To code is to struggle! I interview Tech with Tim [Podcast #150]

On this week's episode of the podcast, freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Tim Ruscica, the software engineer and prolific programming teacher behind the @TechWithTim YouTube channel. He's also developed courses on freeCodeCamp's YouTube channel. We talk about: - How Tim managed to get a $70k salary by hacking his way into a Microsoft internship when he was just 19 - How he learned computer architecture as a kid by playing Minecraft - Lessons he learned from a failed tech startup - Why he recommends Python as a first programming language. "It's the least overwhelming thing to get your hands dirty." Can you guess what song I'm playing in the intro? Also, I want to thank the 11,133 kind people who support our charity each month, and who make this podcast possible. You can join them and support our mission at: https://www.freecodecamp.org/donate Links we talk about during our conversation: - The classroom montage from Real Genius that Quincy mentions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB1X4o-MV6o - One of Tim's mock coding interview videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q_oYDQ2whs - Tim's course: https://techwithtim.net/dev Chapters 0:00:00 Introduction to Tim Rusica and His Journey 0:04:11 Life in Dubai: The Digital Nomad Experience 0:07:22 Early Programming Passion: From Minecraft to Coding 0:10:23 Lessons from Running a Minecraft Server 0:13:17 Family Influence: Growing Up with Engineering 0:16:22 College Experience: Navigating University During a Pandemic 0:19:17 The Decision to Drop Out of College 0:22:13 YouTube Journey: From Teaching Kids to Building a Channel 0:34:07 The Value of College in Today's World 0:37:22 Landing an Internship at Microsoft 0:46:01 The Experience of Working at Microsoft 0:51:51 Transitioning from Intern to Entrepreneur 0:52:21 The Importance of Critical Thinking 0:59:59 Overcoming Tutorial Hell 1:07:36 Navigating Coding Interviews 1:14:07 The Best Language to Start Programming 1:17:09 Essential Skills for Learning to Code 1:19:36 The Importance of Struggle in Coding 1:21:48 Passion vs. Talent in Programming 1:23:57 Learning New Technologies Effectively 1:34:02 Lessons from Startup Failures 1:37:47 Future Plans and Focus on YouTube ❤️ Support for this channel comes from our friends at Scrimba – the coding platform that's reinvented interactive learning: https://scrimba.com/freecodecamp