Ruby for All

About this Episode

Live from Providence, RI, it is the Rubyconf Mini Podcast Panel! Panelists from different community podcasts come together to discuss their experiences at the conference, field questions from the audience attendees and of course, mention their upcoming talks they were giving at the conference. 

Moderated By:

• Brittany Martin, The Ruby on Rails Podcast

Panelists:

• Andy Croll, Chats in the Cupboard
• Drew Bragg, Code and the Coding Coders who Code it
• Joël Quenneville, The Bikeshed
• Julie J, Ruby for All

A special thanks to the organizers of Rubyconf Mini for making this panel happen: Jemma Issroff, Emily Samp and Andy Croll.

Timestamps

[0:40] Andrew just finished giving his BridgetownConf 2022 talk

[0:55] Richard introduces himself and talks about a feature he added that will be coming out in Ruby 3.2

[2:20] Andrew asks Julie if she was ever obsessed like him about getting a commit into Rails, which launches into a discussion with Richard about contributing to Rails and how he paired with Aaron Patterson.

[5:20] Richard shares how he got started contributing to Rails on a regular basis, which led to creation of CodeTriage.\

[9:00] Andrew shares how he began contributing to open source through baby steps by replying to issues in some of the libraries and tools he used.

[9:53] Julie mentions that getting to know the types of issues that come into projects you want to contribute to can be a big help and Richard adds some more reasons why this is very helpful for new contributors.

[11:30] Richard explains how to make micro contributions like hearting an issue or commenting on them. 

[12:50] Richard discusses how contributing to open source is harder than most people make it seem to juniors, which led to why he wrote How to Open Source.

[14:30] Julie discusses her first open source contribution with Ruby for Good and how we often forget the complexity of things we do every day for newcomers. She also recommends letting the maintainer know if the instructions for setting up the project are missing or incorrect. 

[17:24] Richard recommends having folks take notes of their own experience and how experienced devs sidestep issues instead of providing feedback to the maintainer.

[19:23] Andrew asks what the prerequisites are for folks interested in How to Open Source.

[22:30] Richard talks about showing up early to projects and it generates some discussion around making sure that you are making valuable contributions, respecting the the maintainers time, and Hacktoberfest.

[27:22] Andrew asks Richard about 24 Pull Requests and where folks can follow him online.

Links

Andrew's BridgetownConf Talk

CodeTriage

How to Open Source: Learn the secrets of successful contributors

Ruby for Good

Hacktoberfest

24 Pull Requests

Richard's Website

Richard on Twitter

Timestamps

[0:30] Collin introduces himself!

[2:40] Andrew asks what it's like to create Ruby on Rails educational content in 2022

[3:25] Collin talks about study groups in his bootcamp and how that correlated to student success

[4:12] Collin talks about creating his first GoRails video

[5:37] Julie asks how many times Collin has to rerecord himself while making screencasts

[7:00] Julie asks about the planning process for videos and what that entails

[9:49] Andrew asks what kind of software Collin uses when making screencasts

[12:58] Collin responds to Julie's discussion of trying to get topics out of your head and admits he still struggles with it

[15:10] Julie asks about teaching subjects while also learning them at the same time

[18:18] Andrew asks where people should start if they want to start creating screencasts

[20:19] Julie asks if people request videos on GoRails

[21:47] Julie asks about mob pairing with juniors

Sponsor

Special thanks to Andy Croll for personally sponsoring this episode. Be sure to check out firstrubyfriend.org and onerubything.com for nice, free community resources for newer devs!

Links
Ruby Radar
GoRails
Collin on Twitter

Timestamps

• [1:10] Andrew can't do arts and crafts
• [1:42] Julie is speaking at RubyConf Mini soon!
• [4:00] Andrew recommends pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and meet new people at conferences
• [5:20] Julie talks about her experience as a scholar at RailsConf 2022
• [10:00] Andrew and Julie share how they try to be more welcoming to others at conferences by making room for people to join you.
• [11:30] Julie talks about making connections with people
• [12:20] Julie shares her idea for a "Buddy Bench" at conferences
• [14:00] Andrew explains the Hallway Track
• [14:55] How do you decide between attending a talk or a workshop? 
• [15:30] What is the proper way to arrive late or exit early from a talk?
• [17:15] Julie wants a nodder in her talk and Andrew explains what that is
• [20:10] Finding dinner friends
• [20:50] Julie will be your buddy at RubyConf Mini
• [21:30] Volunteer opportunities at conferences
• [22:20] Have fun!
• [24:15] Find Julie at RubyConf Mini for Ruby for All stickers! 

