From drop-out to software architect with Jason Lengstorf [Podcast #167]

On this week's episode of the podcast, I interview Jason Lengstorf. He learned to code out of necessity building websites for local emo bands. He dropped out of college but eventually worked as an engineer at IBM and has gone on to roles at many othe...

Apr 4, 2025 - 22:58

From drop-out to software architect with Jason Lengstorf [Podcast #167]

On this week's episode of the podcast, I interview Jason Lengstorf. He learned to code out of necessity building websites for local emo bands.

He dropped out of college but eventually worked as an engineer at IBM and has gone on to roles at many other companies, doing everything from software architecture to management. He runs CodeTV, a Bravo-style reality TV channel for developers.

We talk about:

Jason's winding path into development from building websites for bands
Teaching yourself programming by chasing your curiosity
How in-person events gives you tacit knowledge that makes you a better engineer
How a having broad range of skills ultimately helps you build better projects

Thanks to 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

You can watch the interview on YouTube:

Or you can listen to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow the freeCodeCamp Podcast there so you'll get new episodes each Friday.

Links we talk about during our conversation:

CodeTV: https://codetv.dev/
The CodeTV YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnty0z0pNRDgnuoirYXnC5A
Jason's website: https://jason.energy/