From fast food worker to cybersecurity engineer with Tae'lur Alexis [Podcast #169]

On this week's episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Tae'lur Alexis. She's a developer and security analyst. Instead of going to college, Tae'lur spent years working various fast food and retail jobs. Tae'lur taught herself Python and JavaScript using freeCodeCamp and worked as a software engineer for 5 years before specializing in security engineering. Now instead of building applications, she breaks them. We talk about: - Making ends meet working McDonalds in Florida - How she taught herself programming using freeCodeCamp and the #100DaysOfCode challenge - Leveraging local meetups to make developer friends - Moving to Thailand and working remotely Support for this podcast comes from a grant from Wix Studio. Wix Studio provides developers tools to rapidly build websites with everything out-of-the-box, then extend, replace, and break boundaries with code. Learn more at https://wixstudio.com. Support also comes from the 11,384 kind folks who support freeCodeCamp through a monthly donation. You can join these chill human beings and help our charity's mission by going to donate.freecodecamp.org Links we talk about during our conversation: - Tae'lur's website and blog articles: https://taeluralexis.com - Tae'lur's YouTube channel about working remotely in Bangkok: https://www.youtube.com/@TaelurAlexis - Tae'lur on Twitter: https://x.com/TaelurAlexis Chapters 0:00:00 Teaser 0:00:38 Podcast Intro and Song - Astyanax 0:02:49 Introduction to Security Engineering 0:05:51 The Importance of Security in Startups 0:08:50 Tae'lur's Journey into Coding 0:11:51 Overcoming Challenges in Learning to Code 0:14:56 Building a Supportive Community 0:17:37 First Steps into Software Development 0:20:48 Transitioning to a New Job in Seattle 0:23:49 Adjusting to the Software Development Environment 0:30:41 Navigating the Tech Team Dynamics 0:33:29 Overcoming Workplace Challenges 0:37:27 Building Communication Skills 0:40:15 Transitioning from Job Loss to Freelancing 0:42:49 Exploring the Freelance World 0:48:13 Diving into Cybersecurity 0:55:18 Understanding Security Threats and Defense 0:56:17 Securing Applications Against Threats 0:58:10 The Journey into Cybersecurity 1:00:18 Bug Bounty Hunting and Entry-Level Roles 1:02:49 Understanding CVEs and Their Importance 1:06:00 Living Abroad: The Move to Thailand 1:09:51 Cultural Immersion and Personal Growth 1:12:03 Planning for an International Move 1:15:11 Setting and Achieving Goals 1:17:50 Balancing Humility and Confidence