Alumni Spotlight: Michael Greene - From Military Police & Game Designer to Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“If you have a hard time learning, then any new skill is going to be difficult for you. I think Code Fellows gives you the advantage of it being hands-on, Code Fellows just puts your hands on code way more than any sort of college setting. And finally, if you’re a veteran, don’t be ashamed to use your benefits! You’ve earned them!” – Michael Greene

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Alumni Spotlight: Daniel - From Digital Marketing Specialist to Senior Product Designer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“I joined Code Fellows to level up the position I was in. You find the resources to be a better person, to be a more capable person." – Daniel Nguyen

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Alumni Spotlight: Sara - From Personal Trainer to Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

"Being able to find a place like Code Fellows where I could just trust that they would teach me the things I needed to know was major.” – Sara Russert

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Alumni Spotlight: David - From Anti-Money Laundering Investigator to Front-End Engineer, Designer, Entrepreneur, & Founder

By Mitchell Robertson on

"Being able to wake up and work on things that you enjoy every day, that’s what’ll keep you going.” – David Lindahl

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Alumni Spotlight: Ben - From Music & Audio Director to CEO & Co-Founder

By Mitchell Robertson on

“I ended up at Code Fellows, and it was fantastic. It was six months of being surrounded by other people who were really passionate about it and not only did I learn about the software world, how it all works, all the pieces and how they fit together, but when I was talking with other developers, I understood what they were telling me.” – Ben Harris

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Alumni Spotlight: Michael - From Microbiologist to Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“I dropped out and started learning how to code, I decided to pull the trigger and join Code Fellows. Going into coding, I knew that I wanted to start something and work for myself in biology. We bought a home in the last few years now, something we couldn’t do on a biology salary and I can take time off now to try and work on a startup.” – Michael Porter

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Alumni Spotlight: Rae - From Yoga Instructor, Nanny, and Server to CEO, Designer, and Developer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“Before Code Fellows, I was working 3 jobs, I was stressed, I was tired, and I still was having a hard time making ends meet. I didn’t have a background in computer science or coding, I remember that first day flew by, the instructors and the people in my group just all felt really great to be around. If you do that first 101 class and the time goes by super fast, then don’t be afraid to take the leap” – Rae Helsel

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Alumni Spotlight: Amber - From Videographer to Senior Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“As a military spouse it was hard to get a career going due to the constant need to move. I had taken programming courses before in college, and it was not conducive to my own style of learning. I decided to take a different approach to my learning when I started at Code Fellows to help me succeed and have a different experience this time around.” – Amber Kim

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Alumni Spotlight: Brian - From Assistant Real Estate Manager to Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“Everybody learns differently, and Code Fellows really is a great environment for picking it up. Make sure you have a plan of what you’re looking for, at Code Fellows, it’s really easy to make a plan because it’s kind of a one-stop shop!" – Brian Alspach

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Alumni Spotlight: Jo - From Attorney to Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“I didn’t have a tech background, I’d never written a single line of code, I didn’t know what HTML was, I didn’t know anything. I think being at Code Fellows, having other people in the same boat as me, and then having instructors who had been through it, they were super empathetic. That really helped me.” – Jo Arroyo

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Alumni Spotlight: Garfield - From Jamaica Native to Senior Consultant

By Mitchell Robertson on

“At Code Fellows, I found a community of people that I rely on, even now in my day-to-day job. Now I work from home for one of the largest consulting companies in the world, but I still rely on my community!" – Garfield Grant

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Alumni Spotlight: Chris - From Project Manager to Principal UX Engineering Manager

By Mitchell Robertson on

"I was able to gain a lot of experience in a short amount of time and I think it really helped me find what I enjoy doing. Some decisions are always worth the risk, so whatever your motivation, dip your foot in and see if you think you might enjoy it. Don’t be afraid to take short term, small risks to see if that next step is a launching pad.” – Chris Holt

