The document presents insights from a panel discussion on breaking into front-end development, featuring experienced professionals including Melvin Nix, Zach Hall, Bryan Markham, Lucy Barber, and Sarah Hudson. Each panelist shares their background, journey into coding, and advice for aspiring developers, emphasizing the importance of seeking mentorship, continuous learning, and engaging with the developer community. The discussion highlights the diverse paths into tech and provides practical tips for overcoming challenges in the learning process.

1. Breaking into Front End
Development
with panelists Melvin Nix, Zach Hall, Bryan Markham,
Lucy Barber, and Sarah Hudson

2. Melvin Nix
Digital Artist, Video Producer, Designer, TTS Grad

4. v

6. Zach Hall
Web Developer, TTS Teacher Assistant, TTS Grad

7. Backstory
• Boone, NC
• Computer programming classes in high school
• NC Teaching Fellow – Appalachian State
• Fresh start – Charlotte, NC

8. • A.A.S at CPCC
• Web Development Intern – Elevation Church
• Online Courses
– Codecademy, The Odin Project, Lynda, etc.
• Tech Talent South - CLT

9. Personal Projects
• Crown Town Soccer
• Teacher Assistant @ TTS
• TTS Full Time – Summer 2015
• Available for Hire!!!

10. http://www.vikingcodeschool.com/posts/why-learning-to-code-is-so-damn-hard

11. Advice
• Don’t get discouraged at the Cliff of Confusion
• Find a mentor
• Commit to it
– Toggl, SelfControl, StayFocusd
• Be willing to spend some money

12. Bryan Markham
Front End Developer, UX Designer
American City Business Journals

13. Maya Circa 2004

14. Late Nights | Css Mastery by Andy Budd

15. ACBJ | Patterns | Naming Conventions |
Functionality | Systems

16. $next => JavaScript

17. HAVE FUN!

18. Lucy Barber
UX Designer, Front End Dev, Customer Support Aficionado
checkAppointments, mailVU, and TimeTap

19. Background
● English & Creative
Writing major in school
● Tons of odds & ends
jobs
● DealCloud (startup) in
misc. roles

20. Learning to code
● Got into html by editing email templates in
MailChimp
● Loved being able to quickly see progress in
my work
● Found it was easy to get in focused “flow”
state

21. Now & later
● Static site development
& html framework for
checkAppointments,
mailVU, TimeTap
● Getting more
comfortable with
Javascript

22. Advice
● Understand what part of web development
appeals to your personality
● Look for a starter job where they understand
you are growing
● Challenge yourself

23. Sarah Hudson
Front End & Mobile Dev, Web Design Instructor, TTS Grad
checkAppointments, mailVU, TimeTap, & TTS

24. Background (B.C. - Before Coding)
● CPCC
o Interior Design & Architecture
o AAS in Web Technologies
● Interned as online marketer and blogger
● Music journalism - Elevate Lifestyle & The
Sound Faction
● Product Development @ Little Idea & Enventys
o Lead Graphic & Web Designer
o Art Director & an Assistant Editor of Inventor’s Digest

25. Journey to Coding
● 2009 - 2011: Took programming classes at CPCC
o Python
o PHP
● 2011 - 2013: As a web designer - edited HTML & CSS of
Shopify & Wordpress templates, learned Bootstrap
● Spring 2013: Enjoyed design, but wanted to learn how to
make web apps
● Summer 2013: studied PHP & Python, lectures on MIT’s
open courseware
● October 2013: part time w/ Enventys, moved to ATL for 2

26. The Journey Continues
● Dec 2013: front end dev role @ checkAppointments and
taught myself AngularJS
● Summer 2014: TA for TTS
● Dec 2014: 1 year (and 3 apps later), have learned JS,
AngularJS, Hybrid HTML mobile apps, ins and outs of
running a SaaS
● Nov 2014 through Feb 2015: TTS Grad Class
● Today: Weekly hack nights and peer review, involvement in
community, teaching class for TTS

27. Advice
● Break it up into bite sized pieces: Don’t try to learn it all at once
● Partner up: Find a buddy to chat code with, go to hack nights
● Read, read read: Subscribe to newsletters, blogs, and magazines by
well renowned devs in the community
● Take a break: Burn out? Take a walk or sleep on it - or work on
something else
● Never stop practicing: Make it a goal to learn 1 new thing a week
● Participate in the community: Learn & share with others, grow
your network for new projects and opportunities
● Get out of your comfort zone: Don’t let you be the one to hold you
back. If it’s a challenge, you’ll grow a lot!

28. Open Discussion
Ask questions about front end development, web design,
learning how to code, or general career advice

29. Thank you!
Melvin Nix:
creativityunleashedllc.com
@melvinnix
Zach Hall:
@zachhall_
Bryan Markham:
@BryanJMarkham
Lucy Barber:
@lucb202
Sarah Hudson:
www.sarah-hudson.com
@sarahhudson2008