In this Episode: Learning, then Teaching WordPress Development
Carrie’s path to WordPress was an interesting one. She started in web development doing ASP.net, before quitting that and going to work at a Starbucks. She went there because she had aspirations of opening her own coffee shop, and thought on the job learning was the best way to do it.
While she was there, her manager introduced her to WordPress. She started freelancing, and was easily able to replace her Starbucks income with freelance income.
From there, she dove into Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning) courses to learn WordPress, and eventually started teaching there herself. Her approach to teaching web development is fantastic – definitely worth having a listen just for that!
Key Takeaways
- One of the most rewarding things about being a freelancer is helping different companies work through a solution. By mixing up your client base and not just taking the easy jobs, you get to solve different problems.
- When it comes to teaching WordPress (or anything), start with an assumption about the learner. What do they know? What do they need to know? What’s the primary outcome for the course?
- Learn something like you’re going to teach it. Don’t just know how to do it – understand the “why” behind the “how.” Even if you don’t make courses or do talks, this skill will help you with coworkers and clients.
- There’s a lot of knowledge to share! Don’t keep things to yourself for “job security.”
- Use the tools that work best for you. For Carrie, VS Code, GitHub, and WP-CLI are invaluable.
- Don’t just use tools because they’re shiny and new. Determine if you need them and what you need them for.
The Official Plesk Podcast: Next Level Ops Featuring
Joe Casabona
Joe is a college-accredited course developer and podcast coach. You can find him at Casabona.org.
Carrie Dils
Carrie Dils is a Frontend Developer and LinkedIn Learning Instructor
Did you know we’re also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts? In fact, you can find us pretty much anywhere you get your daily dose of podcasts. As always, remember to update your daily podcast playlist with Next Level Ops. And stay on the lookout for our next episode!