The Scrimba Podcast How to Fast Track Your Developer Career, with Katy Ashby
Early Coding
- Katy Ashby dabbled in coding as a child, creating a website with HTML and PHP.
- It featured a guestbook, games, and remained bright green for years.
Overlooking Computer Science
- Katy pursued physics and French, initially overlooking computer science.
- School IT classes focused on basic software like Excel and Word, lacking coding.
Programming's Dual Nature
- Programming uniquely combines creative and technical aspects.
- This makes it an ideal career for individuals drawn to both logic and artistry.
🎙 About the episode
Meet Katy Ashby 🇬🇧! Katy studied physics before becoming a developer, and once she did, she went from a complete novice to a principal developer and team lead in only four years! In this episode, Katy shares how she fast-tracked her career and how you can do the same.
In this episode, Katy talks about why you should remain curious, how to recognize opportunities to progress in a company, and what makes a senior developer. Katy shares her view on whether you should seek a remote position as a junior developer and the benefits of staying at a job for longer. Alex and Katy also discuss contractors and whether you should be wary of them (or become one). Also: HTML for Dummies, and rats!
🔗 Connect with Katy
⏰ Timestamps
- Katy never thought she was going to become a developer, even though she dabbled with coding as a child (01:06)
- How Katy worked on her first website as a kid and kept coding playful (01:54)
- Katy never thought about studying computer science because her computer classes at school were boring, and she ended up majoring in physics with a minor in French! (04:23)
- Why a developer career, in hindsight, was a perfectly logical choice for Katy (06:25)
- How Katy went from a beginner to a principal developer in four years (07:27)
- Ad break! Next week, it's Mislav Markušić! (12:21)
- What made Katy determined to climb the ranks? (14:13)
- Why becoming a senior developer is more about your attitude than just your coding skills (15:07)
- Did Katy know much about software development jobs before she got her first one? (16:10)
- More and more physicists are becoming coders. Here's why (17:05)
- What Katy learned over the course of four years (19:08)
- How Katy used the experience of using Python for a physics internship to kickstart her coding journey (19:55)
- Is there anything that Katy would do differently? (23:42)
- What challenges did Katy face when she started working? (25:29)
- How Katy turned a graduate role into an actual job (27:55)
- Consider the whole offer, and not just the salary (30:40)
- Should junior developers work remotely or in person? (32:45)
- Why applying for jobs at other companies can get you a raise (34:18)
- How does everybody working remotely change the job landscape? What's the difference between employees and contractors? (37:46)
- How Katy took a break between jobs and shared her knowledge with the community (42:09)
- Quick-fire questions: favorite places in the UK, Anglo-Indian food, coffee, and keeping rats as pets! (45:07)
🧰 Resources Mentioned
⭐️ Leave a Review
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and tell us who you want to see on the next podcast.
You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