The Scrimba Podcast

Meet Özge Ahras 🇹🇷! Özge studied computer enigneering, but felt her coding skills weren't up to par. She yearned to transition into frontend development and explore cutting-edge technologies, but the company she had spent eight years in was relying on vanilla javascript. Eventually, she discovered Scrimba, back in the day before the Frontend Career Path even existed. Can you imagine?

Özge fell in love with Scrimba's pedagogy and enrolled in the Path. But the journey wasn't without its challenges. It took her two and a half years to complete the course, balancing her studies with a demanding full-time job. And in February 2023, a devastating earthquake struck her hometown in southern Turkey. Yet Özge persevered, realizing that the true investment lay in nurturing her own growth and peace of mind.

Today, Özge is a front-end developer living in sunny Malta! You'll hear how she picked where she wanted to move and how she went about hunting for jobs, as well as learn one trick that boosted her job application success rate. Özge also shares the details of her interview process (spoiler: there was a bit that was slightly unconventional).

This is a story about giving yourself grace and time, staying motivated, and remaining curious!

🔗 Connect with Özge

• 👩‍💼 Linkedin
• 🌐 Portfolio
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub

⏰ Resources Mentioned

• Özge studied computer engineering and worked at the same company for eight years, but wanted to get better at frontend (01:03)
• How it felt to relearn JavaScript and React (04:15)
• Why JavaScript fixed 90% of Özge's work problems (06:43)
• Community Break with Jan the Producer (07:48)
• How Özge stayed motivated and learned to code alongside her full-time job (09:43)
• Özge's mindset shifted after a devastating earthquake that hit her hometown (11:13)
• Invest in yourself, that's the only thing you can't lose (12:50)
• The aftermath of the earthquake (14:02)
• Letting go of material goals (17:38)
• Why Özge moved to Malta to continue her career (18:35)
• Özge's job-hunting process: ChatGPT and reaching out directly (22:09)
• Özge's job interview (22:41)
• How Özge got a same-day coding assignment... And successfully completed it! (24:53)
• HR questions and a technical interview (26:31)
• And finally, the latest technologies! (27:41)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Learn React for free!
• Scrimba Bootcamp
• Frontend Career Path

⭐️ 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.

🎙 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

⏰ Timestamps

• How Luke stumbled upon coding by accident (02:11)
• Why Luke chose a career in the Army in the first place, and why he eventually retired (04:00)
• Why learning to code was challenging (06:19)
• On drive and (intrinsic) motivation (09:02)
• Were there any transferable skills that Luke gained in the Army? (12:11)
• Community break with Jan the Producer (14:11)
• How Luke got his first role in Tech (17:13)
• Job candidates lack attitude (19:02)
• Luke's first role was basically a learning opportunity (20:56)
• Why gettint your second developer job is easier (22:27)
• Quick-fire questions (23:05): Is Web3 dead?!
• Why LinkedIn is Luke's main platform, and why he helps aspiring developers (25:33)
• Luke's apprenticeship program (28:41)
• Job market's tough right now (33:34)
• Can you cultivate the right attitude? (36:11)

🧰 Resources 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

⭐️ 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.

🎙 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

⏰ Timestamps

• How Tiffany got interested in coding thanks to Neopets (02:07)
• What's the main difference between studying computer science and taking a coding bootcamp? (04:10)
• The importance of trying stuff out (05:36)
• What drew Tiffany into management... and data science (08:40)
• What does Tiffany's typical day at Vox look like? (09:52)
• Understanding company hierarchy for new developers (10:56)
• Project management vs. people management (16:00)
• What should a new developer look for in their engineering manager? (18:37)
• How does Tiffany choose between a stronger technical fit and a stronger culture fit when hiring? (22:42)
• Should you meet 100% of the requirements when applying for your first junior role? (27:41)
• How to build up the confidence needed for career advancement (29:09)
• How does Tiffany get out of her comfort zone? (32:31)
• How Tiffany became a career coach (33:26)
• What should a good resume do? (36:46)
• Why are resumes so difficult to get right? (37:14)
• Attaching numbers to your contributions on a resume: how to do it, and why? (40:48)
• How to approach online advice on job-hunting, so you don't lose your mind (45:38)
• Tiffany's advice for a new developer entering the job market (46:59)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

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

⭐️ 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 they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

🎙 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

⭐️ 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 🙏

🎙 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

⭐️ 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 🙏