The freeCodeCamp Podcast

Genius is a fickle beast. Sometimes you have the good fortune to work with a mad genius. Other times you are doomed to work with pure madness. There are also times when it is hard to tell the difference. In this episode we explore "brilliant jerks" and how to save your development team from them.

Madison tells her story of how she went from being a fashion model with no college degree to full-time software engineer in just one year. She used free online resources including freeCodeCamp, and worked for free at a startup until they hired her.

Quincy explores Felix Feng's journey from bootcamp grad to professional developer, and how he went from getting $60,000 job offers to $125,000 job offers through sheer practice and persistence.

Canadian software engineer Bill Sourour recounts a tragic experience early in his developer career when writing code for a pharmaceutical company. He explores developer ethics, the responsibilities developers have, and the challenges they face in sticking to their values.

Quincy Larson reads his popular article on how to choose your first programming language when you learn to code. He discusses Python, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, and C++ in terms of: - the job market for the language - the long term prospects for the language - how easy the language is to learn - what projects you can build while you’re learning (and share with friends so you can stay motivated)

Beau talks about his year of incredible productivity, during which he a degree and certifications, and taught himself to code - balancing his studies against an active family life.

Cecily Carver, a developer at Google, recounts her coding journey and the many lessons she learned along the way. Read by @avasond.

We conclude the tale of Alvaro Videla, who learned to code, got a job as a developer, and is now facing his first week on the job in Montevideo, Uruguay. He eventually went on to get jobs at Apple and other tech companies, but this is where he got his start.

We continue the story of Alvaro Videla, as travels to Montevideo, Uruguay for his first developer job interview.

In this episode, Quincy tells the story of Alvaro Videla, who was living in poverty in Uruguay when he decided he wanted to learn to code. He had limited access to books and the internet. But he eventually got a job at Apple and other tech companies.