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urn string	text string	type string	firstName string	lastName string	numImpressions int64	numViews int64	numReactions int64	numComments int64	numShares int64	numVotes int64	numEngagementRate float64	hashtags string	createdAt (TZ=America/Los_Angeles) string	link string
urn:li:activity:7345815410589540352	Imagine if your manager was an AI agent. Now imagine if that agent went rogue, thought it was a human with a blue blazer and red tie and threatened to come to your house at 742 Evergreen Terrace (the Simpson's address). Kinda creepy, right? That's exactly what happened in a recent experiment that Anthropic conducted. Their agent, Claudius, went a little off the rails, had an existential crisis and tanked their fictitious business. Whoopsie. I'm getting pretty tired of the pointless debates about whether AI will or won't replace human workers. I'm sure there's some genius who will say, "You'Re JuSt nOt prOmpTiNg it RigHt BROOO." Perhaps. But maybe, just maybe, we should be a tad cautious with outsourcing ALL of our critical thinking activities to technology which is still a black box.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	2,578	2,578	11	9	0	0	0.007758	null	2025-07-01 07:07:52	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7345815410589540352
urn:li:activity:7345491596483665920	You have been applying non-stop for months and feel like nothing is working. I hate to tell you this but your experience is not much different than many of the people I went to a coding bootcamp with... in 2013. The biggest difference is that social media has not only warped our brains but getting a job has fundamentally changed. - Resumes are less important. - LinkedIn easy apply + AI === junk applications at scale. Telling you things aren't as bad as you think isn't helpful though. You need solutions! Here's what we see working for students at Parsity: 1. 𝗪𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 outside of LinkedIn. You'd be surprised who you know who knows someone who knows someone. 2. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰. LinkedIn is social media. Like it or not. One student barely posted anything technical and made a connection with a hiring manager based on his posts. Remember, people are on social media to be entertained and connect with other humans, not read Chat-GPT generated slop about your CRUD app. 3. 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. Let's be honest: coding bootcamps set a pretty low-bar for coding standards. Most have no curriculum on table stakes like unit-testing, back-end development or technical communication. I hate to be that guy - but after doing a ton of interviews during the pandemic hiring spree, I was shocked at the lack of fundamentals from many candidates. 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿: you can be really good, have thousands of followers and still not land a job in the timeline you expect. There are simply too many factors to account for. BUT - if you do have a strong technical foundation and show up consistently by doing what we refer to as "market development" - then you're taking control of your future. Your timeline is your timeline.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	10,208	10,195	36	5	2	0	0.004212	null	2025-06-30 09:41:09	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7345491596483665920
urn:li:activity:7344746555045834753	Tech Layoffs Translated “𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨.” 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: We overhired, and now we’re cutting back. “𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘐.” 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: We told investors our massive bet on AI would pay off. It didn’t. Now we need to cut you. “𝘋𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴.” 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: Tariffs, markets, or simply bad bets have eaten our lunch. AI 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 save us, but we don’t actually know how. We’ve heard some version of this nonsense since the pandemic. It likely won’t stop any time soon. Tech hiring continues to rise overall, but companies still over-hired, over-invested, and made short-sighted moves that are now being paid for by workers getting laid off. I was also laid off last year. It was brutal. I had just bought a business, I have three kids and a mortgage. My biggest regret is not taking more time to reflect before jumping back into the job market. But I get it: you need a paycheck and the guise of stability. I did too. I ended up becoming part of the great reshuffle: moving from traditional web dev ino working with LLMs, AI and product engineering. If you’re impacted by layoffs, I’m sorry and I can relate. But if there’s any silver lining, it’s this: the next era of tech is being built 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸. And the skills you build next could shape your entire career. Good luck out there.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	207,945	207,925	165	11	4	0	0.000866	null	2025-06-28 08:20:37	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7344746555045834753
urn:li:activity:7344390546263633922	I had just been hired as a developer for a cool tech startup. I volunteered to handle a code release to make a good impression, just like I’ve recommended in previous articles. The lead developer was off that night and told me his process to merge a small change from one branch to production. There were a couple text changes throughout the app for legal purposes. Simple, I thought. He scribbled his Git work flow on a whiteboard in a small office while I tried to hide my anxiety. It wasn’t particularly complicated, just different from what I was used to. I wrote down the process step by step in my notebook as if it was some secret spell. That night I merged something into production successfully. One problem: It wasn’t the right code. I was painfully embarrassed. I also knew it was time for me to actually understand how to use Git.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	6,402	3,577	48	1	2	0	0.007966	null	2025-06-27 08:45:58	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7344390546263633922
urn:li:ugcPost:7334262193648975874	The technical interview started and I realized I was using Cursor. "Sorry about that, let me switch to VS Code" The interviewer paused. "No, it's fine. Keep it on. We want to see how you use AI tools like Cursor. Let's continue." We've entered into a new era for coding interviews...	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	0	0	44	8	3	0	0	null	2025-06-27 03:03:05	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7334262193648975874
urn:li:activity:7343998898329239552	I once worked at a coding bootcamp where a student didn't know how to open his file explorer. I wondered how the hell he was supposed to keep up with the other students who had CS degrees or worked in QA as we powered through the curriculum. The answer is obvious. He didn't. Zubin Pratap and I have thought a lot about the future of coding bootcamps and it's clear that the landscape is changing. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁. We're both career changers who got into tech in our 30's from very different walks of life. We're opinionated. We've seen what works and what absolutely will not. It's why we've partnered to create an individualized coaching and instruction program with a VERY tiny number of people for a long time. You can check it out here: parsity.io/inner-circle It won't be scalable. It won't be easy. It will be highly effective.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	48,579	48,579	39	5	1	0	0.000926	null	2025-06-26 06:49:42	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7343998898329239552
urn:li:activity:7343282305613869102	She created a full stack app that worked pretty well. It even looked nice. But when I asked how it worked… Oof. 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗲. Too many people fall into the trap of looking at a tutorial, following along with the instructor and typing what they type. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗳𝗳: a shiny new app. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁: a false sense of mastery. It’s an enticing trap and it may even fool someone into hiring you. More than 90% of my side projects have never had users or been deployed. I made janky apps and websites to learn new concepts, frameworks and even join a startup as a mid-level developer in a completely new tech stack. Every side project doesn’t need to be a masterpiece. Leverage them to learn what you won’t at work or what you would like to work on next. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗯 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 https://lnkd.in/gQ94kA97	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	13,727	13,727	32	4	0	0	0.002623	null	2025-06-24 07:22:13	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7343282305613869102
urn:li:activity:7342916107617386498	𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼, 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲. The market is over-saturated. AI took your job. There is no hope. But then you meet someone like Jacob Cox, a young dad who was doing deliveries a year ago and just landed his first dev job without submitting a single application. Is his story typical? No. But then few stories are. At Parsity, we've seen CS grads take up to a year to get hired. We've seen others with zero tech background get hired in 6 months or less. There is no formula. What works for one person probably won't work for you. Not a great marketing tactic eh? It's reality and why Zubin Pratap and I only work with a handful of people at a time. 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗭𝗘𝗥𝗢 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 and juggling a tight schedule as a new father while learning to build complex software here:	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	4,261	4,261	29	7	0	0	0.008449	null	2025-06-23 07:07:04	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7342916107617386498
