John Crickett is a software engineer, content creator and coach to thousands of junior developers. In this conversation he shares his personal journey into tech, as well as the origin story for his free resource: https://codingchallenges.fyi.

Chapters:

(00:31) Introduction

(04:23) First Tech Job - Dawn of the Internet

(07:40) Then & Now - Rapid Advancement in Tech

(10:44) The Importance of Soft Skills

(14:00) Transitioning From IC to Management, and Back

(27:36) Becoming VP of Engineering

(35:32) Working with AI

(38:50) Special Guest Appearance - Eddie!

(40:15) Advice for Being "Made Redundant"

(48:11) Content Creation & CodingChallenges.fyi

John's Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/johncrickett
• Substack: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/
• Website: https://codingchallenges.fyi/

Jade Wilson is a Software Developer at Microsoft, based in the United Kingdom. Although she studied Computer Science in college, Jade's initial onramp into tech was anything but a walk in the park.

In addition to dealing with discrimination early on, Jade discusses the hardships of balancing job searches, becoming and growing as a developer, and parenting. She also shares her views on empowering women in tech, and shares the importance of overcoming self-doubt, encouraging persistence and confidently express oneself.

Chapters:

(00:45) Intro

(04:56) College Studies

(11:05) First Interviews & Landing Her First Job

(20:57) Working through problems

(25:40) Getting recruited by Microsoft

(36:34) Biggest Struggles Being Remote

(41:51) Empowering Women in Tech

(45:13) A Day in the Life at Microsoft

(55:07) Experience with Azure Cloud

(59:17) Using AI Tools

(01:02:48) Content Creation

(01:11:45) Hot Seat

Jade's Links:

• Social links: https://jade-codes.dev
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-codes/

Mckenzie Noel is a software developer at Winsupply. Not that long ago, she was teaching horseback riding lessons to children. In this conversation we learn about how she pivoted into a tech adjacent role, and then becoming a developer.

Chapters:

(00:46) Intro

(04:19) Horses

(07:14) An Opportunity Presents Itself: Winsupply

(14:35) Discovering a Passion for Programming

(21:14) Tech Elevator

(25:34) Lessons Learned / Advice

(43:08) LinkedIn, and Networking

(48:37) Hotseat

Mckenzie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mckenzie-noel/