From Stay-at-Home Mom to Developer at Age 36 [freeCodeCamp Podcast

This week freeCodeCamp founder Quincy Larson interviews Phoebe Voong-Fadel about her childhood as the daughter of refugees, and how she self-studied coding and became a professional developer.
Phoebe worked from age 12 at her parent's Chinese take-out restaurant. She was able to study history at the London School of Economics, before working in higher ed. She left her job to raise two kids due to the high cost of childcare in the UK, and spent years self-studying coding before becoming a software developer at age 36.
I recorded this podcast live and I haven't edited it at all. I want to capture the feel of a real live conversation, with all the human quirks that entails. As with all my podcast episodes, I start by performing a classic bass line. Can you guess what song this bass line is from? It's from 1989.
Phoebe has earned multiple certifications from freeCodeCamp, and also published a number of articles on our publication.
How Phoebe went from stay-at-home mom to Front End Web Developer at age 36: www.freecodecamp.org/news/how...
Phoebe's review of Harvard CS50: www.freecodecamp.org/news/cs5...
The BBC Take-away Kids documentary, which Phoebe said is what her childhood was like, working from age 12: www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-4...
Phoebe's website, with her portfolio and links to her socials: www.thecodinghamster.com/
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--
Learn to code for free and get a developer job: www.freecodecamp.org
Read hundreds of articles on programming: freecodecamp.org/news

[@quincylarsonmusic]

Phoebe is an amazing human being, and it was a blast finally interviewing her for the podcast. A quick correction: you invert Binary Trees - not Binary SEARCH Trees. I realized immediately after saying this that they're different data structures. How do you all like these live unedited interviews? I used to heavily edit these, but now I want to achieve a vibe that's more REAL and less "perfect." This is how real devs talk - not in perfect strings of insight gleaned cherry-picked from a conversation. I'm working to get better at really performing as an interviewer, and I hope my intros are getting smoother. Also, I've got a TON of big interviews lined up, hitting every Friday morning US time. Stay tuned. And if you want to join 8,405 chill people in supporting our charity's mission: www.freecodecamp.org/donate

[@iolivetmeza1]

This video is about a woman named Phoebe Vong who transitioned from being a stay-at-home mom to a software developer at the age of 36. The video talks about Phoebe's journey and the challenges she faced. Phoebe's parents immigrated to the UK from Vietnam as refugees. Her parents worked very hard and eventually started their own take-away business. Phoebe grew up helping out at the family business since a young age. Her parents highly valued education and encouraged all their children to pursue higher education. Phoebe went to the London School of Economics and later decided to become a software developer. She took a year off after having her second child and used that time to learn to code. She completed online courses and participated in coding challenges like "100 days of code". She built a website for her sister-in-law's business as a way to gain experience. She also took on freelance projects to build her portfolio. One of the key takeaways from the video is the importance of being consistent and patient when learning to code. Phoebe also emphasizes the value of building a network and getting involved in the coding community.

[@murataydian]

Thank you!

[@jamescasterlin3965]

I'm 55 and working on becoming a developer

[@ronicataitia5824]

I'm 52 and working on it too

[@catharsis222]

💪🏻

[@lamp7746]

You guys inspire me

[@arunzone4477]

I am 30 now... I am starting my developer journey ❤

[@SD-cf9mi]

bro can u tell me how u r strarting ur developer carrier

[@arunzone4477]

@@SD-cf9mi from scratch bro...

[@engineering3076]

Hi bro, can you please tell me what technology you selected and Most of you how did you learn that!! 😊

[@Tanner-cz4bd]

I have 7 years of experience before 30. That's crazy

[@LOVEBITEMUSIC-tu7vs]

You are definitely not a indian

[@alan9tails148]

man i loved this interview! so relatable and inspiring! Thank you both!

[@LittlestHobo84]

Thank you. I really enjoyed this podcast and really relate... I'm 39, mother of 2. I have a degree in contemporary art. After uni i started working as a receptionist in a GP practice. I've been at that GP practice for ten years this summer, I'm now the Digital and transformation lead for our primary care network. I specialise in process improvement and creating protocols to automate processes within our clinical system. I've wanted to get into coding, but didn't think i could do it without going back to uni. Then i found this podcast. Thank you so much, I'm gonna go for it.

[@SergeBrazuca]

Incredible story! Here in Brazil it's practically impossible to enter the industry after 30. Ageism is very strong here.

[@k0rtz376]

Don't worry AI will replace programmers

[@ArchAngelManga]

This was really motivational! I'm 33 and just started learning to code about 6 months ago and I'm currently learning JS and the DOM with a view to go professional later this year.

[@pablowbk]

You've got this! I'm a stay-at-home dad, started learning web dev in my "free" time back when I was 31. It was a slow start. I did NOT like JS at all at first, I even avoided it as much as I could. Really enjoyed learning html and css, doing small projects that ranged from hero sections to landing pages, nothing too complex. Slowyled moved to learning Reactm which really suited me. I used freeCodeCamp as my compass, and joined #100daysOfCode in twitter to keep myself accounted for. I was lucky enough to have a part-time opportunitty back in 2020 (I was 34 then) and been a full time dev since 2021. Keep at it! small steps will get you further than you might expect! Cheers! (sorry for the long text)

[@fkldfeefejfwlj]

You won't get hired

[@GintokyoGaming]

@ArchAngelManga Best of luck with that! I got really into coding last year. Who knows when I'll get something 💪🏽 For now I just enjoy the process

[@amolinasimancas]

Duuuuuuuude I'm 36 and I really want to become a DEV, currently putting a lot of effort to achieve it!!!

