186 | Breaking into Tech through Open Source

In this episode, Chris Nowicki shares his path from aerospace to web development and the unique challenges of transitioning into tech. Chris and James discuss how Chris got involved in the open-source project "Deals for Devs," including the tech stack, managing contributions, and handling obstacles. This episode offers a first-hand look at the value of community in development and tips for new devs on getting started in open source.

Sponsor

Postman is an API platform for building and using APIs. Postman simplifies each step of the API lifecycle and streamlines collaboration so you can create better APIs—faster.

Show Notes

00:00 - Intro

01:08 - Chris Nowicki’s Journey into Tech

02:12 - Bootcamp Experience and Structure

05:07 - Breaking into Tech Through Community Involvement

08:38 - Deals for Devs: The Project Origin

11:10 - Sponsor Message: Postman

12:06 - Tech Stack Overview for Deals for Devs

13:22 - Tech Stack: Resend, React Email, Tailwind, and Xata

17:00 - Prisma Integration with Xata

20:00 - Challenges in Managing Community Projects

23:54 - Planning and Issue Management for Deals for Devs

28:00 - Feature Flags and Release Management

37:15 - Subscription System Workflow

45:45 - Creating a Dynamic Email Subscription System

51:58 - Managing Admin and Approval for Deals

52:26 - Closing

Links

• OpenSauced
• RedwoodJS
• Deals for Devs Project
• Postman
• React Email
• Vercel
• Xata
• Resend
• Frontend Mentor
• LaunchDarkly
• Grid Iron Survivor
• Dev.to article on CRON jobs