#170 From Art School Drop-out to Microsoft Engineer with Shashi Lo
May 2, 2025
auto_awesome
Shashi Lo, a Microsoft software engineer and former art school student, shares his inspiring journey from dropping out of art school to mastering programming. He discusses the hustle of freelance work and the importance of building a reputation to land tech jobs. Shashi also reflects on the resilience borne from his family's immigrant experience and how it shaped his work ethic. Balancing a demanding career with raising four kids, he offers insights on managing life and career in the evolving tech landscape.
Finding a reliable mentor or support network is crucial for personal growth and securing opportunities in the tech industry.
Balancing freelance work and a full-time job necessitates effective time management, especially for developers with family responsibilities.
Aspiring developers must focus on building a strong personal brand and online presence to stand out in competitive job markets.
Deep dives
The Importance of Support and Mentorship
Finding a reliable support network or mentor is crucial for personal and professional growth in the tech field. Many individuals may feel stagnant in their learning or job search, indicating a need for external guidance. An experienced mentor can help identify gaps in knowledge and provide direction on skills that need improvement. Engaging with such a support group can significantly boost one’s chances of finding the right opportunities and enhancing their capabilities.
Balancing Freelance and Full-Time Work
Balancing freelance work with a full-time job is a common scenario for many developers, especially those with families. Freelancing allows for additional income while honing technical skills and gaining diverse project experiences. As illustrated, managing time effectively is key to fulfilling responsibilities both at work and home, particularly with children involved. This balance illustrates the resourcefulness and hard work often required for personal success in the tech industry.
Navigating Code Reviews Effectively
Understanding the nuances of code reviews is essential for developers looking to improve their code quality and collaboration skills. Ideally, code reviews should involve small, digestible changes that can be easily understood by reviewers, minimizing confusion. When code submissions are excessively large or complex, it burdens the reviewer and increases the likelihood of oversight or errors. By focusing on creating smaller, well-defined pull requests, developers can facilitate smoother reviews and ensure higher quality code.
Overcoming Barriers to Getting Hired
A key challenge faced by aspiring developers is ensuring their resume and portfolio effectively stand out among the competition. Many potential candidates may struggle without a strong personal brand or visible body of work, which can hinder their job search. Employers often seek candidates with a unique flair that demonstrates their capabilities, and a strong online presence can influence hiring decisions. Networking within communities and leveraging social platforms to showcase skills can dramatically enhance visibility and opportunities.
The Impact of Family Background on Career Choices
Coming from a family that faced significant challenges can deeply influence one’s work ethic and career aspirations. Personal stories of resilience, such as those described, often drive individuals to seek stability and success for their own families. The commitment demonstrated by previous generations can instill a sense of responsibility and determination in young professionals. This motivation often leads to a relentless pursuit of growth and continuous learning, which is vital in the ever-evolving tech landscape.
On this week's episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Shashi Lo. He's a software engineer at Microsoft. He grew up the child of refugees. He wanted to start earning money and build his family so he abandoned his art school degree and taught himself how to program.
He immediately hustled to land freelance development clients – something he still does today on top of his full time job and raising his 4 kids.
We talk about: - Making ends meet doing freelance work - How to bootstrap your reputation toward getting a job in big tech - Mistakes he sees careers changers make - The pros and cons of working in big tech VS working at developer agencies
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. You can join these chill human beings and help our charity's mission by going to donate.freecodecamp.org
Links we talk about during our conversation: - Shashi's conference talks and other podcast interviews: https://bento.me/shashilo
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
