Andrew and Julie discuss the game Plants vs. Zombies and their preferences for cooperative gaming. They also delve into topics such as teamwork, communication, and organizational structure in a new project. The podcast explores code reviews, expertise in specific code bases, and strategies for knowledge sharing.

The hosts discuss calendar migration, productivity tools, and code organization. They touch on the history of CoffeeScript and best practices for API response statuses. They also explore the challenges of learning new languages, Rails requests, and authorization in Rails.

Hosts share their exciting summer adventures, including road trips to national parks and sandboarding. They discuss hiking challenges, architectural decisions in software development, and knowledge retention practices using Obsidian.

Hosts discuss their experiences and uses of ChatGPT, including writing performance reviews and explaining code. They explore the potential of AI in podcast creation and share experiments with AI personas. The hosts also discuss Co-Pilot, its uses in writing tests, and the Whisper from OpenAI. They delve into using ChatGPT for learning coding skills and explore AI-based terminals and Co-Pilot Labs. They highlight the benefits and limitations of using ChatGPT in coding education. Lastly, they discuss the experiences of using ChatGPT as a knowledgeable software engineer and mention tools like Writers Brew and Readwise for learning complex concepts.

Hosts announce no podcast episodes over the summer due to vacation and busy schedules. Regular episodes to resume when school starts. Thank sponsors for their support.

Julie, a junior developer, talks about her experiences mentoring others and the impact of podcasting on her career. They also discuss effective learning strategies, community building, and the value of live shows in the coding world.

This week the tables are turned on Ruby for All, as our friend of the show, Drew Bragg, interviews Julie J. This was originally on Code and the Coding Coders Who Code it Podcast. If you haven’t checked it out, please go smash the subscribe button. Today, Drew asks Julie J his 3 questions: What are you working on? What's blocking you? What's something cool you want to share? What are Julie’s answers? Guess you’ll have to listen to find out. Hint, they talk about her cool side project, Ruby for All, Rails upgrades, and some of the confusion that still exists around assets in Rails. Hit download now to find out more! [00:01:21] Julie tells us she’s working on a work-related project and a side project. At work, she’s been struggling to keep track of her tasks and notes so she decided to build an app called, Today app, which is a Rails/ERB views app that consolidates all her tasks, questions, standup notes, meeting details on one page, and a note section for previous discussions.[00:07:19] She started working on this project for a couple of months and has found Chat GPT helpful for quick syntax references and learning new concepts. She also uses it to quiz herself and simplify complex explanations.[00:13:00] What does Julie work with right now at work? She primarily works with Rails but has a desire to focus more on front-end development to enhance her skills in both areas, and she’s been doing some React Typescript and React Native.[00:14:07] Julie tells us Codecademy is set up with a mix of front-end, full stack, and back-end. [00:14:41] Drew explains in his current work, they primarily use ERB templates and some Stimulus for their JavaScript sprinkles. His new project is transitioning to using Turbo and Hotwire for interactivity and reactivity. [00:15:56] Drew’s been heavily involved in upgrading their Rails version at his job, starting from v4.1 and currently on v6.1.  He’s gained experience and learned through trial and error during these upgrades. [00:18:44] Julie expresses her interest in participating in Rails upgrades at her job, as her team is currently on Rails v6.0 and Ruby v2.7. Drew gained experience and learned through trial and error during these upgrades. [00:22:21] We hear Drew’s approach of limiting his to-do list to three tasks, and Julie mentions how she further limits hers to just one task in her Today app. They discuss the value of limiting tasks and the mental health benefits it may provide. [00:24:29] What kind of blockers does Julie run into? She shares how she used ChatGPT to overcome JavaScript related issues in her Today app and get unstuck. She mentions struggling with integrating JavaScript and explains how she received guidance from ChatGPT. [00:28:00] Drew discusses the confusion and complexity surrounding asset management in Rails, particularly with JavaScript. Also, it can be overwhelming for junior or early career developers trying to learn Rails since there are three different ways to manage assets.[00:32:25] RubyConf in San Diego is coming up and Julie and Drew will be attending. [00:34:20] What is something cool Julie’s discovered? She tells us she spent two months learning about OAuth and OpenID connect. She also mentions using ngrok to solve the issue of testing Apple SSO locally by redirecting the local host to a ngrok URL. [00:36:41] Drew explains that ngrok is commonly used to tunnel local development environments and allows testing over HTTPS.  [00:37:34] Julie and Drew briefly discuss the deprecated gem, Paperclip, which was used for file uploads before Active Storage became the preferred open in Rails.Panelists:Julie J.Drew BraggSponsors:HoneybadgerAvo Admin for RailsLinks:Andrew Mason TwitterAndrew Mason WebsiteJulie J. TwitterJulie J. WebsiteDrew Bragg TwitterCode and the Coding Coders who Code it Podcast with Drew BraggCode and the Coding Coders who Code it- Episode 17: Joe Masilotti ngrokActive StorageRuby ConferencesRubyConf 2023 (San Diego) 