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Alumni Spotlight: Sarah - From Registered Nurse to Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“I came in with essentially zero experience, and one thing about Code Fellows that was really cool, was that it decreases the barrier to entry as far as you not having to get a four-year computer science degree. I think that made it a little easier to digest knowing that it was more fast-paced.” – Sarah Creager

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Alumni Spotlight: Daniel - From Freelance Musician to Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“If you are looking to make any career change, and you’re passionate about whatever that is, soak up as much as you can. You won’t regret it!” – Daniel Zwelling

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Alumni Spotlight: Alex - From US Navy Veteran to Full-Stack Developer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“If you’re looking for a lifestyle, or at least a professional change, it’s definitely there. Just going through the program, I mean for me, I’m a whole new person now” – Alex Peña

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Alumni Spotlight: Drew - From Serving Assistant to Software Developer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“The biggest thing is to be persistent, there are many hurdles and finding the way through eventually will work. Don’t doubt yourself!” – Drew Ferris

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Alumni Spotlight: Eve - From Psychotherapist to Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“It was definitely a hard journey, but it was really wonderful in a lot of ways. It’s kind of surprising, unexpected, and beautiful all the different ways your skills come into play that you would have never thought just musing about making this change” – Eve Denison

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Alumni Spotlight: Jessica - From Graphic Designer to Software Developer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“You really have to ask yourself, would you dedicate and invest seven months of your life to change your life? If the answer is yes, then absolutely go for it!” – Jessica Parker

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Alumni Spotlight: Lydia - From Program Manager to Software Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“The amount that I’ve learned since I joined Code Fellows and post Code Fellows is just insane. So much of software development is commitment, time, and patience. Things will click if you just keep going” – Lydia Minehan-Tubic

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Alumni Spotlight: Roscoe - From Boxing Instructor to Software Engineer 2

By Mitchell Robertson on

“Every week I was fully immersed in some topic that I knew nothing about, and by the end of the week, I knew enough to create something to present. They’re supporting and they’re watching every time you do a presentation. They’re there to clap for you, and that kind of support doesn’t come that often. Code Fellows is one in a million for me!” – Roscoe Bass

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Alumni Spotlight: Meet Raven, Server Turned Security Engineer

By Mitchell Robertson on

“You’re never going to grow if you don’t end up taking risks. If you really want to be able to have control over your life and make big improvements, then it’s so worth taking the risk and reaching out!” – Raven Robertson

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Job Interviews: What (not) to do

By Mitchell Robertson on

You have the technical skills, know-how, and can effectively speak to your experience and qualifications. But are you prepared to demonstrate confidence, connect interpersonally, and build a strong rapport?

For a lot of companies, an applicant’s culture fit is as (if not more) important as your skills and experience level.

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Is Code Fellows Better Than a Four-Year Degree?

By Mitchell Robertson on

Conventional wisdom points to the value of a college degree, and there are a lot of benefits, but is it worth it? The annual cost of a college education has increased by more than 59% since 2000, while wages for individuals with a Bachelor’s degree have increased by only 5% (3% for individuals with only a high school diploma). This is not sustainable.

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15 Ways to Pay for Your Education

By Mitchell Robertson on

If a program has a solid return on investment—the employment rate is strong, as is the average graduate starting salary—but you don’t have the money to pay for it, how and where do you start?

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6 Tips to Stack Your Job Search with Confidence

By Mitchell Robertson on

In order to take a leap to find a rewarding new career in tech it will take grit and determination, confidence, support, and a strong support team. In your quest to become a professional in tech, leveling up your skills while stacking your job applications can lead to multiple offers and higher pay.

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Partnering to Increase Digital Equity in K-12

By Mitchell Robertson on

Code Fellows has partnered with the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and Central Oregon STEM Hub piloting a program to provide tech education to students throughout central Oregon. Now in our second year, we are off to a great start and long partnership to produce lasting change.

