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To change careers and land your first job as a Software Engineer, you need more than just great software development skills - you need to develop yourself.
Welcome to the podcast that helps you develop your skills, your habits, your network and more, all in hopes of becoming a thriving Software Engineer.
282 Episodes
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Let's tackle three of the most common struggles career changers face: 1. Breaking into tech from another field 2. Networking without feeling fake 3. Staying motivated when the job search drags on. If you’re wondering how to make the leap, keep connections warm, or simply not burn out—this one’s for you. Got a question of your own? 👉 Drop it here 👈 Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑💻 Join Parsity - Become a full stack AI developer in 6-9 months. ✉️ Got a question you want answer...
Have you ever wondered why some developers keep getting promoted while others stay stuck at the same level despite their technical skills? The answer might surprise you. Through practical, actionable steps, I break down exactly how developers at any level can strategically increase their influence and advance their careers. You'll learn how to gain credibility before speaking up, frame concerns as questions rather than criticisms, and pair problem identification with solution pro...
Breaking into software development isn’t about finishing another tutorial—it’s about building something that matters. In this episode, I’ll show you how to choose a side project that proves your skills, keeps you motivated, and actually impresses employers. You’ll learn: Why great data makes or breaks your appHow to apply the 80/20 rule—stick with tech you know, sprinkle in something newPicking a project you’re emotionally invested in (so you don’t abandon it)Tools that make you look sharp fa...
The tech job market is sending seriously mixed signals in 2025. While social media overflows with doom and gloom about hiring freezes and impossible entry barriers, actual data tells a surprisingly different story. Job openings are trending upward, with big tech companies like Meta, Google, and Apple actively expanding their engineering teams. What's really happening is a massive shift in what companies need from their developers. "AI engineering" positions have exploded, increasing 5-...
Remember when coding bootcamps promised you could learn to code and land a job in just three months? That golden era of easy entry into tech has fundamentally changed, yet the marketing hasn't caught up with reality. In this eye-opening conversation, ex-Google engineer Zubin and host Brian cut through the hype to deliver a reality check about what it actually takes to transition into software development in 2025. What separates those who succeed from those who don't? It's rarely...
AI is changing coding faster than anyone expected. Two years ago, autocomplete felt wild—now people with zero dev experience are shipping apps over a weekend. The question isn’t “is AI replacing developers?” It’s “how do you actually use it without wrecking your codebase?” In this episode, I’ll break down when to use AI (and when not to), why Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is the real game-changer, and how you can stay valuable as a new developer in a world full of hyp...
It’s Labor Day weekend and, honestly? I’m burned out. Maybe this isn’t the best business move, but I’d rather keep it real with you than fake the whole “everything is great in tech” narrative. I’ve been plenty vocal about why AI isn’t about to replace us all tomorrow, much to the dismay of to all the AI bros out there. But here’s the other side: being a developer is nothing like those “day in the life” TikToks where someone shows up to the office around 10AM, gets a fancy coffee, fixes a UI b...
What happens when you give an AI agent full control over a small business? I mean, what could go wrong? Things started off rough and then got down right creepy near the end of this experiment. You can read the original article here: https://www.anthropic.com/research/project-vend-1 Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑💻 Join Parsity - Become a full stack AI developer in 6-9 months. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, Brian...
What does it actually mean to be an “AI Engineer”? Honestly—not much. The title is overloaded and vague. But what is meaningful right now is knowing how to build real projects with AI that go beyond toy chatbots and portfolio fluff. In this episode, I walk you through the exact project I’ve been building at two different AI startups: a Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) app. You’ll learn how to: Scrape and store content in a vector databaseUse embeddings to turn your text into s...
In this episode of Develop Yourself, I sit down with Gabe Rucker, CEO of Founding Titans, to discuss everything from entrepreneurship and building startups to the practical side of networking and getting money from thin air. We also dive into how Parsity students gained valuable, hands-on experience through an internship with Founding Titans, working alongside a real AI startup team. Topics we cover include: Gabe’s journey from coder to founder—and what he’s learned along the wayHow to raise ...
When I first tried to learn JavaScript, I hated it so much I told myself I’d just be an HTML and CSS developer and never touch it again. Of course, my first job threw me straight into Angular, C#, SQL, and a mountain of JavaScript I wasn’t ready for. In this episode, I share what made JavaScript so brutal for me (and for almost every student I’ve worked with), the mistakes that keep people stuck, and the science-backed strategies that actually helped me go from totally lost to confident...
When your only tool is a hammer - everything looks like a nail. 2 of these database I'm sure you've heard and 2 might be completely new to you. Let's go past MongoDB and SQL to learn what tool is best for what job and what's the database choice for AI in 2025. If you're interested in learning SQL, check out this episode: https://open.spotify.com/show/69BHCbRAl6rHT9LlNhFWUy Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑💻 Join Parsity - Become a full stack AI developer in 6-9 months. ✉️ Got a question y...
Every year, Stack Overflow surveys nearly a 100,000 developers to learn what technologies, languages and tools are trending. The answers here might surprise you, especially when it comes to AI tools. You can check out the survey here: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2025/developers/ Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑💻 Join Parsity - Become a full stack AI developer in 6-9 months. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, B...
Maybe I'm just coping. Maybe. I’ve been pretty vocal about the over-hype of AI coding tools and I always get the same responses from AI bros: “YoU gOtta PrOmpt bEtteR!” “This iz a skillz issue dawg”“I’m using [x] and it works perfectly” “I’m a super duper senior architect and I’ve replaced my entire team with AI agents. You’re coping.” I’d be lying if I said I didn’t doubt myself. Maybe they’re right, maybe I’m just not using these tools correctly. Let’s take a look at some big fax and sma...
If I lost everything today—no job, no network, no portfolio—and had to start over in 2025 as a software developer, I wouldn’t be looking for a 3-month miracle. I’d be planning for 12 months. That’s how long it really takes now. We cover: what tech stack you should learnnetworking as a developer using BFSa capstone project that is actually impressivean interviewing strategy3 books I'd read as a new developerAt Parsity, we cover all this and much more. Apply here. Send us a te...
Five years ago, during an interview for a senior dev role, I had a panic attack. It was one of my worst interview experiences. It also taught me a lot about what I was doing wrong. In this episode, I'll break down the process that took me from under-paid developer to passing interviews and 4x'ing my salary. Here's your worksheet to help you create a solid story for an interview: worksheet If you know you suck at interviews - I'll be working with a few people to help them crush their next int...
Harish, former lead engineer at MongoDB and current co-founder of Flaire, takes us on a journey through his unusual career path—one that didn’t involve grinding LeetCode or chasing FAANG. Instead, he got deep into cybersecurity, built large-scale systems, and eventually started his own company that’s redefining how small businesses use software. We talk about: What it’s actually like to work on database internals and secure infrastructureWhy most engineers shouldn’t become founders—and why he...
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/Q499M9kl Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑💻 Join Parsity - Become a full stack AI developer in 6-9 months. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Zubin's LinkedIn (ex-lawyer, former Googler, Brian-look-a-...
Learning JS is tough. And you're probably making some of the same mistakes I did in the past. In this episode you'll get a path and a small project to make to teach you the minimum effective dose of JavaScript necessary to move forward in your learning journey. Here's the challenge I mentioned which includes some short videos: Your Form Challenge Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑💻 Join Parsity - Become a full stack AI developer in 6-9 months. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on th...
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...
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