To this day, I still have people approach me and ask me if I am interested in an opportunity to earn a passive income through some investment or another. Passive earning is the way to secure your future, all we need is X dollars down and X dollars a month, and then you need to go find others who will join in this venture too and they can be downstream from you, and you earn money off of them. Passive is the way to go for sure.
I’m hoping that at this point you know that I’m describing a pyramid scheme. If not, you need to google pyramid schemes and figure out if you are in one…
But I was thinking about learning, and how much time during the day do I have to maximize my learning? I work a full-time job, have kids and family responsibilities, want to spend time with friends, but I’m also dedicated to learning new skills to improve as a developer. Where do I have room to fit in more learning?
Now I don’t know about you, but I’m a podcast nut. I have been since before they were super cool. HA! Sorry, that was my wife laughing in the background about what I think is cool. Anyway, it got me thinking about the opportunities to learn during down time. On the drive to work, on the drive home from work, while walking the dogs, or working out. Granted, sometimes a person just needs to listen to music to decompress, or to get motivated, but what if I were able to make the time to listen to podcasts about Programming, Technology, Security, or something else that can help me increase my understanding of the development and business world?
So, I present to you my list of favorite podcasts that could, emphasis on could, help you become a better developer. This isn’t the same as watching a course on Pluralsight, or Udemy, or something like that. There is no following along and coding with the podcast, but the world of technology is so much bigger than programming languages. And if I am trying to break into a company as a junior developer, I need to be able to have a wider understanding of things beyond lifting state in React, drawer navigation in Native, or Redux Hooks.
Darknet Diaries
Darknet Diaries is an incredible show about hackers, the darknet, cybersecurity, and anything surrounding those things. I know that many developers learning to code might think that security is a completely different part of IT, but that’s not true at all. True security, strong security, is owned by everyone. Someone who is trying to break into an environment will use any entrance they can to get in, and that includes your code. I really liked the tweet above because it’s a fantastic analogy. It shouldn’t be all about the security team finding someone who has hacked the network. Everyone involved in the IT department should view themselves as on the security team, they all own the safety of the network.
The beauty of Darknet Diaries is that Jack tells the stories from so many points of view. There are pentesters, hackers, people that have definitely gone to jail for their hacking, and government employees involved with nation/state hacks. Just listening to the biweekly podcast, which is hardly ever more than an hour, gives you well rounded insight to multiple environments within the IT world as well as an understanding of all the ways that machines, networks, and most importantly, people can be hacked.
Even if you are not into IT, programming, or cybersecurity, the show is so good. The sound quality, the story telling, it’s an incredible podcast and well worth the listen.
The CyberWire Daily
Ok, I don’t want this to come across as a negative description, but think NPR for cyber security. It’s not bland, but it’s not put together like a Darknet Diaries. It’s a completely different format from that. The goal is to give you a daily update of the biggest news events from all over the world that have to do with security. Dave Bittner and team do an incredible job of DAILY taking all the news of security and the internet and filtering them down into digestible bits so that you can have a very high level understanding of everything going on in the security world.
Code Newbie Podcast
I just discovered this podcast when I was doing some research for publishing this blog. I’m not gonna lie, my heart lies with security just because I’ve always found the people aspect of security fascinating. But I’m in love with this podcast as well. As I am typing this, I am listening to S17:E1 “What is Linux and when is it right for you?” Where Saron interviews Courtney Wilburn as she talks through her life and experience and how she got to where she is. The conversation is natural and a good listen. My favorite thing about this show is how the episode topics list is all over the board. Saron Yitbarek is the host and she does an fine job of letting the guest talk, but also has incredible timing in asking questions to keep the conversation going along. Here are a some of the episodes and there topics just to show how wide ranging they are.
How to do remote work well with Kara Luton
https://www.codenewbie.org/podcast/how-to-do-remote-work-well
What is cryptography and how to get into it with Marcus Carey
https://www.codenewbie.org/podcast/what-is-cryptography-and-how-to-get-into-it
Seriously though, follow this guy on Twitter
How to build tech for social justice with Alex Qin founder Emergent Works
https://www.codenewbie.org/podcast/how-to-build-tech-for-social-justice
If you have a commute, or go for walks, or have the opportunity to spend some time listening to podcasts, I highly encourage you to check some of these podcasts out. A couple of things I am sure you will take away from the experience is that everyone’s story is different. No one thought they were going to take on programming at 38 years old, when they were 12. You will hear from ballet dancers, criminals, teachers, restaurant mangers, and athletes that all took a winding road that brought them to a position in tech.
I’m going to say that in a different way for those of you who can’t here in the back…
There isn’t a cookie cutter formula to get here. Everyone has a few things in common; they love to learn, they love to be challenged and they enjoy being around other people that feel the same way.
Listening to these podcasts can help you understand that there are so many different aspects to tech. They can also help you understand that you belong, you have something to add, and you can make a difference.
Finally, I want to add some honorable mentions of favorite podcasts.
Hackable?
https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/hackable/
Learn to code with me
https://learntocodewith.me/podcast/
Radio Lab – Yeah there is a lot on here that isn’t tech related, but it’s freaking RADIOLAB
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab
Just keep learning. Even if it’s Passive Learning.
Big High Five Dev 