Transistor (https://transistor.fm) https://feeds.transistor.fm/devpath-fm Building a career as a Software Engineer is hard. Whether you're trying to break into the industry, fighting with imposter syndrome, or just trying to take the next big step in your career, you'll benefit from hearing how successful engineers have triumphed and failed in their careers. Learn more: www.devpath.fm © 2025 Jacob Herrington 9e9516b5-5d56-52d6-adac-6f9670cb88a9 no en Wed, 23 Jul 2025 09:36:50 -0500 Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:04:24 -0600 https://devpath.fm https://img.transistor.fm/T0lMdoY5siPy5_NCxZ18qqM9yRleZEbGhSQ25RXboJ0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzcwOS8xNTQ1MTgy/NzUzLWFydHdvcmsu/anBn.jpg https://devpath.fm episodic Jacob Herrington Building a career as a Software Engineer is hard. Whether you're trying to break into the industry, fighting with imposter syndrome, or just trying to take the next big step in your career, you'll benefit from hearing how successful engineers have triumphed and failed in their careers. Learn more: www.devpath.fm Building a career as a Software Engineer is hard. software engineering, developers, technology, career Jacob Herrington No No 29 29 Engineer and Instructor Tomasz Łakomy full e52305b1-1cbd-4cfd-a582-071fd92e9c8e https://share.transistor.fm/s/7a5960d3 Fri, 27 Mar 2020 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2632 Tomasz and I have been interacting on Twitter for some time now, so it was a lot of fun to finally speak with him. We talked about his experience getting into JavaScript and eventually becoming an authority on frontend development as well as the impact becoming a speaker has had on his career. Tomasz online: https://twitter.com/tlakomy Tomasz and I have been interacting on Twitter for some time now, so it was a lot of fun to finally speak with him. We talked about his experience getting into JavaScript and eventually becoming an authority on frontend development as well as the impact be software engineering, developers, technology, career No 28 28 Developer Advocate Nader Dabit full 97657582-14a4-4ddc-8ff0-b0817553fe65 https://share.transistor.fm/s/faecdee4 Fri, 17 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2892 Nader Dabit is a Developer Advocate working at AWS. He is also an author, blogger, and React Native expert. Nader and I talked a lot about his journey into tech and about the background we both share as technologists living in the southern United States away from the major tech hubs. Nader's internet home: https://twitter.com/dabit3 Nader Dabit is a Developer Advocate working at AWS. He is also an author, blogger, and React Native expert. Nader and I talked a lot about his journey into tech and about the background we both share as technologists living in the southern United States a software engineering, developers, technology, career No 27 27 Software Engineering Manager Kate Taggart full 71bc50a9-9112-46a0-9d2d-2f8027aa8a93 https://share.transistor.fm/s/1af04126 Fri, 03 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2950 Kate Taggart is an Engineering Manager at Stripe, they come from a very abstract and technical background, which was interesting for me as a self-taught developer. Kate covered their own experiences as an individual contributor and as a manager, comparing and contrasting the two for my benefit. It's probably important to note that I interviewed Kate back in August of 2019, it took me a bit longer than expected to share this one! Kate's internet home: https://twitter.com/qkate Kate Taggart is an Engineering Manager at Stripe, they come from a very abstract and technical background, which was interesting for me as a self-taught developer. Kate covered their own experiences as an individual contributor and as a manager, comparing software engineering, developers, technology, career No 26 26 Engineer and CTO Charity Majors full 3a55deca-4414-4d79-a383-011ba2924e13 https://share.transistor.fm/s/d5e1fc4f Fri, 11 Oct 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2680 Charity Majors is the CTO of Honeycomb.io, and has spent a career deep in tech. We talked at length about her struggles and strategies for growth and the challenging transition from individual contributor to manager and leader. Charity is an incredibly authentic and open individual and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to chat with her. Charity's internet home: https://charity.wtf/ Charity Majors is the CTO of Honeycomb.io, and has spent a career deep in tech. We talked at length about her struggles and strategies for growth and the challenging transition from individual contributor to manager and leader. Charity is an incredibly au software engineering, developers, technology, career No 25 25 Developer Advocate Jason Lengstorf full 3c30cbfd-2090-4801-9b72-eb188bef10f8 https://share.transistor.fm/s/61e5f276 Fri, 20 Sep 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 3119 Jason Lengstorf is a Developer Advocate, and at the time of this recording, he was heading up the learning team for Gatsby. During this interview, Jason and I cover his background and his experiences learning to lead. Near the end of the conversation, Jason shares his take of the differences between management and leadership. Jason's