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Alumni Spotlight: From Layoff to Rewarding Career in Cybersecurity thanks to Ekata

By Mitchell Robertson on

Courtney Hans is a lifelong learner with a diverse set of skills, an avid adventurer and an amazing Code Fellows Alum! Courtney spent her early career as a whitewater rafting and worldwide adventure travel guide before getting her MBA and joining REI. During her time at REI, she worked on the adventure travel team, new business strategies and adventures entrepreneurial unit, as well as a marketing unit in local brand engagement. That was until she was laid off as a result of COVID-19.

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How I earned my AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification

By David Lee on

Hey David! Congrats on passing the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam. Why did you decide to take the exam in the first place?

Thanks! Every modern technology professional should be adapting to the paradigm shift that is cloud computing. With AWS’ dominance in the cloud marketplace and the rapid post-pandemic adoption of cloud services by businesses reinventing service delivery, it’s a competitive necessity to have at least a foundational cloud certification on your LinkedIn.

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11 Of Our Favorite Tech Podcasts For 2021

By Dr. Robin S. Apparicio on

What is one thing that everyone in tech has in common? Lifelong learning. It is important to keep your finger on the pulse of what the pros are talking about. We need to always be pivoting, learning, and adapting. Thankfully there are brilliant people out there who are creating content that is innovative, informative but also funny, entertaining and inspiring.

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Build Your Own Home Cyber Range: Part 2

By David Lee on

In part 1 of this three-part blog series, we looked at how to get a home cyber range started in order to host a threat detection ecosystem via VirtualBox. We deployed a Dell Precision T3600 along with VirtualBox, a budget-friendly computer model selected to support additional CPU cores. Next up, we will need to establish remote connectivity to conveniently access the command line, the screen, and the file system in order to treat this computer like a true dedicated server.

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Build Your Own Home Cyber Range: Part 1

By David Lee on

Ever wondered how cybersecurity pros simulate threats in a safe manner? Join me in this first entry in my series all about how I built my own affordable home cyber range, and how you can too!

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3 Tips to Help You Avoid the Resolution Rut

By Mitchell Robertson on

2021 is here and like most of the world, you are probably thinking about what your New Year Resolutions will be. Rather than fall into the rut of setting and forgetting your resolutions this year, create goals that inspire you to get up every day and get after accomplishing them.

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Empowering Community Colleges for Economic Change

By Teri Hockett on

Community colleges across the United States are facing unprecedented challenges. Engaging students with relevant courses that help them achieve career goals in the tech industry is a difficult proposition, when faced with the trials of remote learning, constantly shifting industry demand, and fast-moving technological progress.

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Walk-through: Selection Sort Algorithm

By Amanda Iverson on

How do you sort?

You are dealt a hand of 10 playing cards. What’s the first thing you do? Organize them. One of my typical strategies for quickly doing so goes like this if the suit doesn’t matter: Find the lowest value card and put it in the left-most spot in my hand. Then find the lowest of the remaining cards, and place it just to the right of the first card. Repeat, until all the cards are in order. This process is similar to how a computer might sort a list of values with the “selection sort” algorithm. This is just one of the dozens of popular approaches to organizing data, but it maps particularly well to how humans often attempt to sort things. Let’s take a look at how selection sort works!

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Value of Remote Working …. and Remote Learning

By Mitchell Robertson on

Remote work is here to stay. “WFH” is the new normal for companies large and small. Job seekers and companies with positions to fill are slowly realizing how much this opens up opportunities for finding the right match. This is why it’s so important to learn the skills to be a productive, well-balanced professional who can work remotely.

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Job Interviews: 10 Things to Practice

By Mitchell Robertson on

Congratulations, you’ve landed an interview! Here’s how to make sure you don’t blow it.

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How to Land a Job in Tech

By Mitchell Robertson on

How do you land a great job with a tech company? The answer to the question doesn’t require a secret handshake or a hidden map – it requires grit!

