My Unconventional Coding Story | Self-Taught

Travis Media Podcast

19 Feb 202327:14

EducationalLearning

32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRTravis shares his unconventional journey into coding, revealing how he transitioned from a dead-end job to becoming a self-taught programmer. Despite facing numerous obstacles, including juggling family and work commitments, he persevered through a coding bootcamp, freelancing, and eventually landed corporate roles. Travis highlights pivotal moments that propelled his growth, emphasizing the value of creating online content, surrounding himself with experienced developers, and embracing new technologies. His story is a testament to the transformative power of determination and a willingness to learn, inspiring others on their coding journeys.

Takeaways

🌟 Despite having no coding background, the speaker successfully transitioned into a software engineering career through self-learning and dedication.
💼 The speaker's journey involved working multiple jobs, facing uncertainty, and taking drastic steps like joining a coding bootcamp to gain skills.
🚀 Consistent effort, such as coding for 20 hours a week while working, and documenting the learning journey through a blog and YouTube channel, played a crucial role.
💻 The speaker's initial freelancing work and online presence helped land a full-time software developer job, leading to career growth.
🌐 Exposure to new technologies, development methodologies (Scrum/Agile), and working with experienced developers accelerated the speaker's learning.
🔁 The speaker transitioned between various roles, including site reliability engineering, cloud engineering, and API development, gaining diverse experiences.
🎓 Continuous learning, being open to challenges, and surrounding oneself with skilled professionals were key to the speaker's professional growth.
👨‍💻 The speaker ultimately found fulfillment in a developer relations role, allowing them to code, create content, and engage with the community.
🔑 Perseverance, adaptability, and a willingness to take risks were essential factors in the speaker's unconventional coding journey.
✨ The speaker's story serves as an inspiration, highlighting that a successful coding career is achievable through dedication and a growth mindset, regardless of one's background.

Q & A

What motivated Travis to share his coding journey?
-Travis was motivated to share his coding journey to provide encouragement and learning to others who are on a similar path, inspired by how other people's stories helped him during his own learning process.
What misconceptions did Travis have about coding before he started learning?
-Travis initially thought coding was only for people who were very smart, had degrees, and were good at math, leading him to believe it wasn't something he could pursue.
How did Travis transition from being a medical transcriptionist to coding?
-Travis started learning coding by customizing WordPress themes for his blog, which sparked his interest in coding. This led him to explore further and eventually decide to pursue a career change.
What role did boot camps play in Travis's coding education?
-Boot camps played a crucial role in Travis's education by providing a structured learning environment, projects, and mentorship, which helped him gain the skills needed for a career in coding.
How did Travis balance learning to code with his personal responsibilities?
-Travis managed his time meticulously, coding after work and late at night while ensuring he spent time with his family, demonstrating the importance of time management in self-taught learning.
What was Travis's strategy for gaining practical coding experience while still learning?
-Travis started taking small freelance jobs on Upwork, such as theme installations and CSS changes, which allowed him to apply what he was learning and gradually take on more complex projects.
How did Travis's career evolve after he started freelancing?
-Travis's career evolved as he took on a part-time job with a web agency, continued to freelance, and eventually moved into corporate roles where he gained exposure to a wide range of technologies and methodologies.
What were some key learning experiences Travis had while working in corporate roles?
-In corporate roles, Travis learned about agile methodology, devops, and a variety of new technologies, such as Kubernetes and AWS, by working alongside experienced developers and through hands-on projects.
Why did Travis decide to move into a Developer Relations Engineer role?
-Travis decided to move into Developer Relations because it combined his love for creating content and teaching with the technical aspect of coding, aligning with his career interests and strengths.
What advice does Travis offer to those starting their coding journey?
-Travis emphasizes the importance of consistent learning, practical application of skills through freelancing or projects, and the willingness to adapt and explore new career paths as technology evolves.

Outlines

00:00

👋 Travis's Unconventional Coding Journey

Travis introduces himself and shares his unconventional self-taught coding story. He had no prior coding experience and worked various jobs like a park ranger, at a restaurant, and in data entry before deciding to learn to code at age 34 after facing job uncertainty. He shares how listening to others' coding stories helped him during his struggles with learning to code while juggling work and family.

05:02

🤖 Joining a Coding Bootcamp and Freelancing

Travis joined an expensive coding bootcamp and devoted himself to learning, coding for 20 hours a week on top of his full-time job. He started freelancing on Upwork, taking small jobs to gain experience. After completing the front-end track, he decided to drop out of the bootcamp as the back-end used Ruby on Rails, which wasn't widely adopted in his area. Instead, he focused on learning WordPress and PHP development.

10:02

💻 Transitioning to Web Development

Travis landed a part-time job as a full-stack WordPress developer with a web agency, working 30 hours a week alongside his full-time job. He eventually quit his job to focus on web development, working for the agency and taking on more freelance work. He also started a blog and YouTube channel to document his coding journey and share his learning experiences.

15:04

🚀 Breaking into Corporate Software Engineering

After two years of freelancing, Travis decided to pursue a corporate software engineering role. He interviewed with a company, impressed them with his blog and YouTube content, and was offered a $90,000 position as a full-stack developer. He learned about agile methodologies, DevOps, and various technologies, but left after a few months due to lack of work.