[@TheGmbo]

I am 30 and have 8 month newborn, and starting developer career. 😁Along with that I'm learning English because it isn't my native language. I'm confident in success. 🙂 😁

[@josephmyalla3611]

QL always killling it, amazing podcast

[@abariscoding]

To be perfectly honest, I rarely send a comment to any youtube videos that I watch. However, since I started learning how to code using the freecodecamp 2 days ago which I have completed the first step today, which is how to code a cat app. And now, I'm currently studying the CSS, and I'm halfway to finishing it. I am also quite curious about Quincy, and now I saw this video after searching for videos of freecodecamp. Perhaps, one day, I'll be talking to him in his podcast to share my wonderful, one of a lifetime journey and experience.

[@oh_em_jay]

To all the developers - Keep grinding ✨🔥📈

[@k0rtz376]

Why? AI is going to replace us all. Have you not seen Devin?

[@lazarokabira2945]

This is encouraging

[@unaibkod]

I am 28. Now Im going to start my dev career 🥰

[@IsxaaqAcademy]

So inspiring

[@charlottelucyhenderson5648]

You are brilliant Quincy. Thank you for making all the FreeCodeCamp content.

[@ronman6206]

31 andnstarting my web dev journey

[@edbrito-swdev]

From 1989? Damn, I'm older than I thought! Pixies ❤

[@Artificial.Unintelligence]

Are the uploads from YT over to KZbin music normally this delayed? Or was there just a bug?

[@christophercahall3092]

also have history bachelor's and trying to pivot into IT

[@Gaboub12]

0:00 Uhh "Hey" by Pixies?

[@jeremycornish-ford2435]

Hey by the Pixies. Love it

[@srikanthlakshman5542]

Love from INDIA

[@hassanahmad1483]

I am 35.... will love to know her story...and road map

[@dark-folklore]

I am dropping this video since I am about 30 minutes in and there is nothing about coding or anything.

[@khanirtaqa4688]

Any one guide guide me I am stuck in CSS I can't make projects by my own.

[@carlogustavovalenzuelazepe5774]

If you want to know more success cases you should interview LATAM developers, most of us started in very humble way, in my case I started as a construction worker and also a cook while studying the university and remember were I live the money we use worth 20 times less than the dollar xD, it was hard but I love programming, I'll stop here because im afraid of "you arent a mom, you doesnt know real problems" comments take care and see you before I get "funado" lol

[@dielotte]

Respect. As long you not want get more than the minimum wage. It’s ok. Globalization drop the salaries to almost nothing. I’ve moved from programming to gardening 😊

[@k0rtz376]

Yes!! Someone who actually knows. Programming is dead, not even good enough make minimum wage. Plus AI is going to replace all programmers. Check Devin AI

[@cubedev4838]

Im 100. Start to become developer

[@infernious]

In this tech economy?

[@babyscreams6343]

Hey! ….been trying to meet you

[@bhuvnesh4752]

#happycoding

[@MrLethal7]

Ok, so first step is to become a parent. Got it

[@pepperpeterpiperpickled9805]

"My family came over with nothing, we were given a house" uhhhmmm what?

[@fugazi4427]

cool..

[@sihabportal8623]

Great inspirational work. But I am sad today for Palestine foodless,homeless moms and children. Please stay beside them🙏

[@Matthew-zm2zu]

Just give your kids benadryl.

[@manyari-official]

Hey by the pixies

[@mrdeveloper6636]

1st one here🎉

[@carlcontreras8963]

First?

[@nathalietchoumi1059]

Nope😅

[@astrocslopes863]

Ah, the wonders of being neurotypical :’(

[@abzs5811]

I’m sorry but what’s makes her special than any other mother or woman her age transitioning to something new??

[@pama1]

Where's the husband to provide? Now kids won't have the mom present most of the times. Loss for the kids.

[@glacousxx]

What!? Have you ever heard of a balanced life style. Not trying to be rude or anything.

[@dongivafoc4493]

You could always send her the annual salary she would receive so she can stay with her kids

[@mmm...-be7zx]

The what?

[@ycdwtv7017]

This is why this field will die

[@j4yd34d5]

no the field will die when we start to believe that paying for a piece of paper is more important than demonstrable skills / knowledge

[@lorenzomizushal3980]

Learning to code and by the time you're employable you'll be replaced by AI.

[@br0ken_107]

ahh the delusion amongst people who have no idea about tech and software engineering. Please go do manual labour thinking that jobs are dying to AI, despite the fact that number of software jobs have increased since release of gpt 3.5

[@sajidmoosa1]

Doesn't make any difference, whether I earn or not, i am already doing good in my profession as a teacher, I am here to learn and stay.

[@khimarket7829]

Not possible because ai is developed by humans 😊

[@nondumisonkosi143]

Well that's discouraging

[@lorenzomizushal3980]

@@br0ken_107 the number of software jobs have increased obviously due to new hiring but the rate of increase has significantly diminished since gpt launched not solely due to AI but it's a general trend exacerbated by AI. Do you think the number of horses suddenly decreased right after the first car was made? 🤣🤣🤣 You need to use your head and think much longer term.