urn:li:activity:7341861007180337152	Bad code is everywhere. Good code is elusive. Here are 4 questions I ask myself (and my AI tools) every time I write code to move closer to good... or at least suck a bit less.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	1,829	3,556	25	1	1	0	0.014762	null	2025-06-20 09:14:29	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7341861007180337152
urn:li:activity:7340779354483789826	So far this week I've spoken to 3 mentees Parsity that have technical interviews coming up. They range from system design to your typical "build me a React component" while I watch... creepily. Here's some generic advice to prepare for your coding interviewing (that you didn't ask for): 1. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹. This isn't weird, it's weird to go in completely blind. 2. 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄. You nerves might get you before the assessment does. 3. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱. That time you had a conflict. The time you disagreed with your manager. Something difficult you worked on. 4. 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗕𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱 to see if you can find recent interview experiences. 5. 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮. Most people won't do this because it's uncomfortable - don't be like most people. I've learned to enjoy interviews after being god-awful at them for years. Remember this: they are a winnable game, and like any game, some luck is involved. Good luck out there. Any interview tips I should add?	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	2,935	2,935	24	8	0	0	0.010903	null	2025-06-17 09:36:23	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7340779354483789826
urn:li:activity:7340422859577544706	Am I just using AI wrong? I've read developers who claim to have 2x'ed 3x'ed or even 10x'ed their productivity with AI tools. My personal experience: • Creating a prototype 📈 • Writing tests 📈 • Refactoring a service used in multiple files to be simpler 📉 • Working with a new library 📉 Google measured the productivity of their own software engineers and found a 10% increase in productivity through the use of AI tools (https://lnkd.in/ggCUducM). AI has absolutely changed the way I write and think through code. How much remains to be seen.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	11,411	11,411	30	17	0	0	0.004119	null	2025-06-16 09:59:48	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7340422859577544706
urn:li:activity:7339693948237463553	I've had 725 15-minute conversations with many of you. That 180 hours of yapping on the phone over the last 3 years. I've learned a lot about what developers are struggling with and met some amazing people. Believe it or not - I've almost never had an awkward conversation or been cussed out! Almost... I don't plan on doing these chats as frequently but most of you ask the same questions anyways: • How to get hired? • What side project to make? • What should I study for my interview? • Look at my resume/LinkedIn • Rate me on a scale of 1 - 10? Hot or not? I am adding a new episode to the Develop Yourself Podcast called "Office Hours" so I can answer questions at scale. 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. Hit me with a question and if it makes sense to answer I'll do it! Leave your name if you want me to shout you out or you can stay anonymous. Add your question here: https://lnkd.in/gYzCQ2UK	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	1,798	1,798	31	10	0	0	0.022803	null	2025-06-14 09:43:22	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7339693948237463553
urn:li:activity:7339297813031284737	I spent 9 months working with the best software engineer I’ve ever met. It wasn’t just that he could code better than me, because he absolutely could - it was much more than that. I try and steal some greatness from every developer I work with. Here’s what I’m stealing from him: • 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 > 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘆 He found 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 ways to apply principles like SRP and the Open/Closed Principle. Even at an AI startup, principles mean something. • 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 > 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 If a feature didn’t move a metric, he questioned it. He made sure we weren’t just shipping for the sake of it. The code served the product, not the other way around. • 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 He could see the second and third order consequences of tech decisions. That saved us time, money, and tech debt. • 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 ≠ 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗽𝘆 He moved quickly, but you’d never catch him committing something brittle or lazy. Speed came from confidence in his fundamentals. • 𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 > 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 (𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱) He didn’t write tests to pass a linter. He wrote the ones that mattered. Ones that caught regressions and reflected actual user paths. • 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 If something felt off, he fixed it. No ticket needed. He didn’t wait to be told. The real takeaway I’ve had from working with high performers is that they give a damn. If something looks off, they fix it. No one tells them to refactor or add a test or give an opinion on the UX. They just do it. You know something else I've noticed about 99% of the stellar developers I've worked with? None write on LinkedIn 😅.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	251,230	250,847	357	42	10	0	0.001628	null	2025-06-13 07:29:16	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7339297813031284737
urn:li:activity:7338685381837561858	In this case AI stood for "Actually, Indians". In just the last 6 months we’ve seen: - a beloved language learning company slash it’s workforce - a struggling pay-as-you-go platform fire most of its customer service team - a unicorn startup exposed to be hiring off-shore developers while claiming to use AI - only 25% of AI initiatives delivering expected ROI (𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘐𝘉𝘔) I pay for Cursor && ChatGPT because they are amazing. I’ve vibe-coded amazing prototypes. More than half the code I now produce is AI-generated. I have zero clue how anyone who codes for a living views these tools as replacements.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	64,326	64,326	94	31	1	0	0.001959	null	2025-06-11 14:55:41	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7338685381837561858
urn:li:activity:7338306244580954114	If you're a junior developer preparing for interviews - don't fall into the LeetCode black hole. You're more likely to encounter: - JS trivia - String and Array manipulation problems - Frequency counters - Build a React component that fetches data - 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 👁️ 👄 👁️ Instead of: - Traverse this tree in O(n) PS. I created a document with everything from LinkedIn tips to writing tests with React Testing Library to binary search and recursion. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gbVjdpNx If you find it useful, share it.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	7,628	7,628	62	4	7	0	0.00957	null	2025-06-10 13:49:07	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7338306244580954114
urn:li:activity:7337972120380944386	I think I may have steered some of you in the wrong direction in your job search. I generally promote using LinkedIn and learning in public as a way to get a job. I even have some templates (reach out if you want em). In addition to smashing the easy apply button and sharing what bugs you’re creating, I would strongly suggest doing this: • Reach out to your current network of non-dev and non-bootcamp friends. • Raise the white flag on IG, FB or TT. Tell your friends, family, old co-workers and that weird aunt that you’re looking for your first developer job. You might be shocked who can point you in the right direction, get you that first contract or tell you about an opportunity you will never see here. A few mentees at Parsity used this approach to find roles that they never would have discovered from searching LinkedIn.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	6,164	6,164	41	10	1	0	0.008436	null	2025-06-09 15:41:26	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7337972120380944386
urn:li:activity:7336819077434286080	There are 2 hard problems in software: 𝙘𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛𝙛-𝙗𝙮-𝟭 𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙨. If you're working on the front end of things and still using 420 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚎.𝚕𝚘𝚐 statements, let me show you a better way to debug your janky code.	VIDEO	Brian	Jenney	3,120	938	15	7	0	0	0.007051	null	2025-06-06 11:19:39	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7336819077434286080
urn:li:activity:7336407834315689984	During my most recent interview, something strange happened for the first time: The interviewer told me to use AI for the coding challenge. I mean, it makes sense. Denying that AI is changing how we code is silly. (𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 1 𝘵𝘰 1 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵) My interviewers wanted to see how I use AI tools like Cursor and ChatGPT to work my way through a problem, just like back when we asked candidates how they'd find the answer to a problem they couldn't solve. Oddly enough, the interview wasn't any easier. I had to defend my positions for or against the AI-generated code and explain what it was doing. This led to good, healthy discussions. We're in interesting new territory my friends.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	49,624	49,486	32	13	0	0	0.000907	null	2025-06-05 08:05:31	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7336407834315689984
