The Work Item - Real Talk on Tech's Toughest Career Choices

One of the things that Miriam Suzanne realized early in her developer journey is that web development is a tool - she wanted to build a website for her theater company and ended up building a career and a company around it. And not just that, but she also joined the CSS Working Group - the official standards body that determines how the CSS stack evolves. In this show, we talk about her early discovery of the power of the web, how she joins creativity with technical prowess, and how CSS is really like poetry written in the browser. You can find Miriam on the following sites: 🐘 Mastodon 🐘 OddBird (Mastodon) 🐦 OddBird Website 📝 Blog 💼 LinkedIn The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky. Music by Wataboi from Pixabay. Feedback If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

We often talk about promotions and growth, but the moment the conversation shifts towards paths to staff or executive positions, the advice goes blank. There is very little actionable information out there that can tell you how you can get to the highest echelons of leadership. To get a clearer picture on this topic, I sat down with Lena Reinhard, a seasoned executive with an extensive track record at CircleCI, Travis CI, and more. Lena shares her insights on the best ways to accelerate career growth in the tech space, answer thorny questions, such as “Why are executives hired from the outside?” and provide some candid takes on why taking things slow sometimes can pay off in the end. You can find Lena on the following sites: 🌍 Website 💼 LinkedIn 🎙️ Leadership Confidential Podcast The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky. Music by Wataboi from Pixabay. Feedback If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

One's journey from their early career to working at startups in Silicon Valley can take many forms. Some folks take the more traditional route of joining a company right after college. Others get tired of their corporate life and decide to try something different. Katie Fujihara, an engineer and a technical program manager amalgam, decided that her journey to the heart of “startup land,” San Francisco, would be an impromptu one - she just packed up her bags and set out on an adventure. I am delighted to share with you this recording, where I talk to Katie about her early starts in Hawai'i, how working in engineering was not the end goal for her career journey, and what the best practices are for overcoming impostor syndrome. You can find Katie on the following sites: 😺 GitHub 🤵 LinkedIn 🦜 X The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky. Music by Wataboi from Pixabay. Feedback If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

Rachel Andrew, a web development visionary with over 20 years of experience, discusses her transformative journey from aspiring dancer to tech leader. She talks about the power of mentorship and community in overcoming challenges in a male-dominated field. Rachel shares insights on leading a writing team, highlighting the importance of accurate documentation and collaboration. She also emphasizes the need for community-driven resources like MDN and Open Web Docs to enhance developer experience and her advocacy for inclusive web standards.

One of the things that is a bit taboo to talk about, both in the tech industry and outside of it is money. People just aren't comfortable discussing openly the hard decisions that go into things like seeking funding, investing money into things that save you time, and scaling your own abilities with the help of, you guessed it, cold, hard, cash. Saron Yitbarek, entrepreneur extraordinaire behind CodeNewbie and podcasts such as Command Line Heroes, generously accepted my invitation to chat and talk about all these things, and more. And of course, we talk about Saron's latest project - Big Cash Money 2024, something for folks that want to max out their income beyond just their salary. You can find Saron on the following sites: 📝 Blog 💼 LinkedIn 📷 Instagram 💸 Big Cash Money 2024 🎙️ Code Newbie Podcast 🎙️ Basecs Podcast 🎙️ Command Line Heroes Podcast 🎨 Not A Designer Newsletter The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky. Music by Wataboi from Pixabay. Feedback If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

In this episode of The Work Item, I had a conversation with David Khourshid, founder of Stately.AI. You might know him as @DavidKPiano on social media. Today, we're breaking new ground around unconventional paths of building an engineering career, entrepreneurship, and leveraging your audience as the potential first customers for your product. And of course - we talk a bit more about state machines (David is also the developer behind XState) and lessons learned from launching and growing a startup in the midst of a pandemic. You can find David and his work on the following sites: 📕 XState 🕸️ Stately 😺 GitHub 🐤 Twitter 📷 Instagram 🧵 Threads The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky. Music by Wataboi from Pixabay. Feedback If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

Adrienne Tacke, a talented software developer and author of "Looks Good To Me: Constructive Code Reviews," dives into the nuances of remote work culture. She discusses the importance of work-life balance and the power of constructive code reviews as a means for collaborative growth. Tacke shares her journey of writing a technical book, emphasizing the unique challenges of addressing different audiences. Plus, she reflects on her evolution into public speaking and developer advocacy, encouraging others to find their voice and embrace mentorship opportunities.

If you've ever listened to Startups For The Rest Of Us (which, by the way, is approaching seven hundred episodes), you might already be familiar with the energetic host of the show - entrepreneur, bootstrapper, and podcaster extraordinaire Rob Walling. Rob and I chat about his early days as an employee, the transition from the more traditional path of working for someone to starting his own business, building MicroConf, and how the trifecta of skill, hard work, and luck can help folks be on a more predictable path to success. You can find Rob on the following sites: 🎙️ Startups For The Rest Of Us Podcast 📝 Website 📕 Book - The SaaS Playbook 📢 MicroConf 🌱 TinySeed 🐤 Twitter The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky. Music by Wataboi from Pixabay. Feedback If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

Today I got the pleasure to chat with Jerod Santo, the Managing Editor at Changelog Media. Picture this – a podcast that not only uncovers the intricacies of Jerod's career but also shares some unconventional lessons learned from his work. From navigating the ever-evolving tech landscape to spearheading Changelog, Jerod brings a wealth of experience that transcends your typical engineer expectations and taps into the heart of what it means to build a sustainable developer community. In this candid conversation, discover the ‘aha' moments, the challenges met head-on, and the behind-the-scenes tales that shaped Jerod's path. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just embarking on your tech adventure, join us for an episode that's not just an interview but a personal expedition through Jerod's experiences and the impact of his work on Changelog. You can find Jerod on the following sites: 📝 Changelog 🧑 Jerod's profile on Changelog 💼 LinkedIn The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky. Music by Wataboi from Pixabay. Feedback If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!

Kent C. Dodds is a developer, educator, community organizer, and above all, a person that is passionate about making the world a better place by giving as many folks as possible the opportunity to learn web development. I sat down with Kent to chat more about his career, what bootstrapped his interest in programming, and what his takeaways from building his path as an entrepreneur are. Just like me, you will quickly learn how his career is a testament to the power of passion, resilience, relentless pursuit of excellence, and most importantly - consistency. You can find Kent on the following sites: 🐤 Twitter 📝 Kent's Blog 📕 Kent's Courses 📽️ YouTube 🌎 Epic Web Dev The podcast was produced by Den Delimarsky. Music by Wataboi from Pixabay. Feedback If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a review or a rating, wherever you are getting your podcast. I really appreciate your feedback and am working to make this podcast more useful for you, the listener, with every episode. Ratings and feedback make it so others can easily discover and enjoy the insights you listen to here!