s different than JavaScript. Shownotes 01:16 - Our experiences with Python 03:37 - What is Python? 15:50 - What is it used for? 23:37 - How is it different from JavaScript? 32:35 - Resources for learning more 34:15 - Shoutouts Resources The Zen of Python Level up with JavaScript I'm a Snake Video Coursera Automate the Boring Stuff with Python Hitchiker's Guide to Python Practical Business Python Transcript Here is the transcript for this week's episode.