Hi Guys,

I love your show.  I am pursuing a career in tech and so will listen to various podcasts to learn a little while I am driving and such. Your podcast is one of the best that I have found for conveying meaningful information in a clear way while managing to NOT bore the shit out of me. Usually in podcasts you get either meaningful and terribly articulated or trivial and easily conveyed. It’s understandable considering the technical nature of the subject matter that it isn’t easy to teach. You guys have a great mix by managing to be insightful and entertaining. Seriously there's no podcast that comes close to giving such entertainment. Thanks for your work.

I realize you guys might not necessarily be trying to teach, none the less your conversations are informative. I need all the help I can get. I was incarcerated for 17 years without the internet. An uphill battle is an understatement concerning a career in tech. I did learn to code in prison though. I had some books on python and algorithms sent in. I also had access to an old dell running windows XP.

Would you guys mind offering me a bit of advice please? I enrolled in college immediately upon my release. I will graduate this semester with a degree in software development from my local college (Eastern Florida State college). I have taken courses on java, c++, and c# . On my own I have learned some swift, but never built an app. I am leaning towards mobile development. Preferably iOS because I love the language (No Dom, I am not talking Obj-C) and ecosystem, however knowing Java makes me think Android would be a smarter choice. A couple of friends of mine in the web development business tell me to start with web because there aren’t that many jobs in mobile. I live near Orlando Florida. Looking through indeed.com I find that to be somewhat true.  There are much fewer job listings for iOS and Android than for web dev. I might not get a chance anyways because I have a felony, so freelancing might be my only option.

Questions.


Would a beginner have a better chance finding employment in web development than mobile?

Is freelancing to start my career unreasonable for a mobile developer?

Since I know java (and xml) should I begin with Android and is such a skill too niche for a beginner to find a job?

Can you guys give me some general career advice?

At some point in the show can you discuss the affect PWAs and cross-platform development like React Native might have on native mobile developers?

In case you were wondering why I did 17 years I’ll explain. As a teenager I stabbed a guy in a street fight who later died at the hospital. My friends were getting jumped by some older local bully type guys and I stabbed the guy. I was scared and foolish and made a terrible choice that cost me greatly. In 2004 Florida enacted the Stand your Ground bill which would probably have meant that I only get a few years, but I was sentenced before that and it wasn’t retroactive. Either way I deserved to do that time. I can’t change the past, but I have done all that I can to make the best choices possible since that fateful event in my life.

Thanks again for the time you both spend to put such great content out. I sincerely enjoy it. And Dom thank you for letting me know I am not the sole Republican in the industry (not sure I am IN the industry yet though so maybe I should amend this).