20:04

🌐 Becoming a Site Reliability Engineer

Travis received a LinkedIn message from a local company hiring 30 people, including for a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) role. Despite being new to the role, he accepted the challenge and learned about Linux, cloud computing (Azure), containerization (Kubernetes), and infrastructure as code. He also worked on projects involving AWS, Active Directory, and building APIs.

25:05

🎙️ Transitioning to Developer Relations Engineer

After several years as a software engineer, Travis realized he enjoyed creating content and teaching. He pursued a Developer Relations Engineer role, which combines coding, content creation, community engagement, and public speaking. He shares his current role and expresses gratitude for his journey, hoping to provide encouragement to others learning to code.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Self-taught coding

Self-taught coding refers to the process of learning programming and software development through individual study, often using online resources, rather than formal education. In the video, the speaker shares his journey of becoming a coder without a traditional educational background in the field. He emphasizes the challenges and successes he faced while learning coding skills on his own, illustrating that formal degrees are not always necessary to enter the tech industry.

💡Imposter syndrome

Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern where individuals doubt their skills, talents, or accomplishments and fear being exposed as a 'fraud'. In the script, the speaker mentions facing imposter syndrome while transitioning into coding and software development. This concept is crucial as it highlights the internal challenges and self-doubt faced by individuals venturing into new career paths, especially in fields like technology where rapid learning and adaptation are required.

💡Boot camp

A boot camp in the context of coding is an intensive, short-term training program that teaches programming skills quickly and efficiently. The speaker in the video discusses his decision to enroll in a coding boot camp to gain comprehensive coding skills in a structured environment. This concept is important in the narrative as it represents a turning point in the speaker's journey, showing his commitment to a new career path and the investment of resources in his self-education.

💡Freelancing

Freelancing refers to working as an independent contractor or self-employed individual rather than being employed by a company. In the video, the speaker shares his experience of freelancing in web and WordPress development. This part of his journey highlights the flexibility and opportunities available in the tech industry for individuals to work on a variety of projects and clients, often remotely, while building a portfolio.

💡Upwork

Upwork is an online platform for freelancers where individuals can offer their services and clients can post jobs. The speaker mentions using Upwork to find freelance coding jobs, specifically in WordPress development. This reflects the role of digital platforms in facilitating the gig economy, providing opportunities for self-taught professionals to gain experience and earn income.

💡WordPress development

WordPress development involves creating websites and applications using the WordPress platform, a popular content management system. The speaker discusses learning WordPress and PHP development to take up freelance jobs. This skill is highlighted as a practical and in-demand area within web development, suitable for those starting out in their tech careers.

💡Career transition

Career transition refers to the process of changing one's professional path or industry. The speaker's narrative is centered around his transition from non-tech jobs to a career in software development. This concept is key to the video as it showcases the challenges, learning curve, and eventual success in shifting to a completely different field, providing inspiration for others considering similar changes.

💡Remote work

Remote work involves performing job duties from outside of a traditional office environment, often from home. The speaker mentions the flexibility and freedom he gained through freelancing and eventually remote software development roles. This concept is significant as it demonstrates how the tech industry can offer more flexible working arrangements compared to many traditional sectors.

💡Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)

A Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) is a role that focuses on building and maintaining reliable and scalable software systems. The speaker talks about his experience working as an SRE, learning about cloud technologies and infrastructure. This highlights a specific career path within the tech industry, emphasizing the continuous learning and adaptation required in such roles.

💡Developer Relations Engineer

A Developer Relations Engineer is a role that combines coding with community engagement and content creation. The speaker's current position is in developer relations, where he can utilize his coding skills while also creating educational content and interacting with the tech community. This role illustrates the diverse career options within the tech industry, especially for those who enjoy both technical and communicative aspects of the field.

Highlights

I want to share my unconventional self-taught coding story, which helped me in my journey.

Prior to learning to code, I had no coding encounters and thought it was for really smart people with degrees.

I worked various jobs like a park ranger, scooping ice cream, stocking shelves at Target, and in restaurants.

I ended up working a dead-end job for 10 years in a hospital's health information department, with no ambition or skills to fall back on.

I started a blog and wanted to customize the WordPress theme, which led me to learn snippets of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.

Facing the prospect of being outsourced, I decided to learn to code and switch careers, motivated by the need for a better job and more money for my family.

I joined an expensive coding boot camp, sacrificing time and social life to learn coding while working full-time.

I started taking freelance jobs on Upwork, building websites and doing WordPress development, while still working my full-time job.

I landed a part-time job with a web agency in Colorado, which allowed me to quit my full-time job and focus on web development.

My blog and YouTube content showcasing my coding knowledge helped me land a full-time software developer job at a higher salary than expected.

At the new job, I learned agile methodologies, devops, and new technologies like Ruby on Rails and Openshift.

I transitioned to a site reliability engineer role, learning Linux, Azure, containers, and Kubernetes through hands-on experience.

Working with senior developers allowed me to learn AWS, infrastructure as code, and writing secure APIs in .NET.

Realizing my passion for creating content and teaching, I pursued a developer relations engineer role, which combines coding, content creation, and community engagement.

The key takeaway is perseverance, continuous learning, and embracing opportunities, even if they seem challenging at first.

Transcripts

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