Episode 249 | Douglas Hirsh - Democratization of the Art

Guest: Douglas Hirsh @dhirshjr Douglas Hirsh talks with Dave Rael about software careers, learning and teaching, business, and the accessibility of software development Douglas has 16 years of professional back-end and front-end software development experience. Currently, Douglas works as an instructor at The Iron Yard where he helps aspiring developers move into the field of software development. He has worked for companies ranging in size from startups to Fortune 50s. In his spare time, Douglas spends time with his family and continues to learn new things. Chapters: 1:45 - Dave introduces the show and Douglas Hirsh5:31 - Douglas, the teacher and learner, and timeframe dependent approaches to learning13:34 - Douglas's career change into teaching from software development and history in software17:09 - The historical context of Douglas's early career and working for experience as a young professional18:59 - Using different languages and approaches22:36 - Douglas's motivation for shifting into teaching25:05 - The things that "light Douglas up"27:35 - Douglas's mastermind group via Entreprogrammers28:50 - Douglas's story of failure - running a business as merely a technician34:24 - The benefits of the mastermind group35:37 - How Douglas stays current with what he needs to know37:23 - Douglas's book recommendation40:33 - The things that have Douglas most excited42:26 - Douglas's top 3 tips for delivering more value44:48 - Keeping up with Douglas Resources: Douglas's Blog Douglas on LinkedIn The Iron Yard Mads Torgersen on Developer On Fire Jon Skeet on Developer On Fire Entreprogrammers John Sonmez on Developer On Fire Charles Max Wood on Developer On Fire Josh Earl on Developer On Fire Derick Bailey on Developer On Fire Aaron Olson on Developer On Fire The Entreprogrammers Thunder Team mastermind meeting where Douglas announces his career shift Node Weekly JavaScript Weekly Azure Cognitive Services IBM Machine Learning Services Douglas's book recommendation: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It - Michael E. Gerber Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning - Peter C. Brown Douglas's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Understand the business you are working for and just get something done Make it work and then make it better Get some breaks and get some sleep