Sponsor

Special thanks to Andy Croll for personally sponsoring this episode. Be sure to check out firstrubyfriend.org and onerubything.com for nice, free community resources for newer devs!

The 1st edition of Programming Ruby, commonly known as "The PickAxe" book, came out in 2001. Now, in 2022, Noel Rappin is releasing the beta of the 5th edition, updated for Ruby 3.2. 

Why should you pick up the book? To get mind on how Ruby works, what makes it unique, and how Ruby developers think about Ruby.

These are some of the topics we cover:

• How Noel decided the book was ready for early access 
• Noel gives the history of the PickAxe book
• Why Noel decided to update the book
• What will be different in the 5th edition
• What you need to know before reading the book
• What's left to do before the final edition is ready
• How long Noel has been working on the book
• What the expected final release date is
• What the hardest part of the project has been
• How Noel recommends you read the book
• How Rubyists of all levels will benefit from reading the book
• Why you will benefit from reading the latest edition

Sponsor

Special thanks to Andy Croll for personally sponsoring this episode. Be sure to check out firstrubyfriend.org and onerubything.com for nice, free community resources for newer devs!

Links

• Programming Ruby 3.2 (5th Edition)
• Programming Ruby 3.2 (5th Edition) Devtalk
• Noel on Twitter
• Noel's Website
• Sorbet
• RubyMine RBS Support

Big thanks to Jason for coming on the show and giving us a discount code for his book to share with you!

🔥 Use code rubyforall for a discount on Jason’s book!

• Jason introduced Andrew to podcasting on Jason’s podcast The Ruby Testing Podcast.
• Jason’s book helped Julie get more comfortable with testing
• We talk about testing tips
• Make sure your tests fail first and why
• Why should you write tests
• Test implementation and not behavior
• Find out the difference between unit tests, integration tests, system tests, acceptance tests

Links

Jason Swett Twitter

Jason Swett Book

Jason Swett’s website

This is a cross over episode from the Rubber Duck Dev Show's feed and livestream! Julie joined Chris and Creston to talk about how she transitioned from a pharmacist to a software developer and some of the things she encountered along the way. Learn how she discovered Ruby, what her bootcamp experience was like, how she had the idea for this podcast and how we subsequently met.

Why is Julie making content for juniors? Listen and find out!

We also get to hear her advice on where people should get started with Ruby on Rails in 2022 and the importance of communities.

We hope you enjoy and a big thanks to Chris and Creston over on the Rubber Duck Dev Show!

They are live every week at 8pm EDT on YouTube and Twitch so please go give them some support in the chat and let them know you came from this episode!

Links

• Rubber Duck Dev Show
• YouTube Livestream Recording of this episode
• Rubber Duck Dev Show Twitter
• Rubber Duck Dev Show Twitch

Get prepared for a deep episode today as Andrew and Julie dive into imposter syndrome and how it affects us personally. We discuss what imposter syndrome is, how we both experience it, whether social media makes it worse, and the effect it has had on our careers this far. Julie mentions that her imposter syndrome got a lot worse following a promotion and why that may be. Andrew compares it to spiraling out of control where one thought leads to another until you're worried you are about to be fired. The pair also discuss how comparing yourself to others often leads to increases in feeling imposter syndrome.

If you experience imposter syndrome, don't worry because we do our best to give some actionable advice. Learn to recognize it for what it is, get feedback from managers and friends, get out of your own head and give yourself a break. Andrew mentions that forgetting your wins and focusing on the negatives will make it worse. Record your wins so you can refer back to them. Julie notes that you should compare yourself with your past self, not those around you. Regardless of the approach, confront it head on and ask for help from those around you.

Good luck!

Links
Imposter Syndrome Wikipedia
Imposter Syndrome: What It Is and How to Overcome It at Work

Today we are joined by a special guest, Emily Samp, to discuss what to do when you’re not getting enough feedback. We will share why it’s a problem, what you can do about it, and what good feedback should look like.

Links

Emily Samp

Shopify

Radical Candor By Kim Scott

Know Your Team

Today we are joined by special guest Brandon Weaver to talk about interviewing. Brandon shares how average tech interviews are structured. Learn whether or not it’s ok to not to turn in an incomplete take-home project. Julie shares that you can often ask for accommodations during the interview process if you need them. Brandon also talks about how you should also be evaluating the company and the types of questions you should be asking. If you are looking for a job as a Ruby on Rails developer, this is the episode for you!

Links

Brandon Weaver Twitter

Gusto

Interviewing - Perspective of the Interviewee

Ruby Learning Center Twitter

Ruby Learning Center Website