internet home: https://lengstorf.com/ Jason Lengstorf is a Developer Advocate, and at the time of this recording, he was heading up the learning team for Gatsby. During this interview, Jason and I cover his background and his experiences learning to lead. Near the end of the conversation, Jas software engineering, developers, technology, career No 24 24 DEV Webmaster and Founder Ben Halpern full 86e9c5c9-0d49-4191-ae35-5860b92312a0 https://share.transistor.fm/s/9233183d Fri, 13 Sep 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 3061 Ben Halpern is best known for building the DEV community, centered around https://dev.to. During our conversation, we talked about his journey from marketer to developer and from developer to founder. Ben shared with me why he uses the title Webmaster and a little bit about his upbringing and unique world-view. Ben's Incredible Website: http://benhalpern.com/ Ben Halpern is best known for building the DEV community, centered around https://dev.to. During our conversation, we talked about his journey from marketer to developer and from developer to founder. Ben shared with me why he uses the title Webmaster and software engineering, developers, technology, career No 23 23 Speaker and Software Engineer Laurie Barth full bbabbfb9-cd28-4fa6-8355-afa0c64975d7 https://share.transistor.fm/s/6ffe63a7 Fri, 06 Sep 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2531 Laurie Barth is a mathematician turned Software Engineer. She is known for giving a ton of excellent talks and sharing her opinions about software development online. We got the change to talk about her start in tech, her transition from a tangential field, and her journey into speaking about her career at conferences. Laurie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurieontech Laurie Barth is a mathematician turned Software Engineer. She is known for giving a ton of excellent talks and sharing her opinions about software development online. We got the change to talk about her start in tech, her transition from a tangential fiel software engineering, developers, technology, career No 22 22 Creator of Laravel Taylor Otwell full bc840305-5401-4d72-9e57-863ae245ca43 https://share.transistor.fm/s/688ddc45 Fri, 30 Aug 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2769 Taylor Otwell is the creator and maintainer of Laravel, a PHP framework for modern web applications. Taylor's also a fellow Arkansan! We talked a ton about running an Open Source project and the successful career Taylor has built around the Laravel project. You can find more about Taylor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/taylorotwell Taylor Otwell is the creator and maintainer of Laravel, a PHP framework for modern web applications. Taylor's also a fellow Arkansan! We talked a ton about running an Open Source project and the successful career Taylor has built around the Laravel projec software engineering, developers, technology, career No 21 21 Lead Site Reliability Engineer Molly Struve full f3683a31-1cb4-4ab2-b6c1-e23a94f4c4bc https://share.transistor.fm/s/45c213c3 Fri, 23 Aug 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2581 Molly Struve is a Lead Site Reliability Engineer, blogger, and speaker who I've been following on Twitter for quite a while. In our conversation we cover her experience transitioning into the software industry, dealing with imposter syndrome, and the struggles she has experienced growing into a leadership role. You can find more about Molly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/molly_struve Molly Struve is a Lead Site Reliability Engineer, blogger, and speaker who I've been following on Twitter for quite a while. In our conversation we cover her experience transitioning into the software industry, dealing with imposter syndrome, and the stru software engineering, developers, technology, career No 20 20 GoRails Creator and Consultant Chris Oliver full 4b3182d5-c6ce-42c2-be51-cbacb8fc1c8d https://share.transistor.fm/s/5136e995 Fri, 16 Aug 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 3431 Chris is the creator and CEO of GoRails, a site that hosts his Ruby and Ruby on Rails screencasts. Chris is also an Open Source developer and a well-known content creator. He co-hosts the Remote Ruby podcast. In our conversation we talk about Chris' start in Open Source, the value of learning in the open, and his strategies for learning new skills. GoRails: https://gorails.com Chris is the creator and CEO of GoRails, a site that hosts his Ruby and Ruby on Rails screencasts. Chris is also an Open Source developer and a well-known content creator. He co-hosts the Remote Ruby podcast. In our conversation we talk about Chris' start software engineering, developers, technology, career No 19 19 Conference Speaker and Lead Engineer Jessica Kerr full d0286e02-5e08-47b1-a77b-934bb4f798ce https://share.transistor.fm/s/74729f52 Fri, 19 Jul 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2914 Jessica is a Lead Engineer at Atomist, she is also a well-known conference speaker and writer. Jessica shared some of her strengths and taught me about thinking in systems. We also touched on some of the unique experiences Jessica has witnessed as a woman in tech. Jessica online: http://jessitron.com/ Jessica is a Lead Engineer at Atomist, she is also a well-known conference speaker and writer. Jessica shared some of her strengths and taught me about thinking in systems. We also touched on some of the unique experiences Jessica has witnessed as a woman software engineering, developers, technology, career No 18 18 Pragmatic Programmers Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas full 6838ecf8-da53-4eb0-af28-1e50b3900560 https://share.transistor.fm/s/9656f857 Fri, 12 Jul 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 3680 Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas are the authors of The Pragmatic Programmers, one of the most influential software engineering books of all time. Andy and Dave are also original members of the agile movement and have been writing code for several decades. They are programmers. Andy and Dave's internet home: https://pragprog.com/ Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas are the authors of The Pragmatic Programmers, one of the most influential software engineering books of all time. Andy and Dave are also original members of the agile movement and have been writing code for several decades. They software engineering, developers, technology, career No 17 17 Senior Software Engineer Cassidy Williams full a79e44e8-4d45-4bfd-82e2-5e51fdad9cb8 https://share.transistor.fm/s/c0bcf513 Fri, 05 Jul 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2200 Cassidy Williams is a Senior Software Engineer at CodePen. Before joining CodePen, Cassidy worked at a ton of different companies ranging from startups to Amazon. During the interview, we talk about her journey from beginner to senior and Cassidy shares her own strategies for growing as an engineer. Cassidy on the internet: https://twitter.com/cassidoo Cassidy Williams is a Senior Software Engineer at CodePen. Before joining CodePen, Cassidy worked at a ton of different companies ranging from startups to Amazon. During the interview, we talk about her journey from beginner to senior and Cassidy shares h software engineering, developers, technology, career No 16 16 AWS Consultant and Open Source Engineer Tung Nguyen full 5ecc8fc7-50a2-4d12-9d0f-9ff2ccb0e0a2 https://share.transistor.fm/s/d9baabfe Fri, 28 Jun 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2661 Tung Nguyen runs BoltOps, an AWS consultancy, and is the former VP of Engineering for Bleacher Report. Tung grew with Bleacher Report from the first hire to leading the engineering team, during our conversation we talk about that journey and about the differences now that he works independently. Tung's internet home: https://www.boltops.com/ Tung Nguyen runs BoltOps, an AWS consultancy, and is the former VP of Engineering for Bleacher Report. Tung grew with Bleacher Report from the first hire to leading the engineering team, during our conversation we talk about that journey and about the dif software engineering, developers, technology, career No 15 15 Engineering VP and Mentor Justin Hennessy full 604bf736-d97c-4490-9711-49c49c22194a https://share.transistor.fm/s/944095a3 Fri, 21 Jun 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2270 Justin Hennessy is a Vice President of Engineering at Neto E-Commerce Solutions in Australia. Justin has been an engineering doer and facilitator for two decades and has developed expertise in mentoring other engineers. During this interview, Justin and I discuss his own experience as an engineer and how that experience helps him to be a more effective leader and mentor. Justin on the interwebs: https://justinhennessy.me/ Justin Hennessy is a Vice President of Engineering at Neto E-Commerce Solutions in Australia. Justin has been an engineering doer and facilitator for two decades and has developed expertise in mentoring other engineers. During this interview, Justin and I software engineering, developers, technology, career No 14 14 Staff Software Engineer and Teacher Vaidehi Joshi full 4aa9933d-2b62-410f-bd0b-9fc5fb943eff https://share.transistor.fm/s/eefb4b9d Fri, 24 May 2019 05:00:00 -0500 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2559 Vaidehi is a Staff Software Engineer at Tilde and creator of content series like BaseCS and BaseDS. She has built a career around educating others while building software. Vadehi and I discuss her experiences transitioning from a writing career, stepping into the dev community spotlight, and her strategies for self-improvement. Vaidehi's internet home: https://twitter.com/VaidehiJoshi Vaidehi is a Staff Software Engineer at Tilde and creator of content series like BaseCS and BaseDS. She has built a career around educating others while building software. Vadehi and I discuss her experiences transitioning from a writing career, stepping software engineering, developers, technology, career No 13 13 Entrepreneur and Freelance Engineer Jason Swett full a5080b33-7fdc-4264-a4a5-143ad5171c25 https://share.transistor.fm/s/02b89dc7 Fri, 01 Mar 2019 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 1870 Jason is a freelance software engineer and an expert on Ruby testing. He hosts the Ruby Testing podcast, writes technical books, teaches other developers, and is on a mission to build businesses with his technical skillset. During our talk, Jason shared his expertise in