Growing as a Python Developer - PyOhio 2026 Keynote

Transcript

1. Growing as a Python developer Resilience, Effort, Community Carol Willing PyOhio 2026 · July 25, 2026
2. Spoiler Alert I am so sorry that I am losing my voice. This talk is a tribute to the amazing individuals in the Python community. Everyone, inclusive of beginners to experts, has unique gifts. I hope my voice lasts and that you leave inspired and empowered to grow yourself and others as Python developers.
3. How? Growing as a Python developer — so many questions… Learn the language Follow a tutorial Ask Claude / ChatGPT / Gemini
4. Hi I’m Carol Willing Python Core Team since 2017 2× PSF Board member ACM Software System Award 3× Python Steering Council Jupyter Core Team PSF Fellow pyOpenSci team PSF Community Service Award napari core team PSF Frank Willison Award Mentor, teacher, collaborator, and friend
6. Thar be dragons Are they nice dragons or do they breathe fire? Today, let’s go with nice. CC BY-SA 3.0 | Link
7. Growing dragonfruits
8. Nutrients and water
9. Care
10. Starting to bloom
11. Full bloom The process isn’t finished yet.
12. Cross-pollinating
13. Bearing fruit
14. Python developers are like dragonfruits
15. Life happens 1995 2010 The long break from tech. Caregiving across 3,000 miles for a mom with Alzheimer's, raising two kids, and a husband traveling 50% of the time. The return. Facing the industry myth: "You wasted your MIT degree. You lost your technical skills. You have to start at the bottom as a junior." The reverse pedestal
16. How I grew as a Python developer Community anchors & the power of 5 minutes 2011 – 2014 Local community Geek in Residence at FabLab San Diego, San Diego Python and PyLadies. Micro-Mentorship Adrian Holovaty and Jacob Kaplan-Moss (PyCon Poster). Mentored by Ian Cordasco on contributing to the Requests library (POST for JSON). Invitation AdaCamp, Shauna Gordon McKeon (OpenHatch / Django), Jessica McKellar (PyCon). The Turning Point Fernando Perez, IPython and Jupyter, asking: "What do you think?"
20. I became a gardener 2014 – Present The Stage The Milestones My first PyCon talk — rehearsing with Selena Deckelman; asking a core dev to stand on stage with me. CPython Core Developer (2017), ACM Software System Award (2019), White House recognition (2014 FabLab, 2024 Project Jupyter). The Gentle Code Garden San Diego Python Study Group, JupyterHub / Binder code and docs, CPython humane leadership, PyOpenSci outreach. Learn. Build. Share. — Openly
21. So how do you grow as a Python developer?
22. The Modern Reality — a distributed system Unpredictability Immense scale is a constant. Information moves instantly, everywhere at once. Complex system mirrors us Race conditions, latency, and shifting timelines.
23. code tests Who is a Python developer? designs Anyone who creates or improves… translations documentation communities accessibility & much, much more… governance events
24. Three steps to success 1 2 3 Adapt to change Open doors Be humble
25. 1 Adapt to change
26. ALL docs.python.org pypi.org Python What you need, when you need it INTERMEDIATE devguide.python.org peps.python.org ADVANCED THEORY SICP (MIT 6.001)
27. 1 Primitives numbers and strings built-in operations names / variables 2 Deconstructed Means of combination expressions (produce a value from operations) control flow (if, loops) data structures (list, dict) 3 Means of abstraction functions data abstraction (interface, implementation) modularity (classes, modules)
28. Adaptation nuggets of wisdom Failure and change are baseline rules in software systems. Move past technical myths — rely on continuous experimentation and exploration. An expert saying it — or a fancy system — doesn't make it correct or capture the full problem. Follow the tides of your personal energy Ebb Rest Flow Recharge
29. Time is precious
30. 2 Open doors
31. Open a door Grow networks and impact PyLadies Black Python Devs Djangonauts PyOhio Have a picnic — a brilliant woman in Argentina who thought she was "just a junior DevOps dev," now on the PyCon Charlas stage. Encourage gently — be a SLQAR: Show up Listen Stop gatekeeping Question Act Recharge
32. Make the room accessible Formal program — Djangonaut Space, DjangoGirls, HumbleData Local (and virtual) gatherings — regional conferences and user groups Conversation — have tea. Chat. Create a safe space
33. Gather courage and enter the room when you feel ready
34. 3 Be humble
35. Humility in practice Honest phrases I don't know What do you think? Yes, and … The flight crew — pilots, flight attendants, and maintenance crews all own safety equally. Kind code reviews — focus on the code, not the person. Foundational courtesy Please Thank you I appreciate your effort Drop the arrogance and jargon — it only creates friction.
36. Anti-pattern alert: "Technical" vs. "not technical" Signals "you are not as valuable as me" — or that writing code matters more than everything else. Remember the flight crew metaphor — every role owns the outcome. Success skills are technical skills too.
37. Built by people, for people Dr. Cat Hicks studies the human side of engineering — psychological safety, belonging, and how teams actually learn. drcathicks.com
38. Your growth journey may be challenging and unpredictable at times What to do? Just SCAMPER.
39. Growing as a Python developer Enjoy your journey Adapt by testing assumptions and listening to your own energy flow Open doors and invite people in Be humble, yet assertive Step beyond your comfort zone
40. Our people You A mentor A friend A maintainer A beginner An organizer A speaker A teacher A contributor A newcomer A gardener A community We grow together
41. We can change the world together • Dream big. • Hope starts with your immediate, daily choices. • Change your little corner of the world. satyrn.ai
42. Thank you Carol Willing Resilience, Effort, Community Slides: https://speakerdeck.com/willingc