Develop Yourself

In this episode we speak with Johnny Dallas. Johnny started coding in middle school, got a paid internship and eventually ended up dropping out of high school to be a software engineer full-time. The company Johnny worked for was eventually acquired. He became one of the youngest engineers at Amazon and recently left to start his own company.  In our conversation, Johnny and I discussed the best w...

In this episode, Aaron shares his own story of battling depression and how becoming a Software Engineer has helped his mental health and changed his life. Enjoy! Links Lost Connections Book: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Connections-Uncovering-Depression-Unexpected/dp/1632868318/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0? _encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Shameless Plugs Aaron's Code School: https://parsity.io/ Peter&...

In this episode, we speak with Namanh Kapur. Namanh is a Rice University CS graduate, a software engineer at Bolt – a fast-growing  fintech startup – and a YouTuber with over 30,000 subscribers.  In this conversation, Namanh and I talk about growing up abroad, why and how Namanh started coding in middle school, strategies for applying for developer internships and jobs, and Namanh’s aspirations fo...

Each month, Develop Yourself's co-hosts (Aaron and Peter) will be checking in with each other, in part to talk through how they've each quit their Software Engineering jobs to pursue entrepreneurship, indie-hacking, self-employment, etc. This episode is an update on what each of us is doing. Shameless Plugs Peter's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/peterelbaum Aaron's...

In this episode, we speak with Stephen Wise. Stephen is a freelance web designer and Webflow developer and founder of WiseStudio. In this conversation, Stephen and I talk about why Stephen chose to stop pursuing traditional education, how to learn new skills, and Stephen’s story behind applying for (and getting) a dream gig with a well-known YouTube creator. Enjoy! Links Stephen's Website: ht...

In this episode, we speak with Michael Garcia, who is currently learning to code in hopes of landing his first job as a Software Engineer. Michael graduated from a Fintech Bootcamp, but as he had no luck in the job search, he's recently switched his learning path to Fullstack Web Development. In this episode, we help troubleshoot his journey and talk through what the next several phases of hi...

In this episode, we speak with Jake Dohm. Jake is a web developer and serves as Development Lead at Steadfast Design Firm. Jake also runs local meetups, works on open source projects and is actively involved with speaking at and organizing conferences.  In this episode, Jake and I talk about how he got into web development at 14, his learning journey, how to become a code craftsman, the benefits o...

In this episode, Aaron walks through what it means to work on your "mind/mindset" as a budding Software Engineer. As we summarize, it ultimately comes down to your ability to change the way you think or respond to a difficult situation. Then we'll talk about 3 methods you can adopt to work on your own mindset as a developer, daily. Links Morning Formula Hero On a Mission dev30 Shame...

In this episode, we speak with Pete Codes. Pete is the founder of the website NoCSDegree.com, which tells the stories of people who have broken into the tech industry without the traditional credentials. Pete has several other projects he’s currently working on, including a paid community and several courses. In this conversation, Pete and I get into common characteristics he’s noticed among peopl...

Obviously, you've heard of  "crypto" and "web3", but can you define them? Do you know what "blockchain" is? Did you know that as a beginner, you can and should get involved in coding on web3 projects? Today crypto expert Brian Schuster is going to break all of this down for us and explain how you can take action to get involved, right now. Links Brian's Twit...

In this episode, we speak with Louie Bacaj. Louie joined Jet.com when it had fewer than 20 engineers, stayed through its acquisition by Walmart, and rose to become Director of Engineering for Walmart Pharmacy. But despite the promotions, learning, and excellent pay, Louie recently made the decision to walk away from it all and bet on himself. In our conversation, Louie and I get into the engineeri...

Each month, Develop Yourself's co-hosts (Aaron and Peter) will be checking in with each other, in part to talk through how they've each quit their Software Engineering jobs to pursue entrepreneurship, indie-hacking, self-employment, etc. This episode is the backstory on how and when we quit and how we got the guts to pull the trigger. Resources The Tail End: https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/1...

