On this week's episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Tim Ruscica, the software engineer and prolific programming teacher behind the @TechWithTim YouTube channel. He's also developed courses on freeCodeCamp's YouTube channel. We talk about:
– How Tim managed to get a $70k salary by hacking his way into a Microsoft internship when he was just 19
– How he learned computer architecture as a kid by playing Minecraft
– Lessons he learned from a failed tech startup
– Why he recommends Python as a first programming language. "It's the least overwhelming thing to get your hands dirty." Can you guess what song I'm playing in the intro? Also, I want to thank the 11,133 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 Links we talk about during our conversation: – The classroom montage from Real Genius that Quincy mentions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB1X4o-MV6o – One of Tim's mock coding interview videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q_oYDQ2whs – Tim's course: https://techwithtim.net/dev Chapters 0:00:00 Introduction to Tim Rusica and His Journey
0:04:11 Life in Dubai: The Digital Nomad Experience
0:07:22 Early Programming Passion: From Minecraft to Coding
0:10:23 Lessons from Running a Minecraft Server
0:13:17 Family Influence: Growing Up with Engineering
0:16:22 College Experience: Navigating University During a Pandemic
0:19:17 The Decision to Drop Out of College
0:22:13 YouTube Journey: From Teaching Kids to Building a Channel
0:34:07 The Value of College in Today's World
0:37:22 Landing an Internship at Microsoft
0:46:01 The Experience of Working at Microsoft
0:51:51 Transitioning from Intern to Entrepreneur
0:52:21 The Importance of Critical Thinking
0:59:59 Overcoming Tutorial Hell
1:07:36 Navigating Coding Interviews
1:14:07 The Best Language to Start Programming
1:17:09 Essential Skills for Learning to Code
1:19:36 The Importance of Struggle in Coding
1:21:48 Passion vs. Talent in Programming
1:23:57 Learning New Technologies Effectively
1:34:02 Lessons from Startup Failures
1:37:47 Future Plans and Focus on YouTube