Develop Yourself

Are junior devs cooked?How can I scaffold a solid MERN stack app?What's the best way to stick with a tutorial?We got some great questions this episode and my answers might surprise you.Got a question you want answered? Drop it here: https://form.typeform.com/to/Q499M9klSend us a textShameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who want to pivot into software. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, Brian-look-a-like)

JavaScript can be a challenge, but essential for aspiring developers. Practical experience is key—hands-on projects help reinforce learning. A specific form handling project is introduced to guide beginners on their journey. Effective learning techniques prioritize project-based experiences over passive reading. Short videos enhance understanding and keep you engaged. Embrace challenges to move forward in your coding skills!

A junior developer who got hired at a startup used AI non-stop to keep up.It worked for weeks until he crashed and burned.He'd built a house of cards that he couldn't keep up. The AI tools went in doom loops or just added more sloppy code that his team wouldn't accept.Turns out they hired a prompt engineer instead of a coder.We're in uncharted territory my friends.You can't just NOT use AI but when should you start? How much is too much?Let's explore a path to learning code with AI that won't make you another prompt engineer.PS - If you're already a software developer, I'm working with a few people to crush their next interview. Apply here.Send us a textShameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who want to pivot into software. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, Brian-look-a-like)

Discover three crucial traps that aspiring developers often encounter. Learn why over-reliance on frameworks can hinder your growth. Uncover the surprising truths behind stereotypes in the tech world. Find out how essential communication skills can transform your career from isolation to collaboration. Lastly, explore the importance of foundational knowledge and continuous skill enhancement in navigating the ever-evolving software landscape.

Matt Watson, who led VIN Solutions to a $150 million exit and now helps startups build effective engineering teams, shares insights on developing a product-minded approach. He highlights why many developers struggle to launch products and the growing role of AI in assessing coding quality. Emphasizing customer empathy, he explains how understanding real problems is key to success. He also discusses navigating business dynamics and the importance of industry knowledge for impactful SaaS development.

This episode introduces a weekend project that will give you authentic experience working with existing code—a crucial skill that most tutorials and coding platforms simply don't teach. Using Kyle Simpson's YouPeriod GitHub repository, you'll learn to navigate a codebase written by someone else, which is exactly what you'll do in your first development job. This particular project is perfect for beginners because it uses fundamental web technologies (HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript) rather than complex frameworks like React or TypeScript.Here's the Github repo: https://github.com/getify/youperiod.appThis weekend project will teach you more about real development work than weeks of guided exercises. If you're completely new to JavaScript, check out our Dev30 program at dev30.xyz, where you can learn the fundamentals and beyond.Send us a textShameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who want to pivot into software. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, Brian-look-a-like)

Have you ever wondered what data scientists and engineers actually do all day? Forget what you've seen in movies – it's not all neural networks and fancy algorithms.Ryan Varley, Engineering Fellow at Magnite and experienced data leader, pulls back the curtain on the rapidly evolving world of data science and engineering. The real work often involves what he colorfully describes as "really complex plumbing" – making processes more efficient, reliable, and scalable in ways that directly impact business outcomes.Whether you're considering a career pivot into data, trying to understand how these roles fit within your organization, or simply curious about the mechanics behind today's AI revolution, this episode provides an accessible window into a complex and increasingly crucial field. Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn .Read Ryan's Newsletter for engineering leaders facing the hardest problem in scaling their impact: https://newsletter.ryanvarley.com/Send us a textShameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who want to pivot into software. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, Brian-look-a-like)

Interviewing is arguably the highest paying skill you can have as a developer.I don't think this is fair but it is reality.I've taken part in well over 100 interviews both as an interviewee and interviewer. I've worked with dozens of developers to ace their interviews and increase their salaries by tens of thousands of dollars.This is not for developers looking to get into Big Tech. This episode is for the 99%.We're going to cover the 4 most common stages of the tech interview from recruiter filtering to technical interview to "tell me about yourself" and finally the offer stage.Here's the unit testing course I mentioned in the episode that you seriously need to check out if you don't know how to write a test: https://github.com/CodeCoachJS/js_pro_unit_testingSend us a textShameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who want to pivot into software. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, Brian-look-a-like)

These principles don't just create pretty code—they reduce bugs, simplify updates, and prevent real-world problems like the $10,000 mistake I made early in my career.Yeah, that was not a fun one.Check out https://www.dofactory.com/javascript/design-patterns/adapter if you want to learn more patterns.PS - I write unfiltered advice for early career developers here: 👉 Real Talk JSSend us a textShameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who want to pivot into software. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, Brian-look-a-like)

In this Office Hours Q&A, I got some pretty interesting questions:Should you lie on your resume to trick the ATS and get more interviews?If you’re building websites with tools like Squarespace, does it count as real experience—or are you cheating yourself?Is a master’s degree in computer science worth it if you already have some tech skills?I also share thoughts on how to get experience that actually helps you land a dev job and why every learner should have a side project that they control.Whether you’re self-taught, in school, or just figuring things out, this one’s packed with advice you won’t hear in most coding bootcamp brochures.Send us a textShameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who want to pivot into software. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, Brian-look-a-like)