Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

This week’s episode features Madison Kanna, a self-taught software developer. She has done a wonderful job documenting her learning process on her blog, madisonkanna.com.

“Find something that you would do even if you wouldn’t get paid for it.” -Madison

Topics Covered:

• How Madison got started as an engineer
• How she taught herself Javascript
• The importance of building projects to show your skills
• The value of documenting your work
• How Madison used her documented work to land a job
• How to overcome a learning curve as a self-educator
• Tips for figuring out your own path of learning
• Top skills needed for teaching yourself
• Madison’s project with her sister Randall Kanna
• Why you should document as a beginner, not just when you have mastered a skill
• Madison’s favorite ways of documenting work (tutorials, Github, and blogging)
• Madison’s tips for learning to code

Links:

• Madison’s Journey as a Developer
• More information on Non-Zero Days
• Why is Teaching Yourself to Code so Hard? (written by Madison)
• Neopets (played by Madison and her sisters when they were young)
• ConsenSys (the blockchain development program that Madison is currently taking)
• Madison’s Youtube channel (where she is documenting the ConsenSys developer program
• Deep Work by Cal Newport (recommended by Madison)