On this episode of Ruby for All, Andrew attended RailsConf 2023 and talks about his experience at it, how he focused on socializing with friends and co-workers, and attended fewer talks than before. There were some great talks he heard and keynotes he really enjoyed, especially Aaron Patterson, who proposed the idea of Rails shipping its own LSP for Ruby and Rails. Also, a highlight was that this conference had a greater focus on early career developers, offering headshots and resume reviews, which was super cool.   Next year’s conference will be in Detroit, and RubyConf 2023 is coming up in November in San Diego, so Julie and Andrew are both excited to attend this one and Andrew will have stickers in case you missed out. Hit download to hear more cool stuff!  [00:02:16] Andrew kicks things off telling us about RailsConf and seeing his crew.[00:04:25] Andrew mentions he attended fewer talks than before and focuses on the social aspect of meeting his friends and expresses his interest in learning more about asset management in Rails. [00:05:58] Julie asks Andrew about Sprockets, and he explains. [00:07:54] He talks about the sponsor exhibit hall at RailsConf, and talking to people from Crunchy Data, a Postgres service, and the RubyMine people from Jet Brains, which he wants to start using again. He mentions the RubyMine IDE and its features. [00:11:48] Andrew highlights Eileen Uchitelle and Aaron Patterson’s keynotes, with Aaron Patterson proposing the idea of Rails shipping its own Language Server Protocol (LSP) for Ruby and Rails.[00:13:38] Andrew also enjoyed attending talks by his co-worker Vincent and Drew Bragg, which was a ton of fun.[00:15:16] Did Andrew go to any cool events? He hung out with some people for dinner, but was having major social anxiety, which caused him to stick by his friend Jason.[00:19:12] This year’s RailsConf had more focus on early career developers, and he spent more time with them.  Also, Andrew met a lot of people who listen to the podcast. [00:23:26] Julie liked that the conference was focused on early career devs and wishes there was a regional conference that was geared solely to early career devs. [00:24:11] Next year RailsConf is in Detroit, and Andrew and Julie are looking forward to going to RubyConf 2023 in San Diego which will be Nov 13-15.[00:24:54] Yes, Andrew did pass out stickers at the conference, and many people asked for more. He also thanks all the sponsors that made it a success. Panelists:Andrew MasonJulie J.Sponsors:HoneybadgerGoRailsLinks:Andrew Mason TwitterAndrew Mason WebsiteJulie J. TwitterJulie J. WebsiteSprockets RailsShopify-Ruby LSP RailsCrunchy DataJet Brains-RubyMineRuby Conferences  (02:16) - RailsConf highlights and socializing with friends (04:25) - Interest in learning about asset management in Rails (05:58) - Andrew explains Sprockets (07:54) - Visiting sponsor exhibit hall and highlights of Jet Brains (11:48) - Keynote highlights from Eileen Uchitelle and Aaron Patterson (13:38) - Enjoying talks by co-worker Vincent and Drew Bragg (15:16) - Dealing with social anxiety at the conference (19:12) - More focus on early career developers at RailsConf (23:26) - Andrew met listeners of the podcast at the conference (24:11) - Upcoming RailsConf and RubyConf dates (24:54) - Stickers and sponsor thanks at RailsConf