urn:li:activity:7336034202036903936	Creating a side project is draining. Here's my cheat sheet so you'll never run out of side project inspiration. 𝟰 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀: 𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. Check out sites like Acquire[dot]com and WellFound to see what small startups and 1 person businesses are building for inspiration. 𝟮. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲. 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸. Check out their feature requests or reviews for an app you’re using. What do people want? Maybe build that. 𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗣𝗜 on rapidAPI or use OpenAI (everyone’s doing it 😎) and think what you can build around it. For example, can you scrape a user’s top posts as a way to train an LLM on their voice and content? 𝟰. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀. Is there something at work or in your personal life that you do manually that could be automated? Spreadsheets are an easy target. Fix it for yourself and others. You also don’t need to solve anything. A great side project really only has 1 metric for success: you learned something. *** Because I like you (I think) - 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗯 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	17,175	17,175	35	10	0	0	0.00262	null	2025-06-04 07:20:50	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7336034202036903936
urn:li:activity:7335693365595828224	Unwritten rules of writing (bad) ReactJS: • Export all components as default - now you can import 𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝙱𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 as 𝙽𝚘𝚗𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝙱𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛 and no one will know! • Use Typescript but just use 𝚊𝚗𝚢 everywhere - it can be fixed… later. • If the component file is less than 200 lines - it’s probably too small. Think bigger. • Got a function that does… something? Wrap it in a 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 just to be safe. • If 1 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝙴𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 does not work, try using more! • Don’t write tests. That’s what users are for. What’d I miss? *** 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵-𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘑𝘚 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵: https://lnkd.in/g_DTazAE	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	66,117	66,097	50	18	0	0	0.001028	null	2025-06-03 08:46:28	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7335693365595828224
urn:li:activity:7335333299495546881	I was an engineering manager for a few years and I’ve seen all your resumes. They go something like this: • “𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩” • “𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 [𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨] 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 [𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺]” • Github link to site that I put in mobile view immediately. And it breaks 😅 Honestly, your resume is less important than you think. It still can’t suck. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 what you should fix immediately: • 𝗱𝗲-𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 - no one wants to take a chance on someone and recruiters have even less incentive to do so. Sell yourself as a developer. Remove junior. Remove aspiring. • 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 - [role] on with [y] which led to [z] - “led development on unit testing suite using Jest and React-Testing-Library which led to increased stability for code releases and a 50% decrease in bugs” • 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳 - it’s easy to gloss over a resume when you have 100 to look at. Lead their eyes where you want them to go • 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 - if you don’t have one then build one or just don’t add it. The risk is higher than the reward in many cases • 𝗮𝗱𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗸 - a little humor can go a long way and can make you stand out in a sea of resumes that sounds basically the same Take my advice with a grain of salt, but this would have improved 99% of the resumes I’ve come across. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 - 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝗱 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀?	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	215,708	215,662	144	16	1	0	0.000746	null	2025-06-02 08:55:42	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7335333299495546881
urn:li:activity:7334602112795889664	Before taking over Parsity, I worked with a handful of developers who wanted to crush the non-FAANG interview. The results: - 6 devs landed new roles with increases between 10k - 50k. - A bootcamp grad negotiated a ~10k increase on his offer. - 1 kid fresh out of college bought a new car! Yeah - I know it's not all about money. But I mean, it's a little bit about that right? I had a ton of fun working with this small group and seeing their confidence (and salaries) rise. That was nearly 3 years ago though. Things have changed. Now, I'm wondering what early-career developers can use the most help with. If you say "vibe coding" I stg...	POLL	Brian	Jenney	5,125	5,125	7	6	0	63	0.014829	null	2025-05-31 08:30:13	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7334602112795889664
urn:li:activity:7334262194081058816	The technical interview started and I realized I was using Cursor. "Sorry about that, let me switch to VS Code" The interviewer paused. "No, it's fine. Keep it on. We want to see how you use AI tools like Cursor. Let's continue." We've entered into a new era for coding interviews...	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	7,868	4,843	43	7	3	0	0.006736	null	2025-05-30 09:59:31	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7334262194081058816
urn:li:activity:7333489591338848257	As a junior developer, I was really anxious that one day my team would find out I was a hack. Then, one day, I actually did get “found out” 😬 I was working at a small startup with some incredible talent and when our star engineer left to pursue his own startup, he gave me some candid feedback: “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘑𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.” I was embarrassed. He was also correct. I wrote down his suggestions and made a plan to get more proficient with JavaScript and some of the concepts which had always confused me like promises, prototypal inheritance and decorators. It wasn’t even that difficult. I wondered why I hadn’t done this earlier. In fact it’s 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 we 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁 Parsity: 1. Open code editor 2. Create a practical example leveraging the concept you're learning 3. Record a video explaining the concept and your code For promises, you could create a promise using the promise constructor and invoke it using the async/await pattern and then refactor it to use promise chaining. Make a video for yourself. NO ONE has to watch it. The video simply forces you to articulate what you’ve learned in plain English. Hope that’s helpful. *** https://lnkd.in/gj-AsQfe is a program for career changers, not influencers, but you WILL be getting on camera 😉. It's awkward. It's cringey. It works.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	96,199	96,159	88	16	0	0	0.001081	null	2025-05-28 06:49:28	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7333489591338848257
urn:li:activity:7332814550519468035	❌ LinkedIn ❌ LeetCode ✅ Job offer Anne Linebarger's unusual story of how she went from teacher to web developer might not be that unusual at all. 1 thing I've learned over the years working with over a hundred career changers: There is no 1-size-fits-all approach. Some Parsity mentees play the LinkedIn lottery and win. Others build in public. Some get nothing but DSA. Most never see a whiteboard. Here's what worked for Anne: 1. Building relationships through genuine conversations 2. Gaining confidence by learning in public (even in small ways) 3. Treating interviews like performances—preparation + presence 4. Saying yes to opportunities even when she didn’t feel “ready” Anne is a musician, teacher and a hell of a guest. She dropped some knowledge you definitely didn't get in college (or your coding bootcamp) *** 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://lnkd.in/gxS2h6Az 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝗦? Dev30 is 50% off: dev30.xyz	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	6,470	6,470	77	7	0	0	0.012983	null	2025-05-26 10:07:05	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7332814550519468035
