Saron Yitbarek's Path Into Tech

Chats with Kent C. Dodds

Saron Yitbarek started a company called Code Newbie, which started as a Twitter community and grew into a couple of podcasts and a conference.

Saron first became interested in technology after she read the Steve Jobs book, it was the first time she got introduced to technology in a way that she could relate to, where tech was talked about through the eyes of design, art, and storytelling. So, she started calling CEOs of startups until she got an internship, which led to a job. Saron wanted to get into development, though, so she quit her job, started to learn to code, and joined a code boot camp.

Saron's path wasn't always financially secure. She realized that she needed to save and create a safety net. These days to help her budget, she uses a tool called You Need A Budget. The tool enables you to be more critical about where your money is going. Think of it as a digital envelope system.

What if you wanted to get into tech but don't know where to start? Saron's one piece of advice for you is go look up your dream job. What is the dream job you have, the dream company you want to work for? Write down five options for yourself. If you could have any job right now at the best company you could think of, what are those jobs? Find those job postings. Put them in a spreadsheet. Figure out the keywords and what the required skills are for each job. See what each job has in common, and then that's your list, that's your curriculum. That's the stuff that you need to learn. Out of that list, pick one technology, one tool, one language that you recognize that has been repeated across these job postings and start learning that one thing.

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Homework

• Start a gratitude journal (write 5 things you're grateful for every day).
• Search for 5 dream jobs and figure out what they have in common and learn one of those things.

Resources

• CodeNewbie
• Saron Yitbarek, Founder & CEO of CodeNewbie & Host of Command Line Heroes Podcast; Building A Supportive Community for People Learning to Code: Women In Tech New York
• YNAB
• Punch Your Feelings In The Face (slides)
• An Antidote to Dissatisfaction

Guest: Saron Yitbarek

• Twitter: @saronyitbarek
• Website: saron.io
• LinkedIn: @saronyitbarek
• GitHub: @sarony

Host: Kent C. Dodds

• Website: kentcdodds.com
• Twitter: @kentcdodds
• GitHub: @kentcdodds
• Youtube: Kent C. Dodds