seeking new ways to increase your income as a developer and revealed his own experiences as a developer, author, teacher, and freelancer. Jason's internet home: https://www.codewithjason.com/ Jason is a freelance software engineer and an expert on Ruby testing. He hosts the Ruby Testing podcast, writes technical books, teaches other developers, and is on a mission to build businesses with his technical skillset. During our talk, Jason shared h software engineering, developers, technology, career No 12 12 Open Source Maintainer Steve Klabnik full 10240e64-ea4f-4db1-93e3-e343eec2a3a3 https://share.transistor.fm/s/ce963542 Fri, 22 Feb 2019 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2434 Steve Klabnik is an accomplished open source maintainer having worked on a huge number of projects. He is most well known for his work on Ruby, Rails, and Rust. During our interview, we talk about Steve's journey as a developer and the how open source has shaped his career. Steve's internet home: https://twitter.com/steveklabnik Steve Klabnik is an accomplished open source maintainer having worked on a huge number of projects. He is most well known for his work on Ruby, Rails, and Rust. During our interview, we talk about Steve's journey as a developer and the how open source has software engineering, developers, technology, career No 11 11 Teacher and Developer Advocate Ali Spittel full 5e2e9908-3391-4a44-ae47-abbf2657bc4b https://share.transistor.fm/s/818a5fab Fri, 15 Feb 2019 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2079 Ali Spittel is a Developer Advocate at Dev.to and spent a portion of her career teaching new web developers at General Assembly. She has a ton of valuable experience when it comes to teaching others and getting involved in the community. Ali shares a lot of great content on Dev.to and on Twitter, where she has continued to develop her expertise as a developer and educator. Ali's internet home: https://twitter.com/ASpittel Ali Spittel is a Developer Advocate at Dev.to and spent a portion of her career teaching new web developers at General Assembly. She has a ton of valuable experience when it comes to teaching others and getting involved in the community. Ali shares a lot software engineering, developers, technology, career No 10 10 International Software Engineer and Blogger Geshan Manandhar full 06dabba9-c1d7-4ea4-95a3-f6cfea161ef5 https://share.transistor.fm/s/8ea865c1 Fri, 08 Feb 2019 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2031 Geshan Manandhar is a Senior Software Engineer with experience working in a number of different countries including Nepal, U.A.E., and Australia. He has been blogging and sharing his expertise for over a decade. Our conversation covers the usual subjects like leveling up and dealing with imposter syndrome, but we also dig into Geshan's experience working in unfamiliar environments and his strategies for dealing with new cultures. Geshan's internet home: https://geshan.com.np/ Geshan Manandhar is a Senior Software Engineer with experience working in a number of different countries including Nepal, U.A.E., and Australia. He has been blogging and sharing his expertise for over a decade. Our conversation covers the usual subjects software engineering, developers, technology, career No 9 9 Gourmet Ruby Chef Avdi Grimm full 0cb4c626-1d08-4d4b-93f1-f972b6031713 https://share.transistor.fm/s/26429cce Fri, 01 Feb 2019 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 1979 Avdi is a prolific Ruby developer with deep ties to the community. A well-known speaker and educator, he created Ruby Tapas and has led a successful career as a consultant. Avdi shared his experiences with imposter syndrome and talked about the importance of acknowledging privilege where it exists in the software industry. Avdi's internet home: https://avdi.codes Avdi is a prolific Ruby developer with deep ties to the community. A well-known speaker and educator, he created Ruby Tapas and has led a successful career as a consultant. Avdi shared his experiences with imposter syndrome and talked about the importance software engineering, developers, technology, career No 8 8 UX Engineer and Coding Coach Founder Emma Bostian full 4afec2cb-d6ed-4b93-a31b-3e37d69ac696 https://share.transistor.fm/s/c62cb65a Fri, 25 Jan 2019 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2126 Emma is an engineer at LogMeIn, the founder of Coding Coach, and a writer. She's currently living in Germany and sharing tons of great content on Twitter. Our conversation focuses on her early career and her foray into writing for an audience. Emma's internet home: https://twitter.com/EmmaBostian Neat thing Emma is making: codingcoach.io Emma is an engineer at LogMeIn, the founder of Coding Coach, and a writer. She's currently living in Germany and sharing tons of great content on Twitter. Our conversation focuses on her early career and her foray into writing for an audience. Emma's i software engineering, developers, technology, career No 7 7 Docker Captain and Freelance Developer Nick Janetakis full 2990cb5f-47a1-4796-8267-32648175648f https://share.transistor.fm/s/cf7b4e9f Fri, 18 Jan 2019 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 1607 Nick Janetakis is an educator and developer in the DevOps space. He