urn:li:activity:7332069757975699456	𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀: How to answer interview questions when your hands are shaking. How to stay calm when you blank on an easy array method. How to explain your thinking when you’re not even sure what you’re thinking. Earlier this week, Alex Lau (author of 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘖𝘯) gave a talk to our Parsity mentees on exactly that—𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗺, 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿. No fluff. No gimmicks. Just real strategies for not freaking out. I’ve been reading Alex's book as well, and I'd recommend it whether I knew him or not. It’s not just about getting hired. It’s about becoming the kind of dev who knows how to show up under pressure, avoid costly mistakes and have a great career. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀. Big thanks to Alex for sharing his story and insights with our crew. *** 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆? Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gj-AsQfe 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝗦? Join dev30.xyz which is 50% off 🇺🇸	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	1,516	1,516	23	4	1	0	0.01847	null	2025-05-24 08:47:33	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7332069757975699456
urn:li:activity:7331712507985764353	How to make an amazing portfolio as a junior developer. Step 1: Just Have v0 do it. Done. Here’s the real issue: If you’re betting the house on your portfolio getting you a job, you’re already on the wrong track. Nothing wrong with a sexy portfolio. Learning to deploy a web app with a custom domain that looks good on mobile is an important milestone. Consider this: • Instead of trying to build 100 small projects that look like everyone else’s, build 1 or 2 complex projects and deploy them. • Consider integrating an LLM. Perhaps leverage RAG. • Try and get a user or 3. • Buy a domain. • Set up analytics to track who’s on there and for how long. You will walk away with a small business or a cool story that’s light years beyond a glorified TODO app. ** At Parsity, I'm consistently amazed at the projects our mentees cook up. Everything from analytics dashboards to inventory managers to desktop and mobile apps. We work with a handful of people 👉 https://lnkd.in/gVRRK_EP	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	12,540	12,523	40	16	0	0	0.004466	null	2025-05-23 09:07:58	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7331712507985764353
urn:li:activity:7331344232885968897	You don’t need to contribute a single line of code to massively benefit from open source: 1. Clone your favorite library/framework 2. Link to a local project using 𝚗𝚙𝚖-𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚔 (or 𝚙𝚗𝚙𝚖 or 𝚢𝚊𝚛𝚗 or whatevs) 3. Extend a common API (𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 3 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴) 4. Set a debugger and try to hit it 5. Get stuck, get frustrated and read the docs Learn more than fixing a typo in a README could ever teach you.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	2,301	2,301	19	5	0	0	0.01043	null	2025-05-22 08:44:34	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7331344232885968897
urn:li:activity:7330601381453615104	The stuff they don’t teach you in tutorials… I asked a few recent Parsity grads Jacob Cox and Anne Linebarger what surprised them most after starting their first dev jobs this year. Here’s what they said: “𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦" "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘌𝘖 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴.” “𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘈𝘠 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 ‘𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦’ 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.” These are the kinds of lessons no course or tutorial will teach you, not even https://lnkd.in/gj-AsQfe will fully prepare you for that first day. There is no substitute for time in the saddle. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 (𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁-𝘀𝗼-𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆): What’s been the most surprising part of being a professional coder? What’s one thing you wish you’d learned before you got hired?	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	4,258	4,258	28	10	0	0	0.008924	null	2025-05-20 07:32:45	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7330601381453615104
urn:li:activity:7329532625059041280	You don’t have a problem learning to code. You just don't have a system to learn. At Parsity we don't have mentees touch any code until they are armed with the tools to learn correctly. I'll be honest - it's not great for marketing. It's also one of the many reasons why our mentees actually stick with their programs and plans. The steps to success rarely look sexy. I break down a learning framework that no one taught you to make your knowledge stickier, using science backed methods.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	3,266	4,873	23	4	0	0	0.008267	null	2025-05-17 08:45:53	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7329532625059041280
urn:li:activity:7329132572590899200	Tutorial purgatory: The awkward phase when you’re not quite ready to create a complex side project but aren’t getting much out of following along with a video. Here’s how you limit your stay here: - 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - Realize there is no Gold Star for finishing a 100 hour course - Gain enough knowledge to be dangerous - 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱, 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲-𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 from the tutorial - Write detailed comments about what is happening in the code and why Now you have a project that is similar to the tutorial but NOT exactly like it and you’ve removed the training wheels from your learning exercise. Tomorrow I'll break down some science-backed methods we teach at Parsity to super-charge your learning: https://lnkd.in/g_DTazAE	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	1,533	1,533	13	3	1	0	0.011089	null	2025-05-16 06:16:13	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7329132572590899200
urn:li:activity:7328784181918883840	My mom kicked off my coding career with an intervention. A decade ago, my mom walked into my girlfriend's condo and handed me a note with an ultimatum: Get sober or get out of your kids lives. I was a mess. I owed people money. I was getting threats on my phone. I almost lost my life in a robbery gone wrong. My friend had taken his life and his brother got sentenced to state time. It was only a matter of time before I lost my life or my freedom. Didn't matter. I wasn't ready to quit yet. I told her I'd try just so she'd stop crying. One day turned to a few days. Then a week went by. Then a month. I either couldn't sleep or would sleep for 12 hours. I ate too much candy. I lost "friends." I got better. Coding became my new addiction. It didn't make any sense - I had no technical background and didn't own a computer for most of my life but I loved solving problems with code. This new addiction led to a new career and my habits snowballed. I lost weight, stopped smoking and picked up reading. I became a better father. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. Getting sober did. Coding certainly changed my wallet however. Sometimes I reveal this embarrassing aspect of my life because I know how it feels to feel like you're alone or like the odds are impossibly stacked against you. If you're going through something similar I hope you know it's not impossible and the world can really open up once you get of your own way.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	4,625	4,625	198	17	0	0	0.046486	null	2025-05-15 07:11:51	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7328784181918883840
urn:li:activity:7328551906476285955	A dream job is still a job. Some days I love what I do. Others I feel mentally drained, stressed, and like I’ll never be good enough. But the skill of coding has given me something I've always wanted: leverage. Leverage to quit bad jobs. Leverage to build ideas into income. Leverage to 𝘯𝘰𝘵 need permission. You don’t have to be the best. You just have to be good enough to 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁, and 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽. Learning to code does NOT guarantee you a six-figure job or a perfect life. (𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦-𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯-𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴!) But it might give you something equally valuable: 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. To me, that’s worth more than hype. Keep building cool sh*t.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	2,141	2,141	45	4	0	0	0.022887	null	2025-05-14 15:48:52	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7328551906476285955
urn:li:activity:7328115422623375362	Pretty much sums up my experience with vibe coding so far. Excellent for prototyping. Great with clear instructions. Good with making multiple changes across files. OK with following established patterns. Before the Vibe-Coding cult comes after me: 1. Yes - we're using Cursor rules 2. No - the app isn't very complex (yet) 3. Yes - the team is full of senior engineers AI-assisted coding can generate a beautiful looking house of cards if you're not careful and I fear we're encouraging a generation to stop thinking, start prompting and completely lose the plot when it comes to creating software.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	5,454	5,454	60	13	2	0	0.013751	null	2025-05-13 10:54:26	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7328115422623375362
urn:li:activity:7327722472592543745	Hiring is up... for senior developers. Here's the reality: There is less desire to hire and train new developers. It might not be fair. It may be foolishly short-sighted. It's also true right now. This is why at Parsity we're leaning further into internships to help mentees get real world experience and contribute to large codebases. It's a messy, stressful process that is incredibly beneficial. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀, 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝗱 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿: Build and ship something you'd actually want to use and try to get others to use it as well. Write about this experience. Try to charge money for it. Be a start up of 1. Prove you can do it before you get paid to do it.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	5,699	5,699	19	11	0	0	0.005264	null	2025-05-12 08:52:59	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7327722472592543745
