Patrick Hartley is a self-taught developer with nearly a decade of software engineering experience. When he was 21 he had to dropped out of college to provide for his family. He taught himself programming while working at a thrift store.
After building his own apps and freelancing, he became the founding engineer at startup that got acquired, and has since worked as a dev at other tech companies. A few months ago he turned down an opportunity at Amazon so he could continue to work remotely from his home in Oklahoma City.
He shares tips for:
- Teaching yourself programming while raising kids
- How to build foundational skills with JavaScript and Python
- Getting a remote job when you have to compete with the global developer talent pool
- Surviving as an introvert in a networking-heavy and meeting-filled profession
Patrick Hartley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-hartley-jr/
Links from the Community News intro:
1. freeCodeCamp just published a massive course that will teach you almost every major data structure and algorithm that may come up in a developer job interview. You'll learn about Time Complexity, Space Complexity, and Big O Notation. Then you'll learn concepts like Trees, Graphs, Dynamic Programming, Backtracking, and more. (49 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/master-technical-interviews-by-learning-data-structures-and-algorithms/
2. freeCodeCamp also published a handbook that will teach you React for beginners. React is a powerful front end development library that tons of companies use to make their websites more interactive. If you already know some basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, this handbook is for you. You'll learn about JSX, components, event handlers, hooks, and more. (full length handbook): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/react-handbook-for-beginners-learn-jsx-hooks-rendering/
3. This SwiftUI for Beginners course will give you the tools you need to build your first iPhone app. You can code along at home and build your own movie browsing app with powerful search features and the ability to stream movie trailers. You'll learn about navigation, API networking requests, SwiftData, and more. (4 hour YouTube course): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-swiftui-and-create-an-ios-app-from-scratch/
4. freeCodeCamp published an advanced Python tutorial on Machine Learning Lineage. This is important to establish the safety of mission critical AI systems. You'll learn about ETL Pipelines, Data Drift Checks, Model Tuning, and Model Risk Assessment. (20 minute read): https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-build-end-to-end-machine-learning-lineage/
5. This relaxing 3D browser game where you deliver messages around town. You can customize your appearance and watch other messagers spawn into the game and deliver their packages, too. A chill way to spend 15 minutes. https://messenger.abeto.co/
6. Song of the week: A full live set from Anime-inspired French House producer Moe Shop. He takes his new album and glitches the ever living heck out of. If you like dance music I think you're going to love this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7DxUZmqvQA
Contents
0:00 Introduction and Free Code Camp Community Updates
3:54 The Self-Taught Developer's Journey: Dropping Out to Provide for Family
6:09 Competing for Remote Jobs and Turning Down Big Tech (Amazon)
14:03 The Value of Mentorship, Networking, and Practical Projects
22:55 Evolving Job Market: Soft Skills vs. Technical Proficiency in Specific Stacks
30:21 Choosing the Right Tech Stack: Open Source (JS/Python) vs. Enterprise (.NET)
36:27 Succeeding in a New Developer Job and Mastering the Art of Asking Questions
40:48 Managing Meetings and Finding Work-Life Balance as an Introverted Team Lead
50:35 Conclusion and Final Thoughts