MRS 054: Mark Locklear

Panel: Charles Max Wood Guest: Mark Locklear This week on My Ruby Story, Charles talks to Mark Locklear. Mark first got into programming when there wasn’t a lot of opportunities for him to continue to work in quality assurance and he decided he wanted a change of career, so he went to community college to learn programming. They talk about how he was first exposed to Rails, where he is working currently, and what was it about Rails that got him excited. They also touch on what made him want to move from quality assurance, how he mentors his students at the community college, and more! In particular, we dive pretty deep on: Ruby Rogues Episode 316How did you first get into programming?Has only been programming for about 10 yearsWent into IT during the internet boomUsed to work in IT quality assuranceWent back to school for programmingJava, PHP, and C++ classesRed Hat contracting in RaleighHow did you get into Rails?Taught himself Rails at his local libraryCurrently working at Extension.orgWhat is the cooperative extension service?What do you do at Extension.org?ask.extension.orgWhat was it with Ruby and Rails that made you want to move from QA?Masters in Information ScienceYou’re never too old to learnGet an idea for an app and try and make thatRuby is very intuitive, friendly, and the syntax is easy to understandMentors students in Rails at the community college he went toExpose yourself to as many frameworks as you canIt’s never too late to pursue a career in programmingAnd much, much more! Links: Ruby Rogues Episode 316Red HatRailsExtension.orgask.extension.orgRuby@marklocklearMark’s Mediumlocklear.meMark’s GitHub Sponsors: FreshBooksLoot Crate Picks: Charles <a href="https://www.ziglar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer...