What if the secret to landing your dream job wasn't grinding LeetCode, but building software for fun?

Matias went from creating Counter-Strike levels as a kid in Buenos Aires to becoming a creative developer at Vercel—and his path was anything but traditional. Starting with graphic design, teaching himself Blender's old game engine, and eventually building an emoji programming language "just for fun," Matias proves that curiosity beats curriculum every time.

In this conversation, we dive deep into: 

- How childhood game modding led to a career in creative web development

 - The process behind building award-winning websites (Next.js Conf, Daylight Computer)  

- Why WebGL and shaders are underutilized on the web

- Building a multiplayer racing game in React (yes, really) 

- Going from zero to teaching Frontend Masters courses

 - The "useless projects" that became career-defining skills

- Why WebGPU has him excited to play again  

The golden thread: Keep experimenting with what excites you, not just what seems useful. That random shader experiment? That weird Webpack project? They might be exactly what lands you your next opportunity.

Perfect for developers who feel guilty about their side projects, designers wanting to code, or anyone who thinks their unconventional path isn't "right" enough.

#webdevelopment, #creativecoding, #webgl, #react, #vercel, #careertransition, #softwaredevelopment

Check out Matias’s Frontend Masters Course: https://frontendmasters.com/courses/winning-websites/

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Advance your skills with 250+ in-depth, modern software engineering courses across frontend, backend, data, cloud, and AI taught by engineers who build real systems at scale. frontendmasters.com

This podcast interview with Kyle, creator of Web Dev Simplified, covers his journey from discovering programming late in high school to building a successful YouTube education channel and transitioning from agency work to full-time content creation. He shares insights on learning, career decisions, teaching philosophy, and the impact of AI on programming education.

#webdevsimplified #webdev #webdevelopmentCheck out

Kyle’s YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/WebDevSimplifiedFrontend

Masters Online:Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrontendMastersLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frontend-masters/

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About Us:Advance your skills with in-depth, modern front-end engineering courses — our 150+ high-quality courses and 18 curated learning paths will guide you from mid-level to senior developer! frontendmasters.com

Sabrina Goldfarb works at GitHub on billing systems and the Copilot AI tool. She made a career change from video editing to software engineering and started her tech journey with Frontend Masters' HTML/CSS bootcamp about eight years ago, which sparked her passion for coding.Sabrina co-founded Circulart, a fintech startup collecting data from emerging market central banks.

She balances her GitHub work with managing the startup's technical architecture, crediting AI tools for making this possible by condensing what used to take a week into a day.She's passionate about teaching and giving back, driven by remembering her own eight-year struggle to break into tech. She advocates for creating your own opportunities and being persistent. Learn AI alongside coding fundamentals. Security and code understanding remain important, but AI proficiency is now essential. She encourages automating repetitive tasks and staying open to new technology.

Check out Sabrina’s Practical Prompt Engineering Course:

https://frontendmasters.com/courses/prompt-engineering/

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Advance your skills with in-depth, modern front-end engineering courses — our 150+ high-quality courses and 18 curated learning paths will guide you from mid-level to senior developer!

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Ben Hong (Vue.js & Angular core team member) joins the podcast to discuss his journey into tech, open source contributions, and teaching. Learn how he got started in open source, his thoughts on Vue.js vs. React vs. Angular, and why community-driven projects matter. Ben also shares his passion for productivity tools like Obsidian, his experience with public speaking, and advice for developers looking to grow their careers. Whether you're interested in frontend frameworks, documentation, or career development, this episode is packed with insights!

Follow Ben: @bencodezen#Programming #WebDev #TechTalk

Check out Ben’s Frontend Masters courses here: https://frontendmasters.com/teachers/ben-hong

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About Us: Advance your skills with in-depth, modern front-end engineering courses — our 150+ high-quality courses and 18 curated learning paths will guide you from mid-level to senior developer! frontendmasters.com

In this episode, David Khourshid, creator of XState, shares his journey from piano performance to programming, revealing key lessons for developers and founders. Learn why being a great coder doesn’t mean you’ll succeed as a CEO, how state machines simplify complex app logic (and when to avoid them), and the surprising link between music and code. He also discusses building Stately.ai, the challenges of visual programming, and why burnout makes sabbaticals essential. Whether you're into React, state management, or startup growth, this episode is packed with insights.

XState: https://xstate.js.org/ | Follow David: @davidkpiano#Programming #Startups #WebDev #TechTalk

Check out David’s Frontend Masters courses here: https://frontendmasters.com/teachers/david-khourshid

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About Us:Advance your skills with in-depth, modern front-end engineering courses — our 150+ high-quality courses and 18 curated learning paths will guide you from mid-level to senior developer! https://frontendmasters.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=home_link&utm_campaign=podcastepisode25

In this episode, Richard Feldman (creator of Roc, Elm educator, and Zed engineer) discusses AI’s focus on "vibe coding" over high-quality tools, why functional programming’s real value lies in ecosystems—not dogma—and how frustration with slow compilers led him to design the Roc programming language. He shares Zed’s pragmatic use of AI for code "rough drafts," lessons learned from teaching Elm and Rust, and why prioritizing outcomes always beats out industry hype. He shares some Java war stories, JSX’s early controversy, and why Zed’s performance-first approach defies today’s norms. Tune in for deep dives on language design, where he sees AI’s potential, and the myth about using "boring" tech.Check out Richard’s Frontend Masters courses here: https://frontendmasters.com/teachers/richard-feldmanFrontend Masters Online:Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrontendMastersLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frontend-masters/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrontendMastersInstagram: https://instagram.com/FrontendMastersAbout Us:Advance your skills with in-depth, modern front-end engineering courses — our 150+ high-quality courses and 18 curated learning paths will guide you from mid-level to senior developer! https://frontendmasters.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=home_link&utm_campaign=podcastepisode24

In this episode of the Frontend Masters Podcast, host Marc Grabanski chats with Jon Kuperman, a seasoned developer, educator, and TC39 delegate. Jon shares insights into his journey from juggling enthusiast to JavaScript language contributor, his experiences at companies like Twitter, Brave, Adobe, and Bloomberg, and his passion for teaching and accessibility. He also dives into the complexities of evolving JavaScript, the challenges of browser development, and the future of reactive programming with signals. Tune in for a deep dive into the world of frontend development, open source, and the collaborative process behind shaping the future of JavaScript.

Check out Jon’s Frontend Masters courses here: https://frontendmasters.com/teachers/jon-kuperman/

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About Us:Advance your skills with in-depth, modern front-end engineering courses — our 150+ high-quality courses and 18 curated learning paths will guide you from mid-level to senior developer! https://frontendmasters.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=home_link&utm_campaign=podcastepisode23

In this episode of The Frontend Masters Podcast, Kevin Powell, a CSS educator and YouTuber,  describes his transition from print design to web development before finding his niche in teaching CSS online. Kevin started his YouTube channel eight years ago as a creative outlet while teaching at a vocational school. He grew it from 100 initial subscribers to a full-time career through consistent weekly content focused exclusively on CSS and HTML. Throughout the podcast, Kevin shares insights on modern CSS features like container queries and view transitions while emphasizing the importance of understanding fundamentals before adopting frameworks like Tailwind. His success stems from deliberately maintaining a narrow focus on CSS despite pressure to cover other technologies, and his journey exemplifies how specializing in one area and maintaining consistency can lead to sustainable content creation. The interview concludes with Kevin reflecting on how he "accidentally" found his path through trying different careers and hobbies until finding what stuck.

Check out Kevin’s Frontend Masters courses here: https://frontendmasters.com/teachers/kevin-powell/

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Advance your skills with in-depth, modern front-end engineering courses — our 150+ high-quality courses and 18 curated learning paths will guide you from mid-level to senior developer!

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In this episode of The Frontend Masters Podcast, Todd Gardner, co-founder of TrackJS and RequestMetrics, discusses his journey from consultant to entrepreneur. He shares insights on bootstrapping SaaS products, competing against VC-backed companies, and the importance of charging customers for your product or service early. Todd delves into technical aspects of his products' stacks, including the use of .NET Core, Clickhouse, and HTMX. He offers advice on public speaking, teaching, and maintaining healthy co-founder relationships. The conversation covers web performance optimization, JavaScript error monitoring, and the challenges of balancing product development with marketing efforts. Todd also reflects on his career philosophy of continuous learning and adaptation in the fast-paced tech industry.

Marc has captured his advice on startups in this article, originally an email to Todd in 2014: https://marcgrabanski.com/articles/your-advice-startups/

Check out Todd’s Frontend Masters courses here: https://frontendmasters.com/teachers/todd-gardner/

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Advance your skills with in-depth, modern front-end engineering courses — our 150+ high-quality courses and 18 curated learning paths will guide you from mid-level to senior developer! https://frontendmasters.com/?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=home_link&utm_campaign=podcastepisode21

In this 20th episode of The Frontend Masters Podcast, Francesca Sadikin, a software engineer at Netflix, shares her journey from architecture to tech. She discusses her experience at a software engineering consulting firm, rapid career progression, and landing a role at Netflix. Sadikin offers insights on transitioning into tech, the benefits of software consulting for skill accumulation, and the challenges of working at a top-tier tech company. She also delves into her approach to teaching and public speaking, emphasizing the importance of practice and preparation. The conversation covers strategies for managing imposter syndrome, the value of autonomy in Netflix's work culture, and balancing career growth with personal life as a new parent.

Check out Francesca’s Frontend Masters courses here: https://frontendmasters.com/teachers/francesca-sadikin/

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Advance your skills with in-depth, modern front-end engineering courses — our 150+ high-quality courses and 18 curated learning paths will guide you from mid-level to senior developer!

 https://frontendmasters.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=home_link&utm_campaign=podcastepisode20