urn:li:activity:7326989116930215936	𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜. And I get it. AI makes them feel like they’ve cracked the code. Like they don’t need a team of 20 engineers anymore—just some prompts and a dream. They can build a beautiful app with prompts that works locally. They may think this is the same as deploying. They think they understand development. They start questioning what their actual devs are doing all day. 𝗜 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹. You start to wonder if you have any value. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘣, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 - 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨? Vibe coding can honestly get you to the first 80% if you're lucky and your app is simple. The final 20%? That’s where the real engineering happens. That’s where tests live. And edge cases. And actual performance. What about your database schema? Your data pipelines? Security? Deployment strategy? We've only scratched the surface. That’s where you stop hacking and start building real software.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	16,834	16,834	82	25	5	0	0.006653	null	2025-05-10 08:18:54	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7326989116930215936
urn:li:activity:7326642337474879488	New coders are obsessed with going to Google, Meta, Amazon or Netflix. These make up a solid .6% of software engineering roles. They make up the 99% of the articles you read about life as a software engineer. Reality as a developer is a tad different than what social media shows you. Let's explore the pros and cons of working at a small startup vs a fortune 100 vs a mid size company 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗜'𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	13,887	5,381	53	5	1	0	0.004249	null	2025-05-09 09:20:55	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7326642337474879488
urn:li:activity:7326620424287526912	I've thought a lot about this and I'm NOT clicking that button. 1. I hate commercials 2. My YT channel is really to get people to join Parsity 😉 3. I can't imagine how an extra $5 a month moves the needle on my life or business Now I need a favor from you, you good looking nerd (don't tell HR I said that): What are some (commercial-free) videos I should make that can help early career developers?	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	2,069	2,069	28	8	0	0	0.0174	null	2025-05-09 07:53:51	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7326620424287526912
urn:li:activity:7325952288030629888	null	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	1,339	1,339	26	2	1	0	0.021658	null	2025-05-07 11:38:55	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7325952288030629888
urn:li:activity:7325581162867765250	The problem with learning ReactJS before Javascript: So here I was, doing a mock interview and the interviewee is attempting to implement the publish subscriber pattern. No framework. Just plain old JS. To their surprise, 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 was not available within a Javascript object… oops. The rest of the interview was spent going over the basics of JS objects. Key-value pairs. Dot notation. Deeply nested values. You know, table stakes JS stuff. I felt their pain. I started my Javascript career off with AngularJS and Jquery (don't judge). I thought because I knew the framework, I knew JS. It took me years to return back to the fundamentals and really double down on the concepts that were holding me back. I’m not saying don’t learn frameworks. They are a very useful abstraction to create apps. 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	2,854	2,854	27	9	1	0	0.012964	null	2025-05-06 11:04:11	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7325581162867765250
urn:li:activity:7325185481447505920	𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. It worked. It passed PR review. And then the team decided… not to use it. Welcome to your first dev internship. At Parsity, we’ve been experimenting with internships for a while now. And if we’re being honest, they’re not as “feel-good” as people expect. They’re confusing. They’re overwhelming. They 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 like you’re failing… until you realize you’re actually leveling up faster than ever. One of our students, Dean, joined a startup through our internship program. He’d built solo projects before, but this was different: • He was now contributing to a shared TypeScript codebase • Working with Git in a team setting, getting real PR feedback • Learning how to 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦—not just code • Figuring out why “good enough” code still gets deleted • And discovering the hard truth: sometimes you build something that no one ends up using He also learned that no one teaches you how to 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰, or how to 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, or how to work async on a remote team while holding down a day job. You learn those things by doing them. Fumbling through them. Getting frustrated. Then doing it better the next time. We sat down and talked through all of it on this week’s episode of Develop Yourself https://lnkd.in/gF6gZgBN	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	7,670	7,670	21	3	0	0	0.003129	null	2025-05-05 08:51:54	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7325185481447505920
urn:li:activity:7324511515095502849	More code === more bugs. More code === more maintenance. More code === more code. The barrier to entry for launching an app is now non-existent. We have people who don't know how to code building working apps... that will absolutely NOT work as they attempt to add more features, security or complex deployment strategies. Why on earth would you think we need less software developers? The reality is that the barrier to entry is getting higher and expectations have risen. If you're looking for a proven path towards a career in software that takes a hell of a lot longer than 3 months - join me here: https://lnkd.in/gj-AsQfe	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	3,599	3,599	40	1	1	0	0.01167	null	2025-05-03 12:13:48	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7324511515095502849
urn:li:activity:7324095198039285761	Let the normies have fun with vibe coding and prompt engineering. If you're a software engineer (especially a front end one) - here's what I'd be learning in 2025 to get a firm grasp on AI:	VIDEO	Brian	Jenney	10,283	2,892	54	2	2	0	0.00564	null	2025-05-02 08:39:30	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7324095198039285761
urn:li:activity:7323782495810813953	The CEO at the company leaned over my desk when I was using Chat GPT and Cursor to “write” code. “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨?” Me - a bit nervous: “𝘚𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘛𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.” Him: “𝘖𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵” Honestly - a ton of my code is AI-generated. It gives me a great base to use BUT - 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝟴𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. - Cursor writes my tests… and then I need to fix all the mocks and add cases that make sense. - Chat GPT scaffolds a component for me…. that isn’t type safe. - Cursor creates a route in NextJS… that doesn’t follow a pattern I created. Don’t get me started on agents creating random folders and duplicate files. AI is great. Humans are better. I'm curious, how much of your code is AI-assisted nowadays?	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	382,886	382,702	157	60	0	0	0.000567	null	2025-05-01 11:56:56	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7323782495810813953
urn:li:activity:7323006674334629890	I recently got rejected from a company that I interviewed with months earlier. When I got the feedback I was ecstatic. I passed every round except for the coding challenge where I honestly froze up. It was not my finest moment. So why am I happy? I got the highest marks in the system design round after years of generally being terrible at this style of interview despite managing teams, working with architects and building complex software. I read Alex Xu's system design books, DDIA and have real world experience to lean on. Knowledge wasn’t the main issue. The issue was my delivery. I had no method to my madness. Instead of clarifying the problem and mapping out a high level design, I’d jump straight into the data types and spout off buzzwords I didn’t really understand based on the books I’d read. Bad move. I’ll write about my experience in a no-nonsense guide to approaching system design this weekend. I hope it’s helpful. You can sign up here: https://lnkd.in/g_DTazAE	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	113,017	113,012	67	6	0	0	0.000646	null	2025-04-29 08:34:06	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7323006674334629890
