EP 21| The Art of Tech Education Unlocked with Demarius Edwards

Born and raised in Chicago, IL, Demarius (Mari) grew up in a family of church musicians. He graduated from Williams College with a degree in Psychology and worked at bank immediately after. After a short stint at the bank, he pursued a full-time music career as a recording artist, traveling between NYC and Atlanta. Through music, he’s had to leverage tech platforms to distribute his music, build a following, and grow as an artist. Noticing the difficulties of creatives building a sustainable career through digital platforms, he decided to learn how to code with the mission of teaching underrepresented folks the necessary technical skills to adapt and make a sustainable living. Mari is currently working at the intersection of music and tech education as a coding instructor at the Mometum@Morehouse bootcamp, powered by OHUB (Opportunity Hub) in addition to creating and releasing music.   Key Takeaways:⁣ -What are some pros and cons of attending a tech bootcamp? -The importance of knowing how to tell your story -How Demarius got his job as a coding instructor -What is missing from the education system? (social learning) -Why is now a good time for black people and other underrepresented folks to work in the tech industry   Follow Techunlocked: Twitter: https://twitter.com/techunlockedpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techunlocke...   Connect with Demarius Twitter: https://twitter.com/mari_world_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mari.world/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demarius-edwards-a59b9921/  POCIT Article: https://peopleofcolorintech.com/engineers/fail-forward-how-a-starving-artist-failed-into-software-engineering/   Connect with Grace: Twitter: https://twitter.com/GraceMacjones Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracemacjonez/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracemacj... Have a tech career or tech concept you want us to unlock?  Email us [email protected]   Coding Resources: Freecodecamp.org - Great resource for starting coding.  CodeNewbie.org - a great community to tap into  The best article for laying out amazing techies of color: https://medium.com/@jennifer_opal/100-of-the-best-engineers-developers-coders-and-tech-entrepreneurs-of-colour-to-follow-on-social-be60eec328f8