creates extremely high-quality content and courses that have enabled significant growth in his freelance career. Our discussion covers building confidence and the truth about being an expert. Nick's internet home: https://nickjanetakis.com and https://twitter.com/nickjanetakis Nick Janetakis is an educator and developer in the DevOps space. He creates extremely high-quality content and courses that have enabled significant growth in his freelance career. Our discussion covers building confidence and the truth about being an exp software engineering, developers, technology, career No 6 6 Principal Frontend Engineer Ben Ilegbodu full fce033b2-3005-4717-9d4b-e96e8fba10f5 https://share.transistor.fm/s/18d3c40b Fri, 11 Jan 2019 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2680 Ben Ilegbodu is a principal engineer at Eventbrite, a Microsoft MVP, and a speaker in the JavaScript community. During our conversation Ben shares his unconventional experience with imposter syndrome and his thoughts on becoming a senior developer. Ben's internet home: https://twitter.com/benmvp Ben Ilegbodu is a principal engineer at Eventbrite, a Microsoft MVP, and a speaker in the JavaScript community. During our conversation Ben shares his unconventional experience with imposter syndrome and his thoughts on becoming a senior developer. Ben software engineering, developers, technology, career No 4 4 Public Speaker and React Native Developer Erin Fox full a9d3e99f-46e3-4025-bb21-efd4b8cff1b9 https://share.transistor.fm/s/a084faa3 Sun, 30 Dec 2018 08:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 1736 Erin Fox is a React Native developer at Major League Soccer. Despite joining the software engineering industry recently she has spoken at a number of conferences and meetups. We talk about building confidence and the benefits of getting involved in the community. Erin's internet home: https://twitter.com/erinfoox/ Erin Fox is a React Native developer at Major League Soccer. Despite joining the software engineering industry recently she has spoken at a number of conferences and meetups. We talk about building confidence and the benefits of getting involved in the co software engineering, developers, technology, career No 5 5 Technical Writer and Freelancer Sophia Shoemaker full 5428dfff-7ce1-4a1e-8dfb-74b44d5eed37 https://share.transistor.fm/s/bdeefc93 Sun, 30 Dec 2018 08:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 1746 Sophia is an author and freelance web developer. Our conversation hones in on the concept of teaching others to build your own skills and career. Sophia's internet home: https://twitter.com/wisecobbler Sophia is an author and freelance web developer. Our conversation hones in on the concept of teaching others to build your own skills and career. Sophia's internet home: https://twitter.com/wisecobbler software engineering, developers, technology, career No 3 3 Professional Mentor Ryan Bigg full c81a5062-387e-4c73-84be-ccacade3043c https://share.transistor.fm/s/e4790e48 Sun, 30 Dec 2018 07:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2198 Ryan Bigg is a well-known open source developer. Now he mentors junior developers fulltime at Culture Amp. Ryan shared his struggles as a beginner and some of the challenges he faces now that he is over a decade into his career. Ryan's internet home: https://ryanbigg.com/ Ryan Bigg is a well-known open source developer. Now he mentors junior developers fulltime at Culture Amp. Ryan shared his struggles as a beginner and some of the challenges he faces now that he is over a decade into his career. Ryan's internet home: software engineering, developers, technology, career No 2 2 Accessibility Guru and Engineering Manager Jen Luker full eb2108a3-43bf-441d-85f8-98d09c53d4c1 https://share.transistor.fm/s/2493e792 Sun, 30 Dec 2018 06:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2132 Jen Luker is a JavaScript developer turned manager. She is an expert on tech accessibility. During our talk, we touch on topics ranging from semantic HTML to sexism, Jen has had an incredible journey and I'm humbled to have had the opportunity to record it. Jen's internet home: https://www.jenluker.com Jen Luker is a JavaScript developer turned manager. She is an expert on tech accessibility. During our talk, we touch on topics ranging from semantic HTML to sexism, Jen has had an incredible journey and I'm humbled to have had the opportunity to record i software engineering, developers, technology, career No 1 1 JavaScript Expert and Content Creator Kent C. Dodds full 768bd863-8358-4840-932e-8e63236a4655 https://share.transistor.fm/s/fa201fad Sun, 30 Dec 2018 05:00:00 -0600 Jacob Herrington Jacob Herrington 2577 Kent C. Dodds is known for the huge amount of content he has produced, his open source work, and his high level of productivity. During our conversation, we talk about his humble beginnings and how he built a career on sharing his knowledge. Kent's internet home: https://kentcdodds.com/ Kent C. Dodds is known for the huge amount of content he has produced, his open source work, and his high level of productivity. During our conversation, we talk about his humble beginnings and how he built a career on sharing his knowledge. Kent's i software engineering, developers, technology, career No