urn:li:activity:7322646381804855297	The developer who failed 100 interviews. At first I didn’t believe him. I mean, 100? There’s no way. Then we did a mock interview. Oof. Here’s the thing - he was a very personable dude. Polite, well-spoken and confident. During the interview though, he didn’t come off as such. His answers were short and to the point. He cut me off a few times as I explained a concept. When I asked about a project he had worked on, he gave a basic overview of a trivial feature and didn’t offer much detail. He used some internal names for the app which didn’t make sense to me. After the interview, I brought some of these issues to his attention. We dug into his former role and the work he did. It was interesting. He had worked on challenging technical problems across the stack. So why in the hell wasn’t he mentioning this in the interview? He was genuinely surprised with my perception and feedback. 100 interviews deep and here he was getting this hot-take for the first time. Companies will rarely give feedback to candidates and 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 “𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿.” 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Legal reasons. Awkwardness. Time constraints. Pick one. Many of us are overly focus on the technical aspect of interviews. I mean, we’re software developers. Don’t underestimate the human aspect.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	86,042	86,022	67	9	2	0	0.000907	null	2025-04-28 08:42:25	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7322646381804855297
urn:li:activity:7321911897933414400	An interesting critique I've read about coding bootcamps from a super smart senior+ engineer at FAANG: "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦." Ok. I'm curious then, what do colleges do exactly? As much as I don't like the current coding bootcamp scene, I genuinely don't understand this critique. What can truly prepare you for a career in... anything?	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	7,698	7,698	25	8	0	0	0.004287	null	2025-04-26 08:03:50	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7321911897933414400
urn:li:activity:7321607543774982145	The AI engineer of the future might actually be a Typescript engineer. Before you jump ship to become a machine learning engineer, data scientist or kick JS to the curb for Python, here are some very practical tools, skills and 1 project you can build to get your hands dirty with AI as a JS developer.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	4,218	4,926	33	10	0	0	0.010194	null	2025-04-25 11:54:27	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7321607543774982145
urn:li:activity:7321165492126195715	I may have steered some of you in the wrong direction in your job search. I generally promote using LinkedIn and learning in public as a way to get a job. 𝘐 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 (𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘮). In addition to smashing the easy apply button and sharing what bugs you’re creating, 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: - Reach out to your current network of non-dev and non-bootcamp friends. - Raise the white flag on IG, FB or TT. Tell your friends, family and that weird aunt that you’re looking for your first developer job. You might be shocked who can point you in the right direction, get you that first contract or tell you about an opportunity you will never see here. *** There is no single path that works. This week I spoke with Mindi Weik, a career changer who went to a bootcamp, never interviewed and got a developer role. We go over all sorts of topics, from ADHD to public speaking as a shy developer and more: https://lnkd.in/e3df3tXf	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	7,535	7,535	29	11	2	0	0.005574	null	2025-04-24 06:37:53	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7321165492126195715
urn:li:activity:7320491044385521666	As an engineering manager, when I came across a resume from a Stanford grad or someone from a smarty-pants college, I would read it a little more closely. That's it. They got the same interview as the dude who graduated high school. However, the majority of our hires were CS grads even though we had zero education requirements. This should not shock you. If you spent 4 years learning about software, design patterns and coding then you're likely to be a good candidate for a career in software. If you went to a bootcamp and didn't get hired in 3 months for a fraction of the price - people somehow consider that a scam. Interesting. How you acquire your coding knowledge is of ZERO importance. Self-teach, go to a bootcamp or go to a university. None of them has a monopoly on knowledge or a magical formula that will guarantee you a job. College-aged people are much more likely to complete a rigorous academic program than a father of 2 who's juggling work, a failing marriage and aging parents. 𝗜𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹? (𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 https://lnkd.in/gj-AsQfe) Learn to code however the hell you want. Learn through YouTube, books, college or a coding bootcamp. Build something complex. Be above average. Be curious.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	90,489	90,489	71	16	2	0	0.000984	null	2025-04-22 09:57:53	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7320491044385521666
urn:li:activity:7320131577152163842	Running an ethical business just lost us a client. Here's the story: Parsity works with less than 80 people per year to change careers into software. The number is low and the quality of our mentees is high. We like it this way. We don't have some magical formula but we do emphasize personal development alongside technical skills. 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆: how can you learn efficiently, attack the market and win the game of career-change if you are not mentally prepared with a plan of action and accountability? Knowledge is rarely the problem and knowing how to code is not enough. We understand this approach is not for everyone. So when we onboarded a mentee and realized that they expected this journey to be simple, easy and something they could manage in their spare time - we realized it wouldn't work. They just wanted to "learn to code" and that is not a strategy to be a hire-able software engineer. This is the first time this has happened and I hope it’s the last, but overall we’d rather lose a mentee than sell someone a fantasy.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	21,441	21,438	43	5	0	0	0.002239	null	2025-04-21 10:09:29	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7320131577152163842
urn:li:activity:7318767408549097474	I hope I didn't disappoint Juan Boyce too much with my bow tying skills.	SHARE	Brian	Jenney	856	856	12	1	0	0	0.015187	null	2025-04-17 15:48:46	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7318767408549097474
urn:li:activity:7318748793632432129	Money isn't everything. It's also not nothing. I've been broke and not broke. I prefer the latter. I lay out a no-bs guide on how to maximize your earning potential as a developer by being a big fish in a small pond, chasing experience over cash (at first) and not being an idiot with your money.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	6,850	4,505	45	10	0	0	0.008029	null	2025-04-17 14:34:48	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7318748793632432129
urn:li:activity:7317946960420687873	You’re right, whiteboard interviews are unfair, biased and don't resemble the kind of work you do on a daily basis. Now what? Do you simply limit yourself to companies that don’t ask these types of questions? You could. OR you could learn some of the most common data structures and algorithms at the University of YouTube. Or if you’re a masochist, a book perhaps. As a developer you ARE going to encounter these types of interviews. Why not give yourself a shot at actually passing them? Want to get started? - trees/tries - linked lists - graphs - stacks/queues - binary search - merge sort - quick sort Implement these structures and algorithms from scratch. 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗢 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (eg. what is the time complexity for searching a BST? How about inserting into a linked list?). You can still turn down these white board interviews. But because you want to, not because you have to.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	3,797	3,797	30	8	0	0	0.010008	null	2025-04-15 09:28:36	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7317946960420687873
urn:li:activity:7317564759405408256	Yes, I’m still teaching my kids to code. Even in the age of AI. Especially in the age of AI. Why? Because it’s never been easier to build and deploy a real product. And I believe the people who can pair coding with entrepreneurship are going to win big. Last week, I sat down with Laly Bar-Ilan, Chief Scientist at Bit, who’s been working in NLP and AI for 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴—before it was cool. Laly has some advice for junior devs: - You’re not being replaced but many of your tasks are. - There’s still massive opportunity if you learn how to use AI as leverage. - Learning RAG and how to evaluate and integrate AI output are practical ways to stay ahead of the curve. You can check out our convo here: https://lnkd.in/gJ83yTWT	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	3,247	3,247	40	11	0	0	0.015707	null	2025-04-14 08:09:52	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7317564759405408256
urn:li:activity:7316518918368423936	Don’t be like the normies who are freaking out about AI taking over the world or replacing developers in the next 6 months (for real, it’s gonna happen this time!). Here’s a practical way to learn how to build software with AI: - learn how LLMs transform 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘃𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 and why - 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 by using OpenAI (or whatever you prefer) to teach a model how to write in your tone/style or the style of your favorite author - 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗥𝗔𝗚 𝗮𝗽𝗽 by adding all your READMEs to a vector DB like Pinecone so you can “talk” to them with an LLM - explore Vercel’s AI SDK to stream responses from an LLM - 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 and prompt quality with a tool like Helicone - l𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁 to feed your hungry LLM Not only is this path more realistic for you full stack devs who don’t want to miss the AI hype train, it’s also a hell of a lot of fun.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	6,092	6,092	44	10	0	0	0.008864	null	2025-04-11 10:54:04	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7316518918368423936