If you're listening to this episode, you probably want to learn to code. But, you might be overwhelmed and wondering how to learn or where to start. Thankfully, the best-articulated strategy I've come across for learning anything is dead simple: do the real thing. In this episode, we talk through the core tenets of this idea as well as approaches for applying it when learning to code. Li...

Because I'm juggling so much (and the podcast is growing!) we're taking a break to re-group to continue putting out the best stuff possible. In the meantime, I'll be publishing a weekly newsletter every Monday, starting on Feb 7 ! 1 actionable tip for working toward becoming a Software Engineer or getting better as a Software Engineer. Subscribe to it here: parsity.io/newsletter You...

What do Software Engineers actually build, and how? Primarily, they build "web applications" (think, Twitter, Gmail, Coinbase, etc). On this week's episode of Develop Yourself, we're going deep with a beginners step-by-step guide into how a web application is built. We'll talk about the languages, tools and frameworks that it takes to build a web application, but more impo...

Since learning to code by building custom Myspace pages as a kid, Wes Bos has gone on to build some of the world's most popular online courses for web development while hosting a top-ranking web dev podcast. In this episode we get a peek into Wes' life, what motivates him, and how at the end of the day he just wants to figure out how to code more. Check out Wes here: https://wesbos.com/...

As the new year is in full swing, many of you are undertaking learning how to code. For that reason, our latest episode of Develop Yourself is called "Advice for Beginners". After 7 years of teaching people how to code from scratch, full time, I've come up with a repeating list of soap-box suggestions that are proven to save you some serious headaches. dev30: dev30.xyz Send us a tex...

Today's podcast guest is a special one for me. Originally from Chile, Rony Rosenberg was a student in the very first class of the first coding bootcamp I started in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2015. More than 6 years later, Rony is an accomplished engineering leader and continues to fall in love with new technology. Listen to hear his journey and to get a picture of what life could look like down the...

2022 is around the corner - do you have your goals mapped out? Is the year that you finally take the next step to becoming a Software Engineer? For the last 10 years I've been actively setting goals and have read most every book I can get my hands on in regards to habits, processes, goals, life planning, you name it - I'm a nerd on this stuff in a borderline unhealthy way. That being sai...

Landing a job as a Software Engineer doesn’t make you a Software Engineer. Building software makes you a Software Engineer. And for that, you don’t need anyone’s permission. That being said, perhaps the best way to land a job as a Software Engineer is by building real software. That's right - stop working on pretend side projects and build something with goal of generating revenue. On the lat...

Harsh Patel is perhaps the most successful Coding Bootcamp CEO ever. He started MakerSquare which was acquired by Hack Reactor, which was acquired by Galvanize and he was made CEO of all of them. Unlike some of the disreputable bootcamp news you hear from time to time, Harsh has always been driven by outcomes and even played a part in starting CIRR, the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting. A...

Landing your first job as a Software Engineer is one thing - but progressing to Senior level is a different challenge entirely. On this episode of Developer Yourself, Peter Elbaum, who graduated from a Coding Bootcamp in 2016, will walk us through his journey to becoming a Senior Software Engineer and will detail what he believes make a "senior" vs. a "junior". Additionally, we...

Brian is a self-taught Software Engineer, Blockchain expert and current Engineering Manager at IBM, but currently he's passionate about helping career changers transition into tech. Listen to this week's episode as Brian shares his own story and the advice he's been giving to the dozens of beginners he's mentored over the last several years. You can find Brian and his podcast a...

Aaron went from a rapping in Staton Island where he worked laying train tracks to support his wife and kids, to working at companies like Facebook and Coinbase as a Senior Software Engineer. Listen to Aaron's journey as he shares what is perhaps the best advice we've ever had on this podcast, as he shares the details on his mindset, his attitude and even the nitty gritty of his finances....

To learn JavaScript through our JavaScript Prep Course, register here: parsity.io/prep To review individual JavaScript concepts, find explanations at these timestamps in the podcast: 2:01 - Why Learn JavaScript 9:05 - What is JavaScript's Role in Web Development? 16:24 - The 7 parts of JavaScript 17:11 - The JavaScript Environment (where to write it) 19:46 - JS 1: Declaring Variables in JS 22...