In this episode of "Just Ship It," Tracy Lee welcomes Matt Pocock, the author of "Total TypeScript," to discuss his journey in the world of development and open source. Tracy and Matt talk about his rise to popularity as the author of "Total TypeScript" and his transition from being a singing voice teacher to a web developer.
Matt's journey into the world of web development began in 2017 while he was working on his thesis. Bored with the thesis writing, he decided to explore JavaScript, marking the beginning of his development adventure. He soon found himself experimenting with ambitious projects like using the Web Audio API to analyze voice quality and other complex web applications. It was during this time that he realized his passion for coding and building things that could change the world.
In 2018, Matt transitioned to full-time web development. He initially worked for a company that created monitoring devices for elderly people, which required him to handle various frontend tasks. Despite leaving the job after just five months due to financial difficulties at the company, Matt's passion for development continued to grow. He went on to work for different agencies, gaining experience in various development environments and technologies.
Matt's journey eventually led him to the world of open source, where he made a significant impact. He became involved with XState, a state machine and state chart library, and even joined its core team. His contributions to XState led to his involvement in the founding of a new company, Stately, which grew out of the XState core team. This transition marked a pivotal moment in his career, as he found himself contributing to a project that later became the foundation for a new venture.
One of Matt's standout accomplishments in the tech community is Total TypeScript. This comprehensive TypeScript course covers advanced topics, such as type transformations, generics, and complex type patterns. Matt's teaching style, which emphasizes practicality and real-world applications, resonated with developers looking to level up their TypeScript skills.
