#164 How to become a self-taught developer while supporting a family
Mar 14, 2025
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Jesse Hall, a software engineer and developer advocate at MongoDB, shares his inspiring journey from fixing computers at Geek Squad to creating popular YouTube tutorials. He discusses the challenges of balancing coding with family life, the importance of self-education, and navigating the rapidly changing tech landscape. Jesse also reflects on his early interest in Web3 and the unexpected pitfalls of becoming an 'NFT tutorial guy.' Tune in for engaging insights on mentoring self-taught developers and the ethical responsibilities in tech education.
Dedication and consistency in learning, even with just an hour a day, are essential for mastering coding skills.
Jesse Hall's journey illustrates that practical experience in technology often outweighs formal education when pursuing a software development career.
Effective time management is vital for balancing family responsibilities and professional growth in the tech industry, enabling a healthy work-life balance.
Deep dives
The Importance of Consistency in Learning
Dedication and consistency are crucial for mastering coding. Setting aside even an hour daily to learn can significantly contribute to developing programming skills. Resources like Free Code Camp and YouTube provide ample materials for self-education. Continuous learning ensures you keep up with evolving technologies and methodologies in the software development industry.
Jesse Hall's Journey into Coding
Jesse Hall, also known as CodeStacker, is a self-taught software engineer who balanced parenting and a job while learning to code. He started his coding journey with Free Code Camp, eventually transitioning from fixing computers to becoming a developer advocate at MongoDB. His path exemplifies that anyone can learn to code, regardless of their educational background. Jesse’s journey emphasizes the importance of practical experience over formal education in the tech industry.
Leveraging AI Tools in Development
Jesse has fully embraced AI tools to enhance his productivity in software development. These tools, including GitHub Copilot and Cursor, help automate tedious tasks and code generation. He emphasizes that, while AI can streamline processes, understanding the fundamentals of programming is essential to effectively use these tools. Promoting good communication with the AI can lead to better quality outputs, boosting overall developer efficiency.
Transitioning from Hardware to Software
Jesse spent years working in hardware and computer repair before transitioning to software development. His experience included building computers from scratch and working for Best Buy’s Geek Squad. Inspired by the inefficiencies he encountered, he taught himself programming to automate tedious tasks. The transition highlights that prior experience in technology can serve as a strong foundation for a career in software.
The Risks of Web3 and NFTs
Jesse became known as the 'NFT guy' after creating educational content that generated substantial interest in Web3 technologies. While originally well-intentioned, his work inadvertently associated him with negative aspects of the NFT market, leading to challenges in his content career. This experience illustrates the complexity and risks involved in emerging technologies. Jesse advises others to approach such trends with caution and to prioritize clear, educational purposes in their content.
Finding Balance in a Busy Life
Balancing a career in tech with family responsibilities can be challenging, but Jesse highlights the importance of time management. By prioritizing family time while dedicating specific hours for personal projects or learning, it becomes possible to maintain a healthy work-life balance. He encourages others to focus on effective time allocation, ensuring that professional aspirations do not compromise personal relationships. Maintaining this balance has been crucial for Jesse’s success and well-being.
On this week's episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Jesse Hall. He's software engineer and a developer advocate at MongoDB. He taught himself to code while raising kids and working on the Best Buy Geek Squad fixing computers.
Jesse has created tons of tutorials over the years on YouTube and on freeCodeCamp. We talk about his coding journey, how the field has changed over the few years, and how hype has distorted peoples' perception of getting into code.
We talk about: - Growing up in a one stop light town - Teaching himself to code for free using freeCodeCamp - How he created YouTube tutorials to inspire his kids, then got quite good at it - How Jesse's early interest in Web3 lead him to needing to "dig himself out of the grave" of being "the NFT tutorial guy"
Support for this podcast comes from a grant from Wix Studio. Wix Studio provides developers tools to rapidly build websites with everything out-of-the-box, then extend, replace, and break boundaries with code. Learn more at https://wixstudio.com.
Support also comes from the 11,384 kind folks who support freeCodeCamp through a monthly donation. Join these kind folks and help our mission by going to https://www.freecodecamp.org/donate
Or you can listen to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow the freeCodeCamp Podcast there so you'll get new episodes each Friday.
Links we talk about during our conversation:
- Jesse's tutorials on freeCodeCamp: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/author/codeSTACKr/
- Jesse's course on how to set up and configure the VS Code editor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJEbVCrEMSE
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