Develop Yourself
To change careers and land your first job as a Software Engineer, you need more than just great software development skills - you need to develop yourself.
Welcome to the podcast that helps you develop your skills, your habits, your network and more, all in hopes of becoming a thriving Software Engineer.
Episodes
250 episodes
#247 - I Was the Worst Developer on the Team... Again
Have you ever felt like the weakest link on your development team? You're not alone.The moment you land your first developer job, you're likely to face the crushing weight of comparison. Your teammates seem to know everything while your...
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11:27
#246 - Coding Bootcamps, Burnout, and the Hard Truth About Breaking Into Tech: An Engineering Manager's Perspective
What do engineering leaders really think about bootcamp grads?Why are so many developers so stressed?Is it even worth learning to code in 2025?Michael Greenspan pulls back the curtain on the realities of engineering leaders...
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27:40
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#245 - What Developers Get Wrong About Interviews
I spent a few years as an engineering manager, and my buddy Zubin, a former Google engineer, is currently hiring developers at his company. Between the two of us, we’ve seen the good, the bad, and the totally avoidable when it comes to technica...
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36:19
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#244 - From Zero to Software Engineer After 30: My Journey and What You Need to Know
Ever feel like you missed your chance to break into tech? That 30 marks some invisible deadline for career reinvention? I've been there—and I'm here to tell you it's absolutely false.My journey from addiction to software engineering ...
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18:43
#243 - The 70% Problem: When AI Coding Falls Short
What happens when software engineers rely too heavily on AI-assisted coding tools? Brian and Zubin (an ex-Google engineer) dive deep into what they call "The 70% Problem" – the phenomenon where AI coding tools excel at initial scaffolding but f...
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34:46
#242 - How Anne Got a Developer Job WITHOUT LinkedIn or LeetCode
What happens when a music educator with performance anxiety decides to become a software developer?Anne discovered coding through The Odin Project and immediately recognized a familiar pattern-based thinking from her music background. "...
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33:48
#241 - The Bootcamp Era Is Dead — And That’s Great News for Developers
AI didn’t kill bootcamps — shallow learning did.So what skills actually matter now that building a CRUD app is a commodity?And can you learn them without working at a company or getting a CS degree?In this...
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17:56
#240 - Navigating the Front-End Landscape: A Senior Developer's Perspective on AI Tools, Front End interviews and What Makes You "Senior"
Yasemin, a senior front-end developer with a decade of experience, shares insights on career progression in front-end development and how the transition from junior to senior is more about mindset than technical skills.She discusses her ...
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24:29
#239 - Is Learning to Code Still Worth It? An Senior Developer's Perspective
Chris, a mentee at Parsity was feeling a bit down and asked me straight up what I think about the future of coding careers.I had to really think about it.With headlines screaming about AI taking our jobs and markets being oversatu...
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14:06
#238 - My Experience in Vibe Coding Hell
A rant on the myth of developer productivity with AI and my experience in vibe coding hell with a team of senior engineers.- Why Vibe Coding is great for prototyping and terrible for real software- Why we still need junior develop...
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20:31
#237 - Don't Learn to Code for the Money, But If You Do...
You want to learn to code because you want more money. Let's just be honest about it.First off - there are many other ways to make a desirable income without learning a difficult skill like coding.You can do sales.You could...
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23:24
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#236 - Developer Internships: The Good, The Bad, and The “Wait, They Threw Out My Code?”
What’s it really like to go from coding alone to working on a real dev team? Dean Fox shares his raw experience navigating TypeScript, Git, team dynamics, and scrapped code during his first internship through Parsity's Inne...
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26:27
#235: 2 Skills You Don't Need Anymore In the AI Era and 3 More You're Going to Need
The developer landscape is shifting. Fast.AI isn’t replacing developers—it’s replacing the kind of developer that only knows how to write boilerplate and follow tutorials.There are some practical skills you're goin...
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18:21
#234 - Coding Isn’t Enough: 3 Weird Traits That Predict Success in Tech
What separates successful tech career changers from those who struggle?After switching careers into tech at 31 following years of addiction, and mentoring hundreds of aspiring developers, I've noticed some odd patterns and traits of thos...
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16:24
#233 - How Mindi Navigated ADHD, Bootcamp Burnout, and Landed a Dev Role
We cover:Why even smart, driven people need help when learning to codeWhat ADHD looks like as a software engineer—and how she manages itHow burnout hit hard after landing the jobWhy public speakin...
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39:14
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#232 - The Harsh Truth About Coding, AI, Bootcamps, and Breaking in to Tech
Think you need a CS degree to get hired? That bootcamps are scams? That AI is making developers obsolete? In this episode, I share some very hot takes on what it really takes to break into tech — and why most of what you’ve...
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16:09
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#231 - Roasting A Listener's Resume, LinkedIn and GitHub Profile
A listener, Andrew, was kind enough to send me his resume, LinkedIn and GitHub profile for me to roast.Overall - he did a good job BUT there are some issues I would fix that I've seen in many of the hundreds of resumes I've seen over the...
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14:21
#230 - AI Will Replace Most Coding: What Chief Scientist Laly Bar-Ilan Says Developers Should Learn Next
Laly Bar-Ilan has been working in AI and natural language processing for over two decades—long before it was trendy. She’s now the Chief Scientist at Bit, where she’s helping build composable, AI-first developer tools that might just rep...
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29:54
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#229 - The 2025 Tech Job Market Sucks? Here's How You Beat It
The job market in 2025 feels broken—and you’re not imagining it. AI-generated spam is clogging recruiter inboxes, resumes are becoming less relevant, and LinkedIn is more influencer platform than job board. In this e...
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17:51
#228 - The 3 Stages of Learning Javascript: What to Build && What to Learn
No one said it would be easy.If you're having trouble learning JS, you're not alone.I nearly quit coding when I had to learn JS. I even considered trying to become an email developer (yes, this was a thing). Fast forwa...
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14:31
#227 - How Busy Professionals Can Learn to Code (Without Losing Their Minds): A 3 Step Process
Ever feel like learning to code is impossible with your packed schedule?You're not alone. Ten years ago, I was juggling parenting two kids, working full-time with a brutal Bay Area commute, and driving Lyft on the side just ...
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15:42
Special Episode: Answering Fan Mail
Have you ever sent a message into the void? That's exactly what's been happening to listeners who've tried to contact me through Buzzsprout's messaging system.From a father in Dayton balancing family responsibilities while trying to bre...
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14:55
#226 - New Coders Can't Code?
The rise of AI coding tools has fundamentally changed how people learn programming, creating a concerning trend: developers who can produce impressive-looking applications without understanding how they work.What makes a developer truly...
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28:36
#225 - The 3-Month Coding Bootcamp Myth: 4 Things You Actually Need to Get Hired
Thinking about joining a coding bootcamp to land a job in three months? Let’s get real. I’ve been coding professionally for over a decade, and while a bootcamp kick-started my career, it didn’t teach me everything I need...
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17:30
#224 - How Jeremy Went From Tutorial Hell to Front End Developer at Apple
Jeremy spoke with a couple mentees at Parsity which led to a conversation where I learned about his unusual (and long) journey into software.If you're a career changer and you're dealing with impostor syndrome or tutorial hell and need s...
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37:18
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