AI as an easy exit — and a hazard

It’s 2026. If you want to learn how to code and actually get results, this episode is your roadmap.

Danny and Leon break down the stuff that is not “cool advice,” but is the advice that gets people hired. We talk about why course-hoarding feels productive but is not, what the real bottleneck in tech actually is (hint: not syntax), and how to build a learning system that survives the trough of sorrow.

You’ll walk away with:

The 3-part foundation that decides if you stick with coding

Why “problem solving” is the real job, not typing code

When AI helps, and when it quietly ruins your learning

The learning science that separates dabblers from finishers (active recall + spaced repetition)

How to pick what to learn based on your local market (and stop wasting years)

Why community is the cheat code that keeps you moving when motivation dies

If your goal is to learn to code this year, do one action right now: join a community, pick a path, and start.

✅ If you made it to the end, comment: “In 2026 I’m gonna grow my skill set.”

SITE https://www.programmingpodcast.com/

Stay in Touch:

📧 Have questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?

Email us at dannyandleonspodcast@gmail.com!

Danny Thompson

https://x.com/DThompsonDev

/ dthompsondev

www.DThompsonDev.com

Leon Noel

https://x.com/leonnoel

/ leonnoel

https://100devs.org/

📧 Have questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?

Email us at dannyandleonspodcast@gmail.com!

Chapters

00:00 - The 2026 promise: real results, not cool advice

01:56 - Why you should listen to us (and why this episode goes viral)

04:18 - Start with your “why” or you will quit

05:45 - The 3 foundations: manage frustration, consistency, take care of yourself

09:11 - What companies pay for: problem solving, not syntax

12:30 - The shiny becomes dull: how people quit when novelty fades

15:49 - Build to derisk yourself: projects that help vs projects that hurt

17:15 - The trough of sorrow and crash of ineptitude

18:51 - AI as the easy exit, and why you cannot take it

21:09 - Hot take: earn AI later, do not use it early

22:46 - Over-reliance makes you weaker (and why teams sometimes remove AI)

25:36 - Learn how to learn: Barbara Oakley and rebuilding your foundation

26:45 - Active recall: do less work, remember more

27:45 - Spaced repetition: stop forgetting what you learn

30:11 - Build projects early to create incentive and momentum

32:25 - Make concepts “sticky” with analogies and mental models

33:31 - Your first year on the job decides career vs job

35:37 - Stop asking for “the tech stack” and start reading your local market

38:40 - Dallas example: 400 MERN jobs vs 34,000 Java jobs

42:31 - No one is taking risks right now: prove you can hit the ground running

44:16 - Target companies strategically (emerging talent programs, hiring volume)

47:00 - Do not marry a stack, marry adaptability

48:49 - System rules: make every project your own, break goals into daily actions

51:38 - Pick one path and finish: FreeCodeCamp, Odin Project, 100Devs, Full Stack Open

52:42 - The real cheat code: community

56:31 - Motivation expires, community keeps you moving

59:44 - Talent is distributed, opportunity is not

1:03:28 - Take action right now: join a community

1:04:34 - Comment to prove you are a real one

1:04:56 - “I don’t have time” and the priority truth

1:06:10 - Your value in 2026: caring, context, judgment, and composing solutions