The Scrimba Podcast

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.

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 TwitterSubscribe to Darin on YouTubeHow I Landed My First Developer Job: My Internship Story by DarinCode With Me | 1hr Real Time w/ Lo-Fi Beats by Darin

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 TwitterZero 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)

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.Timestamps00:00 Introduction1:37 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 alturistic09:56 How to start learning in public11:05 Preview of next week's episode 👀12:30 Introduce a learning exhaust15:00 The four gears of learning in public17:47 Why working in the open can be magnetic19:34 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 often25.55 Alex shares his experience with learning in public27:57 Swyx shares his experience learning in publicLinksThe Coding Career Handbook by Swyx (30% discount applied when you use this link)Learn in Public by SwyxShow Your Work by Austin KleonLuck and the Entrepreneur by Marc Andreesen

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. Timestamps00:00 Introduction01:03 Start freelancing with no experience03:36 Getting your first client05:06 The impact of customer recommendations 06:40 Pricing yourself for opportunity09:20 Turning freelance work experience into a full-time role11:00 Ehtisham's new job11:57 What the interview process looked like 13:15 Ehtisham's recommended resourcesLinksAIESECEhtisham on LinkedIn

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.Timestamps00:00 Introduction01:40 What to expect when you join a new team03:39 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 think15:10 Effective communication is a learned skill16:55 Introverts and extroverts19:00 Communication in the workplace is unique - treat it as such21:40 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 jobs25:39 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 teammatesLinksCheck out DylanWatch Dylan's courses on ScrimbaConnect with Dylan on LinkedInHire Dylan to mentor you via MentorCruiseLinks from the episodeIntroduction to Clean Code (Scrimba) by Dylan himselfClean Code by Uncle BobThe Clean Coder (a code of conduct for professional programmers) by Uncle BobClean Architecutre by Uncle Bob

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.Timestamps00:00 Introduction01:44 Karan talks about his new role02:50 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 Israel14:22 How does a company test your personality or culture fit?16:46 Karan got the job offer 15 minutes after his interview 🎉17:20 Community19:07 "Helping other people made me a good programmer"22:00 Karan's advice to anyone looking for work24:11 What resources helped you get the job the most?26:15 Future of the Scrimba community with AlexShow notesKaran's portfolioThe Tech Resume Inside Out by Gergely OroszDe-Coding The Technical Interview Process by Emma BostianJavaScript Algorithms and Data StructuresBest Web Dev Resources by Karan himselfWant to learn frontend development and secure your first technical job like Karan did? Enroll in the Scrimba Frontend Developer Career Path 🎉

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)Timestamps00:00 Introduction02:00 How Beatrice used a meetup to advance their career07:15 Arvid Kahl founded a $55K/month business09:45 Please remember to subscribe and share the episode 😇10:15 Aldhair went from cruise ship worker to developer in 5 months with Scrimba12:32 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 costs23:21 Tae'lur from waitress to developer26:22 What do al these developers have in common?28:05 Outro and thanksLinksCheck out PeteFollow Pete on TwitterSubscribe to the NoCSDegree newsletterFind entry-level job on NoCSOKLinks from the episodeGetting 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)

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.Contents00:00 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 developer05:52 Do you need a computer science degree to work at Google?9:23 Becoming a speaker17:31 Publishing a book at 2121:38 Finding work you love27:00 Front end engineer vs. developer?28:57 How Jack got into Google31:20 Google developer interview process34:08 How to change jobs when you already have one37:03 What it's like at Google38:41 Quick-fire questions 🔥LinksScrimba swag give-away terms

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 🎉Contents00:20 Introduction02:55 How David got into code05:30 What David learned about SEO11:20 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 experiences13:45 How the Scrimba community helped David14:50 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?LinksThe Frontend Developer Career PathCareer advice with Career Coach & Tech Recruiter Jermaine JupiterScrimba swag give-away terms

In this episode, YOU will learn how to become a freelance designer or developer in 2021 💸Contents00:30 Introduction02:27 What does being freelance mean?05:39 Winning your first customers06:36 Learning to love UpWork and Fiverr08:12 Why you need marketing (even if you hate it)15:00 Setting and agreeing prices19:30 Valuing yourself22:08 Managing client expectations25:20 Personal branding29:45 Building the perfect portfolio (avoid skill bars)34:34 Best technologies for freelancers?35:40 Gary's biggest mistake37:38 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

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 centurySelfish reasons to help other peopleWhat people can look forward to at Scrimba and the Scrimba community

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!)

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 rejectedWhy Anne made a portfolio early and how number of projects isn't as important as you might thinkHow 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

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.

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 codeHow Paul learned to trust the process and all of a sudden had 2 job offersHow 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 😬

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 jobsChanging career later in life - going from senior petroleum engineer to junior software engineerWho 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 roleHow to compete with young computer science and traditional bootcamp graduates

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 15Why Josh doesn't care about a Computer Science degreeDo 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 opportunityHow 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 👏!

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 aboutHow Scrimba and the Frontend Career Path helped her find successHow to become invincible to rejectionWhat 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 🤔

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

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 😱