Ryan Latta – Agile Coach and Freelance Consultant #95

Develomentor

Welcome to another episode of Develomentor. Today's guest is Ryan Latta.
Ryan Latta is an agile coach and independent software consultant. He has held tech roles including software engineer, CTO and scrum master. But there is more to the story, as this NC State Computer Science graduate actually started his career as an English teacher before launching his career in tech.

Along his journey, Ryan has worked for the likes of Appia, Thoughtworks, Amplify and several other companies before venturing out on his own as a freelance consultant.

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Quotes

“I always wound up in these unrecognized leadership positions. So I knew there was something there for me but I didn’t know what shape it would take.”

“I wasn’t the smartest kid in the room and I wasn’t sure if I loved programming. What I did realize though is when we did group work, we got our groups going.”

“I became this kind of like ‘when no shoe fits, you call me’. And that meant I started doing agile coaching gigs within the company and then from then on it stuck as my title and profession.”

“Find people that make you better than who you are. Do not go through your career alone. If you need a mentor, find them. Find people who have done this before that you can listen to and take what they have to say seriously.”

“My fear was mostly financial. So if you’re preparing to go start a new venture, have a few months of savings set up for when things go bad. Have a line of credit. Life has a funny way of kicking you.”

—Ryan Latta

Key Milestones

1. Ryan taught English coming out of college. What inspired this decision and what brought him back into tech?
2. After your time teaching, Ryan’s career has seemingly had 3 phases: a phase as a software engineer, a phase an agile coach and now as a consultant. How did he know when was the right time to make a change?
3. What is an agile coach and what does it take to be successful in such a role?
4. What’s the day to day look like for an agile coach?
5. Going on your own can be a big leap, as there often is now safety net. How did Ryan prepare to become a freelancer and what are some tips for anyone considering a similar move?

Additional Resources

Your Money or Your Life, by Vicki Robin – https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

Ryan’s book, ‘Land the Job: Six Months to Start Your Software Career’ – https://www.amazon.com/Land-Job-Months-Software-Career/dp/1734486139

You can find more resources in the show notes
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