Developer on Fire
Developer on Fire
Episode 185 | Heather Downing - Finding The Joy
Guest:
Heather Downing talks with Dave Rael about being lit up, changing careers, human connections in software and elsewhere, and making an impact.
Climbing the technology mountain and halfway up the side. Experience in .Net, mobile and basic iOT. Focusing on coding for humans and choosing the right tool for the job. Heather is a passionate coder and entrepreneur. She has experience working with Fortune 500 companies building enterprise level mobile and .Net applications. She spends her spare time at tech conferences supporting the growth of new developers of all genders, ages and backgrounds. When not coding, Heather spends her time as a competitive equestrian and learning the art of mounted archery.
Chapters:
- - Dave introduces the show and Heather Downing
- - Heather the introvert and the need to relate to other people
- - Heather the career changer - the emotional journey of digging into technology and ultimately and becoming a developer
- - Heather's interest in and love for horses
- - Battling Imposter Syndrome, learning to accept credit for the fruits of your labor, the joy and benefits of awesome communities
- - Heather's advice for imposters
- - The great fortune of being a software developer
- - Human connection and the importance of communication, lessons in humanity from creating software
- - Heather's story of failure - keeping quiet instead of asking for help, leading to dire consequences
- - Heather's success story - achieving flexibility and versatility in learning new technology and skills - going from concept to reality in a startup weekend and spawning a software movement in a particular domain
- - Heather's book recommendation
- - The things that have Heather most excited
- - Heather's top 3 tips for delivering more value
- - Keeping up with Heather
Resources:
- Heather's Blog
- Jeremy Clark on Developer On Fire
- Brave (2012 film)
- Mounted archery
- Yabusame
- Mongol Mounted Archers
- Must Listen History Podcast Series on the Mongols - Hardcore History - Wrath of the Khans - Dan Carlin (no longer free)
- Jon Mills on Developer On Fire
- Impostor Syndrome
- Lee Brandt on Developer On Fire
- Scott Hanselman on Being An Imposter
- The Imposter's Handbook - Rob Conery
- Dressage
- The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master - Andrew Hunt
- Matthew Renze
- Tesla Solar Roof
- Solar Roadways
- HyperDev
- Daniel Moore on Developer On Fire
- Heather at PairieCode() Speaking on Imposter Syndrome
Heather's book recommendation:
Heather's top 3 tips for delivering more value:
- Take inventory of your skill set and assess where you are in relation to what you need to do
- Don't be shy about asking for help
- Find the joy in what you're building
