Updated Feb 6, 2023 from South Lake Tahoe.
Sierra Rails & Early Career Developers
I’m trying hard to find a way to increase my scope of impact on early career developers ( aka “junior devs”). These are folks who have struggled to find a job after their developer bootcamp, lack real world experience, and are generally smart, hard working, and able to get things done.
On the company side, most nontechnical leaders agree that we shouldn’t utilize our senior talent on tasks and projects that could be accomplished with more junior team members, and investing in people early is a great way to identify and cultivate great talent. Technical leaders (and, lets face it, ICs) often struggle to find great junior devs and onboard them successfully.
It’s a mess.
It’s also a really hard, double-sided problem. My current project is a custom development agency that finds contracts suitable for junior devs with some senior technical coaching (me). I’m hoping to pivot this into a staffing model where these developers can be placed at great companies who can invest in them and support their growth.
Freelancing
I’m also currently freelancing to pay the bills.
Moving East
I’ve lived in California since 2010, when I moved here after college with just a backpack. I moved to South Lake Tahoe from SF in early 2018 and after 5 years here I have decided that it’s time to explore somewhere new – Pittsburgh, PA. I grew up in Ohio and have family in both Ohio and Pennsylvania, so it will be fun to be near them for longer than a weekend (for the first time since I was 18, I’m 36 now).