In today's fast-paced tech environment, I believe it is more than important to make time for self-improvement and continue your journey in lifelong learning. One of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to do this is by watching or listening to your favourite tech creator's podcasts or watching videos on their TikTok or YouTube channels which offer valuable insights and knowledge on a wide range of topics such as Front-end or back-end development, User Research and Design.

In this blog post, I will be sharing my top five favourite educational content creators from YouTube and TikTok that help me expand my mind and gain new knowledge and perspective in the world of software and web development, and help me get through hard-to-understand topics/subjects throughout my Web and Mobile Development learning journey.

1. Kevin Powell

Kevin Powell is one of my favourite tech content creators, he is well-known for his high-quality and extremely informative content. Kevin has been creating content on YouTube since March of 2006 and has amassed a following of 701,000 followers. His channel is focused on front-end web development using CSS.

One of the things that set Kevin Powell aside from other tech content creators and developers on YouTube was his ability to explain complex and hard-to-understand concepts in a clear and easy-to-understand way. Kevin breaks down the material into bite-sized chunks, making it easy for anyone to follow along and understand. Even if you are very new to web design and development, as I was, Kevin makes sure new devs with limited experience can also follow along and grasp the concepts. He also provides code examples, allowing us to see the concepts in action.

In addition to his technical knowledge and expertise, Kevin is a very gifted communicator. He has the outstanding ability to explain technical concepts in a way that is easy for non-technical people to understand. He is also very personable and relatable which makes his videos very engaging and enjoyable for me.

Overall, Kevin was a great asset and learning resource during my times of struggling to learn full-stack web development. From the times I was stuck trying to center the darn div to creating smooth-loading animations, to creating mobile-first responsive sites, Kevin has had just the right video to help me learn, understand and execute the design I was trying to achieve.

I believe whether you are a beginner just starting to dive into the world of web development like I was, or an experienced dev looking to expand your font-end design knowledge, his videos offer great value.

You can find Kevin Powell's videos on YouTube here.

2. Frontendjoe

"Useful front-end tools part....what are we on now?" - frontend-joe

Fontendjoe is a small TikTok creator and front-end dev with a strong following of 40,600 on TikTok who is known for his short-form and informative videos titled "Useful Frontend Tools" which cover a very wide range of front-end web development tools such as animated SVG background creators, CSS animations generators, dark mode mesh gradient generators, and much, much more.

He offers tools that can be invaluable to front-end web developers and help streamline work. I learned about the cubic bezier tool from Joe before any lecturer or other creator did, and it helped me implement smooth animations into SVGs.

Overall, Frontendjoe is a great resource, especially when you just stumble upon a video, and what he shows just totally changes the way you can work.

You can follow him on TikTok here.

3. Clément Mihailescu

Clément Mihailescu is a YouTuber, Software Engineer, and entrepreneur, who created AlgoExpert, a platform designed to help people learn and practice coding interview questions. He has amassed a following of over 500,000 subscribers on YouTube and creates videos about the tech industry such as the latest Google layoffs, FAANG mock interviews, and more.

I signed up and bought the Fullstack Interview Bundle on Clément's AlgoExpert website. It helped me practice the exact technologies and concepts required in most tech interviews such as linked lists and sorting. This Bundle helped me to pass a technical examination at one of the branches of the Canadian Government.

Overall, Clément is a dedicated programmer who is committed to helping others become better coders, and it shows.

You can follow him on YouTube here.

4. Ben Awad

Ben Awad is a well-known dev and content creator who has amassed a staggering 470,000 followers on YouTube and over 700,000 on TikTok. Ben gained his TikTok following by using a genius tactic; duetting thirst trap TikTok's then cutting in and talking about the tech world or developer problems.

Similar to Clément Mihailescu, Ben also focuses on Tech Interviews but also has many lifestyle vlogs about the tech industry and follow-along coding videos as well.

Ben Awad and the likes of him have really made me solidify my decision to not go into a large tech company in the private industry.

Overall, Ben Awad has helped many developers like myself, think outside of technical knowledge and into what life is actually like as a developer.

You can follow him on YouTube here.

5. Aderson Oliveira

"It's Aderson, not Anderson" - Anderson Oliveira

Aderson Oliveira is a creator that is new to me, but a creator I will never forget. He is a Coder, Teacher, and Podcaster that focuses on showing the tech world outside of the IDE.

I had the pleasure of listening to Aderson's talk while in my Mobile Industry Trends class and had the opportunity to ask him what he thought was more valuable in his career. Was it his technical knowledge, or the social network he built that got him further in his career?
His answer came down to; Yes, we all need technical knowledge as this is our job, and we need to know what we are doing, but the time he spent outside his comfort zone, opening up, becoming more social, and building his network was the most valuable thing.

We all know the saying "It's not what you know, it's who you know." This statement rings true, and we all must take steps to widen our social network and get our name out in our perspective worlds, whether it is in tech, healthcare, law, or any other profession.

If you want to listen to his amazing Podcast S010 Coder, you can check it out on his website, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

So to conclude, these top-5 tech creators have been invaluable in my journey of learning Web and Mobile Development. Not only in terms of technical knowledge but also in social and networking knowledge, knowledge outside the IDE. From beginner concepts to more advanced ones, these creators helped me learn all the material in an enjoyable and entertaining way and I highly recommend checking out their channels if you are looking to get into the world of tech.