The (Not so) Hidden Benefits of Talking about Code, with Scrimba Bootcamp Lead Micha

The Scrimba Podcast

✨Use this link for a 20% discount on the Scrimba bootcamp! ✨ Meet Michaella Rodriguez! If you're already in the Scrimba Discord community, you probably know her. If not, she's a career changer who discovered Scrimba while learning, like many; she was active in the Scrimba community when Guil recruited the first-ever code reviewers for our bootcamp. Now, she's a bootcamp lead at Scrimba. And no, she never thought she would be a coder - but a friend made her try it.

Yes, Micha and Alex do talk about the Scrimba bootcamp in this episode. But even if you're not interested in the bootcamp, this interview brings a wealth of information that can help you if you're learning to code. You have probably already heard that trying and teaching somebody else is the best way to solidify your learning. Well, in this episode, you'll find out how to do that as a junior, why you should be able to talk about and explain code, and whether you can bring anything to the table in a discussion or a code review if you're not an expert. Also in this episode: group projects, GIT, accountability, (not) letting yourself slide, and Alex's unorthodox StackOverflow strategy.

🔗 Connect with Micha

• 👩‍💼 Linkedin
• 🐦 Twitter
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🤖 michaellala on Scrimba Discord

⏰ Timestamps

• How Micha started to learn to code after a friend told her he thought she'd be good at it (01:57)
• Micha used freeCodeCamp but turned to Scrimba for JavaScript (03:19)
• Eventually, Micha started working at Scrimba! (04:42)
• What is the Scrimba Bootcamp? (06:07)
• What challenges do coding students typically face? (09:45)
• How Scrimba bootcamp keeps students accountable (10:57)
• Community Break with Jan the Producer (15:04)
• Why code reviews are important (17:03)
• Why you should look to give code reviews and not just get them (18:29)
• Pay it forward, learn by teaching, and foster community (20:25)
• How Alex used StackOverflow while learning to code (21:39)
• Why you should be able to talk about code (22:42)
• Can beginners actually help someone with their code? (23:28)
• The best person to teach a subject is somebody who just learned it (26:01)
• ELI5 (26:54)
• Some teachers love sounding smart, and that's not always the best for students (28:03)
• The common traits of successful self-taught developers (29:09)
• Where to learn more about the Scrimba Bootcamp (30:53)
• Do group projects as a learner! (33:38)
• Next week on the show: O'Reilly author of Learning Git, Anna SKoulikari! (35:02)

🧰 Resources Mentioned

• Use this link for a 20% discount on the Scrimba bootcamp!
• Scrimba Bootcamp
• From Lab Coat to Code: Vanessa's Path from Lab Scientist to Developing Lab Software
• Anna Skoulikari

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