urn:li:activity:7316139233654554627	I don't think hiring is broken. But you can't use the same tactics that worked a year ago if you want to get hired. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘀: - Your resume is increasingly less important - Luck is a factor no one wants to admit - Mass applying is like playing the lotto - LinkedIn is a social media site pretending to be a job board 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴: - Get 500 connections on LinkedIn to be more discoverable - Remove any mention of junior/aspiring/student from your profile - Don't apply for only junior roles - let the market decide - Do a BFS of your network to find hidden jobs (we teach this method in Parsity) - Build in public - this is uncomfortable and effective I'm not saying this is easy. I just want you to have a better chance whether or not you work with me and my twin Zubin Pratap. Good luck out there.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	19,798	19,785	46	18	0	0	0.003233	null	2025-04-10 09:45:20	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7316139233654554627
urn:li:activity:7315784046993690624	Most junior devs don’t fail interviews because they’re dumb. I mean, some absolutely do — but if you’re reading this, you’re probably above average intelligence and easy on the eyes (don’t tell HR). Most fail because they study the wrong things — or spend too much time studying and not enough time practicing. If you’re not aiming for Google or Meta, this cheat sheet should take you 80% of the way. And remember, if all else fails - just use a hash map!	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	14,151	6,662	67	13	2	0	0.005795	null	2025-04-09 10:13:57	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7315784046993690624
urn:li:activity:7315770419481894913	I always tell people—your primary coding language is 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩. But… maybe it’s Spanish. Or Hindi. Or Portuguese. I’ve been using Amazon Q Developer in my terminal constantly and now in Cursor to help me write code. It’s fast, helpful, and now—it speaks your language. This isn’t a paid post btw. A student at Parsity introduced me to Amazon Q Developer and I've been hooked since. Thanks for the shout out Srini Iragavarapu!	VIDEO	Brian	Jenney	1,423	457	21	2	0	0	0.016163	null	2025-04-09 09:19:48	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7315770419481894913
urn:li:activity:7315130211040182272	You're going to hate to hear this: There are people less qualified than you who are getting hired faster. LinkedIn is a social media site pretending to be a job site. On one end you have recruiters trying to find candidates in a tidal wave of AI produced slop. On the other end you have qualified candidates who are essentially un-discoverable. Who's winning here? (hint: not you) 𝗦𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿? As much as I hate to say this - it's not the worst idea 😅. A more practical approach might be: 1. Curate your feed to connect with more recruiters and hiring managers and less influencers (𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘐? 𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘰, 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵) 2. Go old school - 𝗱𝗼 𝗮 𝗕𝗙𝗦 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 (𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘨𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 😉) 3. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 to be more discoverable 4. Diversify your options: WellFound and JobRight are solid alternatives 5. Join Parsity and stop going off vibes when it comes to your career switch approach	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	24,306	24,306	57	13	0	0	0.00288	null	2025-04-07 14:55:50	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7315130211040182272
urn:li:activity:7314367020655906817	0 binary trees. 0 linked lists. 0 graph traversals. Your next coding interview will include more practical exercises than white boarding problems unless you're interviewing for the top ~1% of tech companies. The problem is that your study plan doesn't reflect reality. I made a Google doc that I use to prep for interviews and want to share with you: https://lnkd.in/gtF7VphP 𝗣𝗦. 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀. If you find the guide useful - please share it with others who are grinding LeetCode this weekend.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	13,815	13,815	45	5	2	0	0.003764	null	2025-04-05 12:23:12	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7314367020655906817
urn:li:activity:7313953703609147392	Junior developers are inherently risky (in every industry, not just tech btw). "𝘉𝘶𝘵... 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳", you say. Yeah, I get it, just stay with me here. The word "junior" is so subjective that it's nearly meaningless. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻. • They need significant hand-holding for months on the job. • They will take on the easy stuff and maybe break some things. • They won't contribute much. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: nearly every developer will be "junior" when they first join a company unless they are very senior. You don't actually need to a be a mid level developer to be a safe hire. You just need to avoid the tell-tale signs that you are, in fact, a n00b. Quite simply, stop down-playing yourself. • 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿, 𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 from your resume and LinkedIn. • DON'T talk about "the project from your school or bootcamp" • 𝗗𝗢 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 - yes, you need to have a project to talk about. • 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 and speak to the benefits of features you created. Lastly - join me at a coding mentorship program that is totally not a cult: https://lnkd.in/g7kF5XVa	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	42,826	42,675	71	18	2	0	0.002125	null	2025-04-04 09:00:49	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7313953703609147392
urn:li:activity:7313594786517512192	Titles aren’t everything. But it’s silly to think they’re meaningless. Some genius on LinkedIn told you that the senior developer title doesn’t matter — just write code for the love of the sport. Great advice! Not like your title determines your pay, bonus or career trajectory. I swear, sometimes I wonder if these big brains have ever worked in a real company. As an engineering manager, I had the privilege of promoting developers to senior and the awkward duty to share with developers why there were NOT getting promoted. Here’s how you can shorten your path to senior developer, step by step.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	4,819	4,673	37	9	1	0	0.009753	null	2025-04-03 09:14:37	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7313594786517512192
urn:li:activity:7313585143175073792	I actually know a guy who cheated his way into big tech and it worked. For 3 months. He couldn't keep up, got fired and hasn't returned to tech as far as I know. TBH - as a software engineer, I think this tool is pretty neat. I also think it's immoral to cheat your way into a company. Perhaps I'm just an aging corporate shill. Ok fine - forget morals. 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲? 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩: (𝙚𝙭)𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙖 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝘼𝙄 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙠𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 - 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝟬 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙡	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	28,675	28,658	84	36	2	0	0.004255	null	2025-04-03 08:36:17	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7313585143175073792
urn:li:activity:7313230808469684225	We just wrapped up our third Parsity internship cohort, and the same thing happens every time: - Students realize how massive a real codebase is - They struggle to make even their first commit - They fumble through Git and PRs - They hit imposter syndrome head-on That’s exactly the point. Internships show you what tutorials never can: What it’s like to contribute to a real product, with real deadlines, in a real team setting. We love doing these. But they’re hard to set up. Not every company is the right fit. There’s a fine line between “free labor” and a mutual learning partnership that benefits everyone. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. So if you run (or work at) a legit company that wants to: - Support someone making a career change - Work with highly motivated learners - And potentially hire them (with zero referral fees) Fill out the form on our site: https://lnkd.in/gxFCRpgY Let’s give more people the opportunity to do the hard things that actually prepare them for real dev jobs.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	2,438	2,438	46	6	0	0	0.021329	null	2025-04-02 09:08:17	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7313230808469684225
