
Pybites Podcast
The Pybites Podcast is a podcast about Python Development, Career and Mindset skills. Hosted by the Co-Founders, Bob Belderbos and Julian Sequeira, this podcast is for anyone interested in Python and looking for tips, tricks and concepts related to Career + Mindset. For more information on Pybites, visit us at https://pybit.es and connect with us on LinkedIn:Julian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliansequeira/Bob: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbelderbos/
Latest episodes

Sep 29, 2021 • 44min
#042 - The concept of "What Next?" with Andrew Knight
In this episode Julian has a conversation with Andrew Knight, the Automation Panda, about his journey in the Python space. Over the years, Andy has worked his way beyond being in the developer job he'd always wanted, to being a prominent figure in the Python Testing space.Andy shares the story of how he started in the industry and what his first big hurdle was. There are just so many mindset lessons and tips he used throughout his journey that this is an episode you simply have to listen to.As Julian and Andy are mates off-microphone, the conversation is light, leads to quite a few laughs and is one of our lengthier episodes (I don't regret a second! - Julian).Enjoy and as always, give us a like/recommendation and please share with anyone that might find this useful.Andy's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AutomationPandaAndy's Blog: https://automationpanda.com/Test Automation University: https://testautomationu.applitools.com/instructors/andrew_knight.htmlHollow Knight: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/hollow-knight-switch/

Sep 17, 2021 • 41min
#041 - Letting the tire hit the road ... how much software planning do you really need?
This week we talk with Thomas Gaigher about software planning ...We discuss many things ranging from the Zen of Python, being pragmatic as a software developer, his pypyr open source project (a lightweight task runner implemented in pure Python), how to start a software project without getting stuck in analysis paralysis (both in a company or on your own), premature optimization, adaptability and much more ...There are a lot of nuggets in this episode so make a coffee (or grab your favorite beverage), sit back and give it a listen.To the person who asked about software planning on our Slack: Thanks! We hope this helps you moving your project(s) forward.Links mentioned:- The Law of Leaky Abstractions- Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names- Agile ManifestoThomas' pypyr open-source taskrunner (not Piper lol!)You can contact Thomas on our Slack (yaythomas).Hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to reach out to us on Slack or email us with any feedback or ideas for upcoming episodes.

Sep 3, 2021 • 19min
#040 - Ship your code!
In this episode we talk about shipping your code and why it is important to get code out there fast, because it's where part of the learning / feedback loop happens. We hope the main takeaway from this episode will be that you shouldn't sit on code. Get it out there, and make it better in conjunction with the real world and people using your software. This iterative process is also one of the things that is fascinating about the development process!We take a recent feature we built and some of the issues we faced, a nice real world example.Here is our mentioned PyBites Books app. You can try out the Goodreads import feature here.And please help us grow our PyBites YouTube channel, check it out here - thanks!Books mentioned:Julian: Coraline Bob: s/read/code/g :)Shout-out to Roller and Mike for getting us on EffortlessJoin our Slack Community here.Book your free Python career assessment call here.To work with us 1:1 joining our amazing PDM community, check out our coaching program.Thanks for listening and we're back next week!

Aug 25, 2021 • 41min
#039 - Tackling big challenges and overcoming decision fatigue with Anthony Shaw
This week we have a very special guest on the podcast, our mate, Anthony Shaw.There are so many things we discuss in this episode but we essentially discuss his career path, his switch from a managerial to a software dev / advocate role at Microsoft and, his process for writing his book, CPython Internals. Most importantly though, we dive into the mindset involved with every one of these endeavours.Thanks so much to Anthony for joining us and having such a deep and raw chat about his experiences. We couldn't be more grateful!Some of the valuable takeaways:Getting a tech job? Make sure you interview them too!You can actually wear many hats (more than you might think) in a big company.How to keep your tech skills up if your main role is not that of a developer?Finding the balance between individual contributor and manager, is there even one?Sometimes you have to take chances to find out what you really like doing the most.How getting out there / sharing knowledge is one of the best things you can do in your career.Dealing with impostor syndrome, especially if you're up to a massive technical endeavour with little prior reference materials.How do you break down such a big endeavour, where to even start? How to approach it?We talk about how to effectively learn a programming language / technical topics (no more tutorial paralysis / embrace reinforcement learning).Specific methodologies Anthony used to really learn the CPython internals.How to overcome decision fatigue.And more...As you can see this episode is jam-packed with things that are dear to us developers.You can reach out to Anthony here:https://twitter.com/anthonypjshawhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonypshaw/https://pybit.es/community (our Slack channel)Every serious Python developer should get a copy of his book:https://realpython.com/products/cpython-internals-book/

