From broke musician to working dev. How college drop-out Ryan Furrer learned to code [Podcast #166]
475On this week's episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Ryan Furrer. He's a Front End Engineer working on tools that help companies monitor their buildings for energy usage, water leaks, and other environmental factors. Ryan dropped out of college and worked as a musician and violin instructor before teaching himself how to code, working freelance, and ultimately landing developer jobs.
We talk about:
Life as a broke musician
Teaching yourself to code while working full-time
How Ryan had to move back in with his parents after a divorce
His 5-year journey to his first developer job
Also, I want to thank the 11,384 kind people who support our charity each month, and who make this podcast possible. You can join them and support our mission at: https://www.freecodecamp.org/donate
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Links we talk about during our conversation:
Ryan's podcast, Web Dev Dialogues: https://www.webdevdialogues.com/episodes
Ryan's website: https://www.ryanfurrer.com/
A freeCodeCamp course on the Astro front end development framework taught by freeCodeCamp podcast guest James Q Quick: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/learn-the-astro-web-framework/
Chapters
0:00:00 Teaser
0:00:00 Intro and Song: Little Nemo The Dream Master - Mushroom Forest
0:00:00 Introduction to Ryan Furrer and Astro Framework
0:05:48 The Advantages of Astro Over React
0:08:30 Ryan's Journey into Front-End Development
0:11:32 The Transition from Music to Coding
0:14:39 Navigating College and Student Debt
0:17:42 The Reality of Teaching Music
0:20:21 Building a Private Music Teaching Studio
0:30:10 Building a Network for Music Teaching
0:32:38 Transitioning Careers: From Music to Buying
0:34:44 The Emotional Toll of Career Changes
0:38:35 Navigating Remote Work During a Pandemic
0:42:27 The Complexities of a Buyer Role
0:44:37 The Dilemma of Career Satisfaction
0:51:42 Facing Personal Challenges and Finding Community
0:57:39 Burnout and the Importance of Communication
1:03:43 Finding Balance in a Busy Life
1:04:54 Balancing Work and Personal Projects
1:06:49 Skill Progression and Self-Assessment
1:13:26 The Importance of Community and Networking
1:22:15 Navigating the Freelance and Remote Work Landscape
1:30:06 Reflecting on Growth and Future Aspirations