Megan Brown, Product Manager and UX Researcher, shares her journey from psychology to UX design. She explains the importance of dedicated UX professionals, the value of learning UX research for engineers, and provides practical advice on conducting research. The podcast also covers the significance of user research in development and discussions on programming languages and career prospects in mobile development.

On this episode of Ruby for All, Andrew and Julie have a conversation about being a senior software engineer and mentoring.  Since Andrew is a senior software engineer, he talks about the differences between his current and earlier roles, and what experience you need to become a senior developer.  Andrew has so much passion for mentoring, so we’ll find out how he’s found a lot of fulfillment, validation, and purpose in mentoring, and what important qualities are needed to be a mentor.  We’ll also hear a success story of a Junior Developer that he mentored that eventually got a job as a Ruby developer, and some advice for mid-level engineers who are looking to level up. Hit download to hear more cool stuff!  [00:02:02] Andrew tells us what a typical day looks like for him as a senior software engineer at Podia, and the differences between his current role and his earlier roles.[00:04:59] Does Andrew consider himself a tech lead?[00:05:22] We hear about some challenging aspects of Andrew’s role, and he talks about the people component, the planning, and there’s a lot more thinking involved. Also, he tells us he’s a natural leader, but it’s a burden, but if you want to progress to the next step, you have to do it. [00:08:01] Andrew discusses the challenges of balancing technical work and interacting with people since he’s struggling with this right now.  [00:09:14] The topic of mentorship is brought up as Andrew elaborates how he’s found a lot of fulfillment, validation, and purpose in mentoring. He was assigned a mentor when he was first starting out, and he still meets with this person every week.  [00:11:52] There are some important qualities needed to be a mentor such as patience, understanding, and the ability to listen and guide someone to find their own solutions. Julie tells us about some of her favorite mentors and how they helped her. [00:14:09] Andrew tells us about an interesting part about mentoring and being a mentee, and then Julie and Andrew discuss that mentoring is about more than just technical skills, and involves communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. [00:17:50] What does Andrew find more rewarding about being a mentor? How about finding something that makes you feel like what you’re doing is important, and gives you purpose and value. [00:18:48] If you’re thinking about becoming a mentor but don’t know where to start, Andrew advises to just start, and stop worrying about whether you’re going to be a perfect mentor. You don’t have to have all the answers! [00:21:38] Andrew shares his story of successfully mentoring a junior developer who eventually got a job as a Ruby developer. [00:22:44] To become a senior developer, Andrew advises gaining experience in architecture, problem-solving, and communication, and being a leader and a team player. He also explains how he learned about architecture.  [00:25:32] Andrew suggests working at different companies can provide exposure to a variety of experiences and opportunities for growth. [00:28:37] We end with Andrew advising mid-level engineers to ask their managers what they can do to level up, and if that option is not available, look for other opportunities elsewhere. Panelists:Andrew MasonJulie J.Sponsors:HoneybadgerGoRailsLinks:Andrew Mason TwitterAndrew Mason WebsiteJulie J. TwitterJulie J. Website (02:02) - Typical day for a senior software engineer (04:59) - Is Andrew a tech lead? (05:22) - Challenging aspects of Andrew’s role (08:01) - Balancing technical work and people interactions (09:14) - The importance of mentorship (11:52) - Qualities needed to be a mentor (14:09) - Mentoring beyond technical skills (17:50) - Rewards of being a mentor (18:48) - Advice for becoming a mentor (21:38) - Successfully mentoring a junior developer (22:44) - Becoming a senior developer (25:32) - Exposing yourself to different opportunities (28:37) - Leveling up as a mid-level engineer