The freeCodeCamp Podcast

Ben Dunphy studied international relations and had a short career in finance. Among other things, he co-authored a bill that eventually got passed in his state of New Hampshire. But Ben saw the writing on the wall – that technology was becoming one of the most powerful ways to affect change. He learned to code and moved to San Francisco, where he and I first met back in 2013. He built Real World React – a series of evening events and corporate training programs – and ultimately helped launched conferences like Reactathon and JAMstack conf. And now he's helping run the upcoming AI Engineer Summit. I talk with Ben about his journey into tech and the lessons he's learned along the way. And if you're considering creating a tech event in your city, boy has Ben got some tips for you. I hope you're digging these weekly freeCodeCamp podcasts. Be sure to leave us a review. And download a few episodes so you can learn on the go. Not only do we have Spanish and Chinese podcasts, but we just launched our Portuguese podcast as well. And tell your friends. Let's inspire more folks to learn to code and build careers for themsleves in tech. Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Benghamine Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamindunphy/ The Rise of the AI Engineer article by Shawn Wang AKA Swyx: https://www.latent.space/p/ai-engineer The AI Engineer Summit Oct 9, 2023 through Oct 11 in San Francisco: https://www.ai.engineer/summit The Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston: https://www.gardnermuseum.org/    

Data scientist Eric Leung shares his journey from math to bioinformatics, discussing the application of math in medicine. They also talk about transitioning from grad school, the different branches of data science, analyzing marketing strategies, remote work at Disney, the value of libraries, exploring the ancient game of Go, the longevity of legacy tools, navigating VIM modes, interacting with databases, and the importance of learning in public and community contribution.

Patrick San Juan, a software engineer who first learned to code in his 30s, shares his journey into tech, the challenges of finding a job as a developer, and the importance of sustained effort in building a career. They also discuss the speaker's background in economics, their love for crate digging and jazz music, and their work-life balance in FinTech. The chapter concludes with recommendations for exploring the Bay Area and indulging in Mexican and Filipino fusion cuisine.

Malindi Colyer, Python developer and AI engineer, discusses automating tasks in investment banking, her experiences working in finance including venture capital, and her transition to founding a company. They also explore the practical applications of using chat GPT, automating document search and summarization, and optimizing bond trading and settlement. The podcast covers the challenges and mistakes in investment banking, the stages of funding for startups, and the importance of AI infrastructure and building projects.

Dr. Amit Deshwar, a scientist specializing in machine learning, discusses using machine learning to speed up drug discovery and fight diseases like cancer. They explore Amit's career path, his research on pan cancer analysis and RNA therapeutics, and the process of drug development using machine learning. They also touch on the advantages of being located in San Francisco for machine learning and share unique experiences and interests in the city.

Programmer legend Jeff Atwood, co-founder of Stack Overflow and Discourse, talks about software development, community building, large language models, VR, and self-driving cars. They also discuss the importance of toxicity management in online communities, the significance of the freeCodeCamp community, the early days of programming and personal computers, ergonomics for programmers, public learning, discourse servers, AI without consent, and addressing toxic individuals in a community. They touch on the transition from remote work to office work and effective communication methods.

Today I'm talking with Sean Smith, one of freeCodeCamp's earliest graduates. Sean's also a prolific open source contributor, having helped develop freeCodeCamp's original React curriculum. Sean grew up in Tenessee and was an avid outdoorsman and rock climber. He went to college hoping to become a doctor. He even interned at the National Institutes of Health and published in the Journal of Virology. But one day he decided to leave the field – with no clear plans for the future – Leaving his friends and family puzzled. For two years, Sean worked at climbing gyms across Tenessee as a route setter, climbing the walls and installing climbing holds. And one day he decided he needed to learn to code. I caught up with Sean in downtown San Francisco, in a café that both he and I had coincidentally worked out of early in our developer careers. I learned a lot about Sean's journey into tech that took him from working in San Francisco to Singapore to Taipei. And spoiler alert: during the podcast we talk about Sean's job search. I'm happy to report that since I interviewed him last month, he's landed a developer job at a company focused on AI and e-commerce. If you dig this podcast, be sure to leave us a review. I'm excited to read any feedback you have for me. And tell your friends. It really helps us inspire more people. Sean Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanmatthewsmith/

Today I'm talking with Sasha Sheng. She's a software engineer who worked at Yahoo and at Facebook. During her 9 years working at big tech companies in San Francisco, she worked on mobile apps and AI systems. Sasha grew up in rural China, and was the first person in her family to attend university. She studied hard and was able to get into one of China's most competitive schools. She was able to move to the US and finish out her Mechanical Engineering degree at University of Michigan. When Sasha got laid off 8 months ago, she hit the ground running. She immersed herself in learning the new wave of AI tools. And she applied those new skills at hackathons, winning several competitive events. I caught up with Sasha to hear her thoughts on AI engineering, AI safety, and how we can get more women into tech. If you dig this podcast, be sure to leave us a review. I'm excited to read any feedback you have for me.  Check out Sasha on Instagram: www.instagram.com/hackgoofer Follow Sasha on Twitter: and www.twitter.com/hackgoofer One of Sasha's Hackathon projects: Chat Out Loud: https://github.com/ytsheng/chat_out_loud_gpt

Today I'm joined by Shawn Wang, AKA Swyx. I first interviewed Shawn in 2019. Back then, Shawn had quit his $350k a year finance job and taught himself to code using freeCodeCamp. He was working as a full stack engineer. It's a wild interview that you should go back and listen to... after of course you finish listening this. Now a lot of people thought Shawn was crazy leaving finance. But this dude knew what he was doing. He has now risen through the ranks as a developer at tech startups. And now he's starting an AI startup of his own. He's already off to a strong start, having raised a $3 million pre-seed round from investors. This is the first time I've ever invited a guest return to the freeCodeCamp podcast for a second interview. And there was so much to talk about, I feel like I could have interviewed Shawn for days. The man has been eating, sleeping, and breathing AI engineering for the past year. I learned so much from talking with him. I'm confident that you will, too. Watch Swyx's AI Engineering conference live stream: https://ai.engineer The Latent Space Podcast: https://www.latent.space/podcast Follow Swyx on Twitter: https://twitter.com/swyx

Today I'm interviewing a long-time friend and role model of mine, Megan Kaczanowski. We met up in Brooklyn to talk about her journey into information security. She studied economics at University of Michigan before working in finance in New York City. But her ambitions lead her into cyber security – first as a threat analyst at a credit rating agency, and later as a Security Architect at a bank and a startups. Over the years, she's volunteered at charities around New York, and she's authored dozens of security tutorials as a contributor to freeCodeCamp. We talk about her journey into tech and her advice for folks getting into security – especially women. As with every time I talk with Megan, I learned a lot. And I hope you'll a lot, too. If you dig this podcast, be sure to leave us a review. I'm excited to read any feedback you have for me.  And tell your friends. Megan's many information security tutorials on freeCodeCamp: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/author/megansdoingfine/ Follow Megan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/megansdoingfine Read the book she mentioned about the first ever worm: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg_(book) Watch Mr. Robot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U94litUpZuc