We Belong Here: Lessons from Unconventional Paths to Tech

Latest Episodes:

From Web2 to Web3 with Zsófi Major Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

Zsófi Major has had many roles over the years within the web2 space: project manager, COO, and business developer.
After business hours she volunteered within the Drupal community, bringing together developers from all over the world at conferences she organized.
After burning out from web development projects, unmanageable deadlines, and clients - she quit her job and decided to take a break and apply for roles she really wanted to do full-time - ones where she could be involved in community and event management.
She joined Parity’s DevRel team in March 2022 as a newbie in web3 and I’m happy to report she loves her job, for the first time in her life!

Resources:

@ZsófiMajor Twitter

@Polkadot Twitter

Parity blog

Hackathon calendar

Madly Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman
We Belong Here Podcast:

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@AaronBassett
@WeBelongPodcast

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Sustainability and Blockchain with Alexandra Heller Dec 29, 2022

Show notes

Alexandra Heller is the Founder of Crypto Philanthropy Club, a club for crypto people who care and give, and is the Marketing Director at Bitgreen, the sustainability blockchain.

Her life’s quest is to help the helpers and spread the ideas the world needs. She previously was the Head of Marketing at Parity Technologies as well as the Marketing Director at Floracopeia.

Resources:

We Belong Here Podcast:

Follow on Twitter:
@LoLoCoding
@AaronBassett
@WeBelongPodcast

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Introducing, We Belong... in Web3! Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

We Belong is back!
We're (Lauren and Aaron ) talking about what we've been up to since the last episode - including new jobs in Web3 AND an incredibly adorable new member of our family.
This episode kicks off a new season of We Belong and it's all about Web3. Today they're discussing our own initial hesitations and skepticism around Web3, why we made the ultimate choice to join a Web3 company, and what we hope to achieve this season.
Join us this season as we celebrate the stories of those diversifying the Web3 space✨
We Belong Here Podcast:

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@AaronBassett
@WeBelongPodcast

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A Bootcamper's Companion by Caitlyn Greffly Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

Caitlyn joins Lauren to talk about her new book, The Bootcamper’s Companion.

If you're trying to break into tech, you probably already know it's a huge and complicated world. Maybe you're thinking about a career change, currently enrolled in a bootcamp, on a self-taught journey, or trying to figure out what will set you apart to land your first job.

Caitlyn wrote this book to give you the tools and information she wishes she had when she was career changing into tech. In it, you'll find the best resources, simplified explanations of technologies and job titles, and specific advice to help you stand out and find a job.

Unlock the tech industry today!

Resources:

Caitlyn’s first episode on We Belong Here

The Bootcamper’s Companion : use “BELONG” for a 20% discount at checkout!
We Belong Here Podcast:

Follow Lauren on Twitter @LoLoCoding

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Caroline Kerns: How Dabbling in Careers Led to Community and #DevRel Jan 17, 2022

Show notes

Caroline is originally from Germany and has tried many different careers on for size. She has had roles ranging from recruiting, automotive, and retail and her interest in programming began a few years ago with a desire to create a Jane Austen quote website (because who doesn’t want to read daily Jane Austen quotes?).

Since then, she’s dabbled in JavaScript and Python and today is the Community Manager at Vonage.

In today’s episode, we chat all about the power of community, especially within the Developer Relations space. Reflecting on her time as a recruiter, Caroline shares tips on how to write the best possible resume and get it in front of a hiring manager. We talk about how the pandemic impacted online communities and led to developers streaming on Twitch and she also gives advice on how to find tech communities that are inclusive and the right fit for you!

