From Stealing Cars to Self-Taught Software Engineer with Dorian Develops [Podcast #147]

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On this week’s episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Dorian Develops. He’s a software engineer and prolific YouTube creator.

Dorian grew up in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami. He’s the child of a single mother that arrived as a refugee from Cuba. After a rough childhood and dropping out of high school in 9th grade, Dorian eventually made a living as a valet car parker in Las Vegas. It was here that he realized he needed to make changes for the sake of his family’s future.

Dorian taught himself to code using freeCodeCamp and other free learning resources, and has since gotten several 6-figure jobs as a web developer.

We talk about:

– How Dorian survived his 20s by waiting tables and parking cars in Las Vegas

– How he taught himself to code using free learning resources and built his network through months of attending local developer meetups

– How he’s worked as a remote developer so he and his kids can travel the world

– And how he’s 1 year into his recovery from a lifetime of drug and alcohol addiction

Can you guess what song I’m playing in the intro?

Also, I want to thank the 10,993 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

You can watch the interview on YouTube:

Or you can listen to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow the freeCodeCamp Podcast there so you’ll get new episodes each Friday.

Links we talk about during our conversation:

– Vagabonding book by Rolf Potts: https://rolfpotts.com/books/vagabonding/

– A documentary on “Advantaged Play” in Blackjack that Quincy mentions. [Note: I don’t gamble and I don’t condone gambling. Still, this is still an excellent video that developers interested in information security should consider watching]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO6aPOkCt84

– A recent HTML tutorial by Dorian: https://youtu.be/sWYdumJckMw?si=nB8j5d9WQR5u5_Mb

– Dorian’s video about his journey to sobriety: https://youtu.be/pGoeG5aY3S0?si=aanGEowSfWd-runm

– Dorian’s video about his love of Brazillian Jujitsu but how it’s left him with permanent injuries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAHPG66H000

Chapters
0:00:00 Introduction to Dorian’s Journey
0:06:54 Philosophy of World Schooling
0:13:05 Transitioning to Las Vegas
0:19:06 Finding Stability in Vegas
0:26:07 Career Changes and Growth
0:30:47 Reflections on Management and Work Culture
0:36:33 Balancing Creator and Manager Mindsets
0:43:48 The Normalization of Gambling in Vegas
0:49:10 Dorian’s Journey into Coding
1:06:15 Navigating Free Coding Resources
1:13:29 The Journey of Building a Portfolio
1:20:55 From Meetups to Job Offers
1:28:51 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in the Workplace
1:38:31 Navigating Job Interviews and Technical Challenges
1:46:19 Embracing Remote Work and Family Adventures
2:08:17 The Road to Sobriety and Self-Discovery
2:17:11 Journey to Sobriety and Its Impact
2:25:20 Reflections on Addiction and Parenting
2:30:46 Understanding Lifestyle Creep
2:47:39 Taking Action Over Procrastination Read More freeCodeCamp.org