Ep. 35 | Decoding Developer Trends: Inside the Life of a Developer-Focused Analyst with Kate Holterhoff

Summary

Join us for a conversation with Kate Holterhoff, an industry analyst at Redmonk who tracks developer trends from Reddit threads to conference halls. Kate shares her unique journey from earning a PhD in Victorian literature to becoming a self-taught developer and analyst, and discusses Redmonk's "new kingmakers" philosophy that recognizes developers as key decision-makers in tech adoption. We explore current industry trends including JavaScript bundlers, the real story behind AI and developer jobs, why communication skills matter as much as technical expertise, and her experiments with vibe coding across different IDEs.

Takeaways

• Developer-led adoption is the future - Redmonk's "new kingmakers" philosophy recognizes that developers, not executives, are increasingly making purchasing decisions for development tools and platforms.
• AI tools are becoming standard practice - Most developers now use AI code assistants and agentic IDEs, forcing organizations to adapt with proper guardrails and company plans rather than fighting adoption.
• AI isn't taking jobs (yet) - Current tech layoffs are more attributable to post-ZIRP (zero-interest-rate phenomenon) economics and offshoring than AI displacement, though AI has become a convenient scapegoat.
• JavaScript is getting massive - The recent explosion of bundlers like TurboPack, Vite, RS Pack, and Rolldown signals that JavaScript packages have grown significantly since Webpack's creation 10 years ago.
• Industry analysts live in developer watering holes - Understanding real developer sentiment means spending time where developers actually talk: Reddit, Hacker News, Bluesky, conferences, and podcasts.
• Communication skills are as critical as technical skills - Engineers who can bridge technical expertise with business communication and customer interaction have significant advantages in their careers.
• Alternative paths into tech are valuable - Kate's journey from Victorian literature PhD to developer analyst shows how diverse backgrounds bring unique perspectives to understanding technology and its cultural impact.
• Teaching can make coding accessible - Using engaging content like comic books, steampunk, and Victorian literature can make technical concepts more approachable and help students see connections across disciplines.
• Vibe coding is promising but unpredictable - AI-powered development tools show incredible potential but remain inconsistent, with success depending on unclear factors like IDE choice, prompting technique, and model capabilities.
• We need more casual learning communities - The tech industry would benefit from more informal, non-commercial spaces for developers to share experiences, especially around emerging technologies like vibe coding.

Links

• The Monkcast: https://redmonk.com/blog/2023/12/07/the-monkcast/
• Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateholterhoff/
• Kate on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kateholterhoff.com
• Dwarkesh podcast with Andrej Karpathy: https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/andrej-karpathy

Hosts:

• Bethany Janos: https://github.com/bethanyj28
• Brittany Ellich: https://brittanyellich.com