Ben Junya - Lead Front-End Engineer

David and Ben discuss being a creator, communication skills, and the importance of constructive disagreements.
Featuring Ben Junya, js.la co-organizer and Lead Front-End Engineer at StaffMeUp

Talking Points:
  • What does it mean to be a creator?
  • Positive aspects of creating your own programs.
  • Find the differences between SAS companies and Agencies.
  • Day-in-the-life of Ben Junya.
  • Ben’s process in application development.
  • How to rapidly progress your communication skills.
  • How to become better at predicting edge-cases.
  • Challenges Ben faces when converting a website from PHP to JavaScript.
  • Ben’s favorite attributes of an applicant.
  • The importance of constructive disagreements.
  • Advice to bootcamp graduates.
  • What technology is Ben excited to start using?
Quotable Quotes:
  • “Video games can teach you a LOT about UX” - BJ
  • “I like to put myself in the shoes of the user.” - BJ
  • “People are all very very different and by working on different teams, products, customers, you will find that everyone communicates in different ways” - BJ
  • “Knowing your audience and knowing how to tailor your words to get your point across to that person is incredibly important.” - BJ
  • “To learn about more edge cases, you constantly have to keep building stuff.” - BJ
  • “I view coding and learning as playing. Because when you play with something you learn the limitations of it, you find what it can and cannot do.” - BJ
  • “I always ask my backend team ’What is the easiest way I can send this information to you?’“- BJ
  • “What I am looking for is someone who can backup their answers with facts, articles, official documentation…” - BJ
  • “If a developer’s opinion was proven wrong and they are able to not take it personally, that is something I really, really look for. That thoughtfulness, that humility is what I look for when interviewing candidates.” - BJ
  • “Seeing a person’s past projects is a nice little window into a person’s head. What makes them tick?” - BJ
  • “Don’t stop building. Keep on building stuff. That is the best advice I can give you.” - BJ
  • “After your bootcamp is over, your work is not done.” - BJ
  • “A lot of programming is frustration. Every day you will be asked to do something you have never done before. [ …. ] Being comfortable with being uncomfortable is important.” - BJ
  • “You have all of these amazing tools available to you on the internet to use and no one to stop you from using them. Do it!” - BJ