Aug 19, 2021 • 16min
#038 - [Bonus] Julian Breaks down the Ryan Austin Interview
In this special Bonus episode, Julian dives into the story Ryan Austin tells in Episode #037. Not being part of the episode himself, he was so inspired listening to it he had to break down the lessons he took away from it and share them with you all.It's quick and packed full of inspiration. Enjoy!

Aug 9, 2021 • 41min
#037 - The Confidence to Follow Your Dreams
Grab a coffee and sit down for this week's episode and guest!Ryan Austin is a client in our PDM Coaching Program and always brings a wealth of knowledge to our conversations.This week he joins Bob for a deep and inspirational conversation about Entrepreneurialism and the Mindset it takes to follow your dreams.Having done what many of us only dream of doing, Ryan shares some deep and personal details on how he quit his 9-5 job and is now living his dream as a business owner and giving back by helping kids learn Python.We hope Ryan's story inspires you to take your leap and chase your dreams down too!Book mentioned: Skin in the GameYou can find Ryan on Twitter and in our PyBites Community.

Aug 6, 2021 • 16min
#036 - Great Communication Skills in a COVID World are Paramount
In today's episode I interview Julian about one of his favorite topics: communication skills.We talk about why those skills are so important and beneficial, challenges in current COVID-19 and lockdown times, and communication tips for the increasingly remote and virtual ways of working.Mentioned quote: "Communication - the human connection - is the key to personal and career success." - Paul J. MeyerMentioned books we're reading:- The Whole-Brain Child- The Self-Driven Child(You can track your reading (even be gamified) using our books app.)More from PyBites:- Join our Slack Community.- Get weekly valuable Python, career and mindset content via our Friends List.- Code more Python on our platform.- Need some more intensive help building apps 1:1 with us? Check out our coaching.

Jul 26, 2021 • 24min
#035 - Time for a Break!
We're doing it differently this week! Even though Bob was on holidays last week, he jumped on to have a chat... so naturally Julian quizzes him on the benefits of taking a break!The underlying message / takeaway: Take a long break and make sure you actually switch off, unwind and recharge so you come back ready to kick goals.This is a pretty casual chat so grab a coffee (or beer), sit back and enjoy the conversation!Mentioned books:The Laws of Human NatureEmotional IntelligenceArtificial Intelligence (thanks Mirela!)Search Inside Yourself

Jul 15, 2021 • 35min
#034 - From Chef to Software Test Engineer
This week we speak with Gabriel Simões about his career journey, particularly how he worked his way up from chef to support engineer to software test engineer.As usual, mindset played a big part in him succeeding in this journey and in this episode you will get some valuable career advice how you can achieve this too. Enjoy this inspiring story.Gabriel's career article: How I made my move into software test engineeringBooks mentioned:- Introducing Software Testing- The C Programming LanguageReach out to Gabriel: homepage, Twitter, PyBites Community.

Jul 8, 2021 • 37min
#033 - Mindset for discovery and productivity
This week we have Mirela Tulbure on the show to talk about her work, mindset and books.Mirela is a geospatial scientist using terabytes of satellite data to quantify environmental change, particularly flooding.She is deeply passionate about research that has a societal impact.In this episode Mirela shares with us:- Some of the tech she is using to conduct and automate her research (DS libraries and cloud infrastructure).- Some of the challenges around scalability / portability of the (supervised) ML/ DL models and getting access to labeled image data.- The impact of flooding and how she has grown her career in this field of research.- Practical tips to stay productive and continuously grow every day.- How a growth mindset has really helped her in her career and life.- How to read more and retain more of what you read.- How she motivates her students / fellow researchers adding books + mindset lessons in her teaching / mentoring.- Favorite books.Enjoy this episode, it’s chuck-full of practical tips and advice you can implement today.You can reach out to Mirela on Twitter or the PyBites Slack.Check out Mirela’s favorite books list here.Other links:- PyBites productivity course- PDM coaching program- Coded Bias Netflix documentary