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10 Pitfalls That Can Hold You Back From Being Hired

By Mitchell Robertson on

Interpersonal skills can help—or hurt—your path to landing a job just as much as technical skills. Check yourself for these 10 pitfalls to make sure they won’t stand between you and your dream job.

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6 Keys to Writing the Perfect Cover Letter

By Mitchell Robertson on

Let’s stop with the generic cover letters! A great cover letter should help you stand out. When written poorly, a cover letter can make a promising candidate seem like an uncreative, uninteresting boiler-plate copy.

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COVID-19: How to Thrive in This Time of Uncertainty

By Mitchell Robertson on

At Code Fellows, we are passionate about helping individuals transform their lives through education. We believe that it is critical to learn the skills that allow you to pursue your passion while also providing for you financially. Being able to work remote, means you not only have the ability to endure tough times like the ones we are facing now but also live where you want, work where you want, and live the life that you want.

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Defining Impostor Syndrome: How to Own Your Success

By Mitchell Robertson on

Late last year, life coach Micha Goebig gave a presentation on overcoming impostor syndrome at a Code Fellows Partner Power Hour. You’ve probably heard of the phrase, but you might not know exactly what it means. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Here, we’re detailing what impostor syndrome is and breaking down Micha’s tips for overcoming it and learning to feel confident about your success. Everyone lacks confidence sometimes, but with these tips, we hope to help you learn where that’s healthy—as opposed to limiting and destructive—so you can believe in yourself as much as we believe in you.

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Up Your Coding Game: Learn More with Code Fellows Tutoring Program

By Heather Cherewaty on

Discover more ways Code Fellows is dedicated to helping students become confident, knowledgeable, and career-ready software developers.

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Which Coding Language Should I Learn First?

By Brook Riggio on

Code Fellows’ own vice president of education, Brook Riggio, breaks down the differences between coding languages and shares his suggestions about which language you should learn first.

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It's For You!

By Jeff Malek on

I sent the response below to an email we received from someone who objected to one of our ads, which contained the message “coding is not just for the white, the male, the privileged, the wealthy or the college educated”. Hopefully this post will help others who may have been offended to understand the intent behind this message.

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Learning to Code: 5 Paths to Becoming a Software Developer and How to Enhance Your Skills Along the Way - Part 4

By Heather Cherewaty on

Are you learning to code or looking to improve your technical skills? Join us for a 5 part blog series on the many paths to a career in Tech and how you can improve your skills, and your job prospects, along the way! Monthly, from September through January, we’ll be exploring various learning mediums and how to best leverage those resources for success. We’ll cover free online tutorials and courses, coding schools/bootcamps, CS degree programs, interview prep, and continuing education. You can find September’s blog on “The Self-guided Route” here, October’s blog on “The College Route” here, and November’s blog on “The Code School Route” here.

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Why We’re Different Than a Coding Bootcamp

By Mitchell Robertson on

Coding bootcamps have grown in popularity—but we at Code Fellows believe it takes more than the basics, which is why we don’t categorize ourselves as a bootcamp. In this post, we explain why.

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Learning to Code: 5 Paths to Becoming a Software Developer and How to Enhance Your Skills Along the Way - Part 3

By Heather Cherewaty on

Are you learning to code or looking to improve your technical skills? Join us for a 5 part blog series on the many paths to a career in Tech and how you can improve your skills, and your job prospects, along the way! Monthly, from September through January, we’ll be exploring various learning mediums and how to best leverage those resources for success. We’ll cover free online tutorials and courses, coding schools/bootcamps, CS degree programs, interview prep, and continuing education. You can find September’s blog on “The Self-guided Route” here and October’s blog on “The College Route” here.

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Meet Ada Lovelace (and Other Women Who Shaped Technology)

By Mitchell Robertson on

Without women, technology would be nowhere near where it is today, but that’s a narrative that many people don’t yet know. Today, we’re introducing (or reintroducing) you to some of tech’s finest female trailblazers so we can all celebrate the women who pioneered the industry—and paved the way for generations to come.

