Hear from inspiring developers about how they found meaningful and fulfilling work that that also pays them well. On the #StoriesByScrimba Podcast, you'll hear motivational advice and job-hunting strategies from developers who've been exactly where you are now. We talk to developers about their challenges, learnings, and switching industries in the hopes of inspiring YOU. This is the podcast that provides the inspiration, tools, and roadmaps to move from where you are to work that matters to you and uniquely fits your strengths and talents.
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Career Advice From a Vue Core Team Member
🎙 About the episodeMeet 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 ReviewIf 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 🙏
Learning to Code Alongside a Full-Time Job: How Josh Went from Property Manager to Junior Developer in 10 Months with Scrimba
🎙 About the episodeMeet 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 ReviewIf 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 🙏
Lessons Learned Recruiting and Managing Junior Developers for 10 Years
🎙 About the episodeJason 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 ReviewIf 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 🙏
Advice from a Junior Developer Career Coach
🎙 About the episodeAnna 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 ReviewIf 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 🙏
3 Months and 600 Job Applications Later: How Fredrik Became a Junior Developer in Record Time with Scrimba
🎙 About the episodeMeet 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 mentionedAngelList⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf 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 🙏
How to become a successful Junior Developer with Danny Thompson
🎙 About the episodeMeet 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 ReviewIf 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 🙏
This Scrimba student dropped out of college to learn online instead - now she's a Junior Developer!
🎙 About the episodeMeet 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 ReviewIf 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 your host, Alex from Scrimba, at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏!
Origin of the name Scrimba, winning the lottery, and our biggest mistakes - Christmas special QnA with Team Scrimba
🎙 About the episodeMerry 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 ⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf 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 🙏
Career advice from the maintainer Redux, Mark Erikson
🎙 About the episodeMeet 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 ⭐️ Leave a ReviewIf 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 🙏
Recruited by Activision to code email templates (best first Developer job ever?)
🎙 About the episodeTony 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 ReviewIf 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 🙏
How an effective portfolio landed Claire her first remote Junior Developer role
🎙 About the episodeClaire 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 ReviewIf 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 🙏
From Photographer to Developer at 35
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
Becoming a Standout Developer with Randall Kanna
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)
From a PhD in Materials Science to Junior Developer with Scrimba
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
Advice from a Senior Silicon Valley Engineer
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