We Belong Here: Lessons from Unconventional Paths to Tech

34. Jonan Scheffler: On the Value of Authentic Relationships in Tech

Jan 4 '21

Today Lauren chats with Jonan Scheffler, who had over 40 jobs before entering the tech industry. He loved tech growing up but wasn't wildly intrigued or inspired by his CS classes and thus wasn’t interested in pursuing it as a career. He dabbled in various roles such as factory work, car sales, but eventually became a poker dealer on the Oregon coast.

When he began searching for roles in tech, he googled who was being paid the most and decided he wanted to become a Ruby developer. He then took the massive leap of faith, moved his family across the country, and attended a coding program called Hungry Academy. He fell in love with Ruby as a language then and has stayed passionate about the community to this day.

Jonan had faced some burn out in the realm of DevRel but has since returned and today is the Director of Developer Relations at New Relic. Lauren and Jonan chat about the world of Developer Relations and the disingenuine sales-pitches that can sometimes occur when someone doesn’t prioritize their developer communities. Throughout the conversation, it is evident how passionate Jonan is about creating authentic relationships and how excited he is to launch a new Dev Rel team at New Relic.

They discuss how the other roles Jonan has had helps him today in his role in tech. Being a career changer informs his perspective. He shares advice, wisdom, and calls out to those looking to transition into tech directly, and encourages them to do it and take the leap into the unknown and pursue tech as a career. This episode is packed with resources, recommendations, and tips; it is not one to miss!

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"Humans are different in complementary and beautiful ways. And to the extent that we are able to get more people with more interesting backgrounds in technology, we make technology better for everyone.

We need you here.

We want to support you.

It's hard to remember that when you're out there sending resume after resume into the void.

But hang in there; the world needs you.

We need you in Tech.

I'm really glad you're here.

Please, keep it up."

-- Jonan Scheffler

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Resources:

Follow Jonan on Twitter @thejonanshow

Jonan’s GitHub