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Learning to Code: 5 Paths to Becoming a Software Developer and How to Enhance Your Skills Along the Way - Part 2

By Heather Cherewaty on

Are you learning to code or looking to improve your technical skills? Join us for a 5 part blog series on the many paths to a career in Tech and how you can improve your skills, and your job prospects, along the way! Monthly, from September through January, we’ll be exploring various learning mediums and how to best leverage those resources for success. We’ll cover free online tutorials and courses, coding schools/bootcamps, CS degree programs, interview prep, and continuing education. You can find September’s blog on “The Self-guided Route” here.

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Learning to Code: 5 Paths to Becoming a Software Developer and How to Enhance Your Skills Along the Way - Part I

By Heather Cherewaty on

Are you learning to code or looking to improve your technical skillset? Join us for a 5 part blog series on the many paths to a career in Tech and how you can improve your skills, and your job prospects, along the way! Monthly, from September through January, we’ll be exploring various learning mediums and how to best leverage those resources for success. We’ll cover free online tutorials and courses, coding schools/bootcamps, CS degree programs, interview prep, and continuing education.

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Field Notes: How to Prepare for the Technical Interview

By Misty Hays on

Interviewing can be brutal. But it doesn’t have to be.

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Field Notes: Impact is Greater Than Visibility

By Jeff Adelman on

As you progress in your career as a software engineer, one piece of advice you may hear, from coworkers, friends, or a manager, is that you need to be more “visible.” What do these well-meaning people have in mind when they tell you to increase your visibility?

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Field Notes: Advice for a Career in Programming

By Ted Spence on

When I meet programmers about to embark on a career in the exciting and rewarding field of software engineering, they often ask for advice. The most common question I am asked is what programming language they should learn (I happen to like C#), but I’d like to share different advice today.

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Cooking, Coding & Career Changes: A Chef’s Journey in Learning to Code

By Kayla Asay on

Hello! My name is Kayla Asay and I am a software engineer.

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How to Assess and Negotiate a Job Offer

By Mitchell Robertson on

Effectively evaluating and negotiating an offer involves understanding individual priorities and knowing the hiring market. When switching careers, be prepared to ask potential employers for what you’re worth—and then negotiate for it.

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Meet Clare: Scientist, Yeast Engineer, and Code Fellows Graduate

By Lauren Sauser on

Clare Monahan spent half a decade as a protein engineer. As she neared her financial limitations as a scientist without a PhD, she turned her attention to writing code. Clare shares with us about her transition from the lab to the classroom, and then to a new career as a software developer.

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8 Tips Before You Hire from a Code School

By Mitchell Robertson on

With the recent rise in code schools and the number of new devs entering today’s tech market, how can you be sure the grad you’re about to hire is the kind of quality you need for your team? Here are 8 tips to make sure you’re hiring the best.

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15+ Programming Books to Keep on Your Shelf

By Sarah Fischer on

Every developer needs a set of go-to resources, whether writing their first lines of code or building on 10+ years of experience. Our instructors are avid readers, and we’ve pulled together a few of their top picks to help you get started, stay current, and advance your skills.

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Student project harnesses brain power to fly AR Drone

By Sarah Fischer on

Before graduating from their Development Accelerator, students complete and present a final project. Robert, a JavaScript student, brought in an idea that involved an AR Drone 2.0, Mindflex Duel headsets, and an Internet connection. He teamed up with two other students and a TA to get his project—quite literally—off the ground.

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Code Fellows is hiring instructors for local teams across the USA

By Mitchell Robertson on

Are you an experienced web/mobile developer with a passion for teaching? If so, we’d love to talk to you.

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Example Blog Layout and Tutorial

By Ivan Storck on

Starting a blog to share your new coding knowledge with the world? Use this tutorial to get started.

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