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– Chuck: We are talking with Jérémie Bonal today. Tell us who you are!

– Guest: I am a web developer and I’ve been writing Ruby for about 2 ½ years now. I’ve been writing code now for 5 – 6 years.

– Chuck: I love writing in Ruby, too. Let’s get into your story. What’s the Ruby community like in France?

– Guest: It’s pretty dispersed in the town that I am living in right now (Bordeaux). We meet up through Meetups and chatting about everything and drinking beer. There are more Ruby communities in Paris.

– Chuck: Maybe one day I will make it out to Bordeaux. My grandmother was French and I thought it would be cool to see the different parts of France.

– Guest: Cycle through France.

– Chuck: My grandmother grew-up near Lyon.

– Guest: France is pretty small compared to the U.S. You can fit several towns in a single trip.

– Chuck: I do have a funny connection. When I lived in Italy for a few years I would show them a map of Utah and they thought CA was close to UT.

– Guest: Yes, it’s hard to conceptualize. From what I’ve heard it could be a road trip for Americans. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around that.

– Chuck talks about Disneyland and family topics.

– Guest: Yes we are! You can find us on our website.

– Chuck: Let’s talk about you – how did you get into programming?

– Guest: When I was young with calculators. My friends made games with it and it blew my mind. I tried to make sense of what the key words meant. Nothing worked and I got real puzzled. I went to college and in the first semester you didn’t choose a major – you just do a bit of everything. You learn some engineering, chemistry, math, etc. so people could find what they really wanted to do. I worked in Python and worked with graphs and all of those concepts. This is when I got into it. I planned on going into chemistry, but all my friends were getting into programming. They kept saying: keep doing programming. I caved-in and the rest is history.

– Chuck: What languages have you worked with?

– Guest lists the different languages. Guest started with Python 2.

– Chuck: We started with Java and C++. It’s interesting to compare the differences there. As we are talking about this – a lot of people think they NEED a computer science degree and others say: nah! I am curious what advantages did it give you?

– Guest: I was disillusioned about the whole thing. They taught me a lot but I didn’t know anything valuable. I learned Ruby and Ruby on Rails. I started building web apps and I got joy out of it. I thought I didn’t have any purpose with my new degree. I noticed in the conversations with my colleagues (who don’t have computer science background) I saw that I could solve patterns and I had a better vocabulary. I saw that I could apply it and that felt good.

– Chuck: Interesting. I found my degree helped with the low-level stuff and helped me to solve problems. I learned on the job, though, too. I feel like if you need the structured environment of a college environment – go for it! Or do a boot camp, etc.

– Guest: I learned Ruby and Ruby on Rails through a boot camp. I wished there were boot camps for my computer science courses. To solve MP this and that; getting into the basics and building a sold foundation in computer science in a short period of time.

– Chuck: I’ve thought about creating that curriculum.

– Chuck: It’s an interesting conversation to have. I think the boot camps will force the universities to adapt.

– Guest: Yes, the disconnect is pretty staggering. It must be kind of similar.

– Chuck: You graduated and you learned Ruby through boot camps?

– Guest: I felt like I didn’t know how to do anything constructive or valuable. I meld around for a while – I went to be an English teacher and other jobs. I found out about a boot camp in Bordeaux and I went to that. It was going to teach Web apps.  I thought taking it would make my CV stronger. It was 9 weeks of Ruby, Ruby, and Ruby! Then the last 2 weeks building an actual app. I fell in-love and found my passion.

– Chuck: That mirrors my experience well. A friend introduced me to the Lamp Stack and then it clicked that this stuff is “cool.” Sounds like you made the same connect that I did.

– Guest: Yes, that’s how it went for me, too. The last few weeks we made an app and it was a travel app. It blew my mind that we made it in only 2 weeks and that people could use it!

– Chuck: Same thing for me. We were answering emails out of Thunder Bird, and we kept stepping on each other.

– Guest: I think my favorite is: I have a problem right now, and I can solve it myself. I can build a basic tool that will make my life easier.

– Chuck: Yep, that’s what I am doing right now. I am building in scheduling and all sort of stuff. The app is awesome and it feels like you have a super power.

– Guest: Yeah, it does whatever you want it to do.

– Chuck: What projects have you worked on?

– Guest: The project I mentioned about the travel itineraries. Then I worked with some classmates on another project around pharmaceuticals. It was cool to solve a problem. Then I played a small web player. I tried Raspberry and Raspberry Pi, and I was trying to build...

– Chuck: I know that Hanaumi is popular in the European market vs. U.S. market.

– Guest.

– Chuck: I have some theories as to WHY that is.

– Guest: I have a friend who moved to Elixir and never tried Hanaumi.

– Chuck: I have been playing with Elixir somewhat. I wanted to understand what people were experiencing.

– Guest: I liked the idea that...

– Chuck: What are you working on these days?

– Guest.

– Chuck: When you find the position of CEO or my job you learn a lot about that stuff. When you are running a business you learn about marketing and other business topics. You talked about replicating a gem. What did you learn through that process?

– Guest.

– Chuck: You are learning more about management? What resources do you use?

– Guest: I read a lot of Medium articles. I am a huge fan of management articles, and Basecamp. Also, your newsletter, Chuck!

– Chuck: Anything else?

– Guest: Social Platforms – Medium.

– Chuck: Where can we find you?

– Guest answers the question.

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