Resources:

Follow Caroline on Twitter @grumpysnek: https://twitter.com/grumpysnek

Caroline’s LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/captcalli/

Software and Game Development Twitch Category: https://twitch.tv/directory/game/Software%20and%20Game%20Development

The Live Coders Twitch: https://twitch.tv/team/livecoders

Instafluff Twitch: https://twitch.tv/instafluff

BaldBeardedBuilder Twitch: https://twitch.tv/baldbeardedbuilder

We Belong Here Podcast:

Follow Lauren on Twitter @LoLoCoding

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Shamira Marshall: From Attorney to Software Developer Dec 14, 2021

Show notes

Shamira Marshall is an attorney who learned to code in 2019 and today is a software engineer at GoDaddy. Her interest in tech started in law school and then attended Ada Developers Academy to make the career switch. Which is where she and I met!
Resources:
Ada Developers Academy
Shamira on Dev.to/MiraMarshall
Shamira on Twitter @MiraMarshalll
We Belong Here Podcast:

Follow Lauren on Twitter @LoLoCoding

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PJ Metz: From Teacher to Coder Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is a former educator who now works as an Education Evangelist at GitLab. After teaching English for 11 years in Florida and South Korea, he made the transition into tech in May of 2021 after teaching himself to code with Codecademy during the pandemic.

He’s a passionate public speaker and has spoken at a Microsoft conference as well as hosted several meetups and other events representing GitLab. You can catch him on Twitch building a website about poetry or building his next pop-star-based Twitter bot.

Resources:

Follow PJ on Twitter: @MetzinAround
Codecademy
Gitlab

We Belong Here Podcast:

Follow Lauren on Twitter @LoLoCoding

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Tonya Sims: From WNBA to Python and DevRel Nov 02, 2021

Show notes

Tonya Sims is a self-taught developer and is the Python Developer Advocate at Vonage. She has an eclectic background ranging from roles in business, pharmaceutical sales, and even is a former professional women’s basketball player!

Tonya is humble and down to earth and has a ton of empathy. All of her life experiences allow her to see the world from many different perspectives.

She started her career in tech working as an executive assistant for a leading financial investments company in their IT department. Shortly thereafter, she transitioned into a computer operator role and started learning how to code. Eventually, she worked her way up from an entry-level position to earn roles as a software engineer in test and software developer contracting with some of the top financial services companies in Chicago.

Tonya is passionate about helping other budding engineers and loves to see people succeed!
Resources:

We Belong Here Podcast:

Follow Lauren on Twitter @LoLoCoding

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Allen Whearry: Don't sell yourself short, you can code Aug 30, 2021

Show notes

Allen is a self-taught iOS Developer who made the switch from a professional sales career and now sits as a software engineer at Yelp. He believes anyone can learn to program, they just have to put in the time and effort.

He studied psychology in school and figured he would end up going to grad school for it as well but ended up finding joy in the world of sales. While in sales, he learned so many lessons: the art of receiving negative feedback, the art of storytelling, as well how to both clearly and concisely communicate with people in his day-to-day life.

He had always had an interest in coding but wasn’t interested in studying Computer Science in school so thought that would never be a possible career path for him. But the curiosity never left him so eventually he began teaching himself Ruby and Python! But he wasn’t successful in finding a full-time role and so he pivoted to learning iOS and building apps he actually wanted to use in his life.

Today he is a Software Engineer at Yelp and continues to use the lessons he learned in sales. He also is the organizer of @iOSDevHappyHour - a place where current and aspiring iOS devs can come together and enjoy a good time!

Resources:

Allen on Twitter: @codeine_coding
@iOSDevHappyHour
Extreme Ownership book recommendation
codeinecoding.com

We Belong Here Podcast:

Follow Lauren on Twitter @LoLoCoding

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Alex Merced: Learn, Build, Blog, Teach, Repeat! Aug 24, 2021

Show notes

Alex Merced taught himself to code just a few years ago. Before that, he spent a decade training people in finance and has also moonlighted as a political candidate, concert promoter, and comic book store owner.

Today, he’s a developer for CampusGaurd and Instructor for General Assembly Coding Bootcamps. He is also the creator of devNursery.com - a developer community and is the creator of many Javascript libraries.

Resources:

AlexMercedCoder.com

devNursery.com

Podcast: Web Dev 101

Book Recommended: Nassim Taleb - Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder

We Belong Here Podcast:

Follow Lauren on Twitter @LoLoCoding

webelongpodcast.com

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