If you work in the tech world, you may have spotted an interesting trend. Many software engineers, developers, and other people who get paid to code didn’t start out coding from day one. It makes sense, the days of webmasters are far behind us, and yesterday’s webmasters are today’s developers. As the tech world has evolved, so have the jobs and skills needed to maintain and build websites. This shift means that you could start out in the arts, parlay those skills into graphic design, and even morph that into front-end developing skills, much like some members of our very own engineering and developer team. We wanted to highlight a few of the members of our own StackSocial tech team and ask them how they got started, what inspires them, and more.
Jeremy Azzari
What is your current role?
Software Engineer
In Layman’s terms, what do you do?
Contribute code for features for the StackCommerce apps.
What was your background before tech (if different)?
I originally went to Art Center in Pasadena for Illustration and worked as a story board artist for a short while.
What is it about engineering/development work that inspires you?
I find it extremely creative. The precise way you solve any given problem is up to you. I also like that there is always more to know, it never gets boring.
If you could go back in time and give your 15-year old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
School is cool… I didn’t become a good student until much later on.
What coding language was your favorite to learn?
Ruby, it’s designed to be fun.
In your opinion what’s the greatest challenge in your field?
Finding an algorithm to compute the traveling salesman problem in nondeterministic polynomial time. Either that or getting everyone to agree on a Javascript framework.
What’s your favorite sugary breakfast cereal?
Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Cory O’Daniel
What is your current role?
Director of Engineering
In Layman’s terms, what do you do?
I try to convince computers to do things my way, but we all know computers have a mind of their own and pretty much do whatever they want, which causes me to curse under my breath a lot.
What was your background before tech (if different)?
I was originally a physics major, but switched to Information Systems. I was a previously HIPAA Security Analyst. I was also a full-time college professor by the age of 24.
What is it about engineering/development work that inspires you?
I occasionally solve problems that are so hard and/or confusing, that when I finish them, I laugh uncontrollably. A very “Muahahahaha” evil laugh. Holding out for those moments is what inspires me.
If you could go back in time and give your 15-year old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Apply for a bunch of credit cards and lie about your salary, take out massive cash advances, file for bankruptcy and sneak down to Central America and the Caribbean and live like a king. Oh yeah, and buy a MacBook before you leave the US.
What coding language was your favorite to learn?
Ruby and SQL. I really like SQL. I’m currently learning Haskell and Elixir. I’m addicted.
In your opinion what’s the greatest challenge in your field?
Getting engineers to code as if they were craftsmen. What you leave behind shouldn’t just work, it should be inspiring to others.
What’s your favorite sugary breakfast cereal?
Steak and whiskey.
Dan Patey
What is your current role?
Automation Engineer
In Layman’s terms, what do you do?
I create little robots that run through a project when a change is made so we can easily verify that major parts of that project still work after the change.
What was your background before tech (if different)?
Through college I was pre-med and an IV-Tech EMT, halfway through I switched to Computer Science and started consulting around the Minneapolis area.
What is it about engineering/development work that inspires you?
Getting to create tangible things; Actions speak louder than words.
If you could go back in time and give your 15-year old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Live in the moment and enjoy it.
What coding language was your favorite to learn?
Bash scripts for my linux environment (my first taste of programming).
In your opinion what’s the greatest challenge in your field?
Understanding.
What’s your favorite sugary breakfast cereal?
I don’t eat cereal; Breakfast is usually some variation of soyrizo and eggs.
Will Schoenberger
What is your current role?
Front-End Engineer
In Layman’s terms, what do you do?
I make the website interface work and look as designed in all the important browsers.
What was your background before tech (if different)?
Before web development I was a designer, but also for tech companies. Before that I worked at a small print shop prepping art for screen printing.
What is it about engineering/development work that inspires you?
It’s challenging in the right ways. I always feel like I’m growing and learning.
If you could go back in time and give your 15-year old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Focus just some of your energy on computer science sooner and in 10 years, get a job at google.
What coding language was your favorite to learn?
Javascript
In your opinion what’s the greatest challenge in your field?
Keeping it simple.
What’s your favorite sugary breakfast cereal?
Frosted Flakes
Josh Singer
What is your current role?
I’m a senior product manager.
In Layman’s terms, what do you do?
I work with everyone in the company to figure out what our biggest, most important problems are, and then work with the engineering team to figure out clever solutions to them.
What was your background before tech (if different)?
Actually, I’m the reverse! I started with a Comp Sci degree, and then spent ten years doing QA, front end development, back end development, and founded my own company. It wasn’t until then that I decided to switch over to the business side.
What is it about engineering/development work that inspires you?
The same thing about product that inspires me is the same thing about engineering that inspired me — I love solving problems. I like learning about and understanding what the real underlying issues are, figuring out an elegant solution, and then actually implementing it and seeing it work.
If you could go back in time and give your 15-year old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Chill out about everything. Nothing matters nearly as much as you think it does. Also, Erica totally likes you (you’ll meet her in a couple of years), so you should totally go for it.
What coding language was your favorite to learn?
Javascript! I feel like Javascript didn’t really get its proper due until relatively recently. It’s actually insanely powerful and lets you do all sorts of cool computer science-y things as a functional language with closures and whatnot.
In your opinion what’s the greatest challenge in your field?
The two hardest things to me in product are a) trying to make the possible best decisions with imperfect data, and b) convincing others to try the simplest, smallest, quickest versions of features and iteratively improving them rather than making the big, beautiful version that takes longer and may not accomplish what you wanted. It’s just like refactoring code – it’s easier to course correct after each small improvement than it is to do one huge sweeping commit that might break other features.
What’s your favorite sugary breakfast cereal?
Why you gonna make me choose, man? I have a big soft spot for Reece’s Peanut Butter Puffs, but I’ve recently rediscovered my love for Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Have you been considering a career in coding? Stories from our tech team are not unique – starting a computer science career doesn’t mean going back to a 4-year college. Learn some of the most popularly used coding languages:
- Essential JavaScript Coding Bundle
- Ruby on Rails Coding Bootcamp
- Ultimate SQL Bootcamp
- Python Programming Bootcamp
- And if you are looking to get started in all of the popular coding languages, get started with the Pay What You Want: Learn to Code 2016 Bundle!