Michael Siller

Senior Software Engineer and Lead Instructor, General Assembly

Los Angeles

Michael Siller is a Senior Software Engineer and has been a Lead Instructor with General Assembly since 2020. With a passion for teaching and application development, Michael has taught over 25 Software Engineering Immersive, JavaScript Development and Front End Development courses. Outside of programming, Michael is usually training for a marathon, playing guitar, or hanging out at the beach.

IN CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL:

What is your favorite technical skill to work with on your own projects and why?

My favorite technical skill to work on with my own projects is system design. I enjoy thinking of the problem at hand and breaking it down into a set of smaller problems to further understand what needs to be done to accomplish the task. It's these steps that inform how a system should be organized and what priorities a system should emphasize.

What is your favorite technical skill to teach to students and why?

My favorite technical skill to teach is Object Oriented Programming. When students begin to learn the basic ideas of OOP, they begin to really understand one of the core ideas behind programming.

What is most important to you about teaching technical skills at General Assembly?

Being able to empower others to not only learn a new skill, but to also helping them understand their own unique learning styles along the way.

What advice do you have for anyone looking to learn technical skills to reach new career goals?

Constantly build, even if it's not perfect. You learn the most from building something and figuring it out along the way.