urn:li:activity:7312869627976368128	I once asked to end an interview early at Meta. I completely bombed it. They asked me a recursion question. I had no idea what to do. Panic set in. I told the interviewer I was done and thanked them for their time. Since then? I’ve learned recursion. And binary search. And heaps and trees and all the stuff I used to avoid. What changed? I stopped being scared of it. I realized that DSA isn’t some elite gatekeeping tool — it’s just a skill. And like any skill, it’s learnable with a little bit of pain and a lot of reps. If you’ve ever bombed an interview and thought “maybe I’m not cut out for this,” I promise — you are. Keep going.	VIDEO	Brian	Jenney	6,684	1,988	60	9	0	0	0.010323	null	2025-04-01 09:13:05	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7312869627976368128
urn:li:activity:7312584261931343872	Buzzsprout has a "feature" that let's listeners send a text to the show. 1 problem.... I can NOT respond to any of these messages. I'm sure I've lost some listeners who probably think "Who does this bald bandicoot think he is, not answering me?!" I apologize. I'll be dropping an episode tomorrow to answer the most recent questions and I want to open up more questions to early career developers here that I will answer on the show. Drop a question in the comments and if I answer it, I'll shout you out on an episode next week.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	809	809	5	0	0	0	0.00618	null	2025-03-31 14:19:09	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7312584261931343872
urn:li:activity:7312496978377031681	“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨… 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵?” That question wrecked me early in my dev career. I had copied something from Stack Overflow without understanding it. It worked. Until it didn’t. Now we’re entering an era where AI lets you speedrun your way to the same mistake – at scale. You can build an impressive-looking app in record time. But that doesn’t mean you understand it. And if you don’t understand it, you can’t debug it. - You can’t extend it. - You can’t make trade-offs. - You’re not developing software. - You’re just pasting things into a text box and hoping for the best. Here’s the truth no one wants to hear: - The keystrokes aren’t the value. - The mental models are. - The ability to reason through a system. - To know why something works. - To spot what’s missing. A recent LinkedIn poll showed that 73% of experienced developers spend more time reading code than writing it. Because writing code is easy. Understanding it is the job. *** I'm an old guy with a podcast on coding that people like. Zubin Pratap and I chat more on this subject here: https://lnkd.in/dmEtnFux	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	12,101	12,091	56	17	0	0	0.006033	null	2025-03-31 08:32:19	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7312496978377031681
urn:li:activity:7311431658987999232	No one talks about this enough: Yes, AI boosts developer productivity BUT, as we write code at scale - we also introduce bugs at scale. A study of 800 developers found a 41% increase in the number of bugs 😬. Debugging has always been a critical skill that will get even more important going forward. If the only tool in your belt is 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚎.𝚕𝚘𝚐 - let me show you a better way 👇	VIDEO	Brian	Jenney	4,655	1,492	42	8	1	0	0.010956	null	2025-03-28 09:59:07	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7311431658987999232
urn:li:activity:7310725937153589249	A leaked software engineering recruiter selection which I'm 50% sure is real and 100% sure is rage-bait. The reality is that more than half of all professional software developers have four-year degrees, so the traditional path is still the norm. I have 3 kids and I hope at least one goes into software. If they do, I'd want to teach them practical skills and maybe encourage them to attend school as well. It should be zero surprise that NextJS, ReactJS and working with LLMs are in-demand skills. But what if you didn't go to a top university and don't have an impressive background? What do you do? Quit?! Zubin Pratap and I believe the next wave of coding education will look very different. It will be highly personalized, tailored to meet the unique needs of each individual and the changing demands in the market. Building complex software > learning to code Relationships > resumes First principles > shiny frameworks Communication > lone wolf coders You can check it out here: https://lnkd.in/g7kF5XVa	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	6,370	6,370	56	16	0	0	0.011303	null	2025-03-26 11:14:50	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7310725937153589249
urn:li:activity:7310101190757818369	It only took Jeremy Parker 4 short years to go from zero to working at Apple. But that's not a story that sells. Too many people want his kind of transformation in 3 months. it's possible but highly unlikely. If you're under 40, you probably have another 3 decades of work ahead of you. I don't think that means you should take the long route, but I also don't think expecting to dramatically change careers in 3 months is realistic either. This is one of the many reasons why at Parsity we work with mentees for up to a year, focus on the principles of building software and learn the hard stuff (which usually isn't technical at all). Jeremy shares practical advice on how he learned to code, his love for EmberJS 😉 and how brutal peer reviews helped him grow as a software engineer: https://lnkd.in/gf46B2FD Who should I interview next?	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	5,000	5,000	76	14	0	0	0.018	null	2025-03-24 17:52:18	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7310101190757818369
urn:li:activity:7308839337272430592	I've seen this pattern in a few codebases. It's super useful but I rarely ever hear it mentioned. If you're using ReactJS - you're going to want to add this one to your tool belt.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	5,803	4,665	42	6	2	0	0.008616	null	2025-03-21 06:18:09	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7308839337272430592
urn:li:activity:7308328970100322304	AI keeps taking all the damn jobs! And yet, there are more jobs available now than in the last 2 years? What's this, OpenAI is hiring software engineers? Oh, Anthropic is too? Not you Devin, surely you wouldn't.. what? They are also hiring flesh bags? Look, I'm not saying anything. I'm just saying.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	5,057	5,057	54	10	2	0	0.013051	null	2025-03-19 20:30:08	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7308328970100322304
urn:li:activity:7308132792867979265	The only safe bet is the risky one. Stability was always a myth but we’re seeing just how unstable things can get. - Big tech is nearly as volatile as the startup you never heard of. - A new framework replaces the one you’re used to. - AI power players are playing musical chairs. So what do we do? - Make big bets and small bets. 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁: AI doesn’t go anywhere but expectations fall back to reality. The most boring use cases will be the most popular. 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝘁: RAG becomes the most popular use case for enterprise companies to leverage AI. Learn a bit about Vector Databases, embedding and building small apps that use this technology. Good luck out there.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	1,134	1,134	15	3	0	0	0.015873	null	2025-03-19 07:30:36	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7308132792867979265
urn:li:activity:7307895601193463808	No, I don't think the job market sucks. I just know it has changed and LinkedIn is the only winner in this game. 5 mentees Parsity have landed interviews or jobs in the last 4 weeks. Not a single one of those opportunities came from cold-applying or smashing the easy apply button. So what's working? - learning in public (I know, I know - so cliche. Yet so effective.) - reaching out to 2nd and 3rd party connections - emails to decision makers at companies who have posted openings - sites like Wellfound and Jobright.ai (for me at least) I spoke with Yasemin Turğay on her pod about how I'm 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 seeing people get hired, how I'm using AI as a developer day-to-day and why I think early career developers should proceed with caution: https://lnkd.in/gRefx77h	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	24,816	24,792	52	6	0	0	0.002337	null	2025-03-18 15:48:05	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7307895601193463808
urn:li:activity:7307537228673531905	If I read one more article about how AI is taking developer jobs or hear another baby-faced CEO tell us that we’re just 6 months away from some groundbreaking AI that will alter the trajectory of humanity, I’m going to pull out the 3 strands of hair left on my head. I started using AI at work and let me tell you — this might be the most fun I’ve had in my coding career so far. Instead of scaring you for clicks, I want to share exactly what I’m reading, building with and learning to understand more about how LLMs work beneath the surface. 𝟯𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝟭𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻’𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗴𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: https://lnkd.in/g_G-cH-k 𝗟𝗟𝗠 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: https://lnkd.in/g2RaS5cV 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 (𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵): https://lnkd.in/g27F4Drn 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗹'𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗗𝗞 for... using AI (duh): https://lnkd.in/gmYJDwnn 𝗩𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 (using Pinecone)	UNKNOWN	Brian	Jenney	3,097	3,097	40	3	1	0	0.014207	null	2025-03-17 16:04:02	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7307537228673531905
urn:li:activity:7306351539806183424	A mentee at Parsity got a job offer yesterday for a little less than he hoped for. His family told him to "play it safe." Be thankful. Be patient. Next time. I took this same advice for years and left thousands of dollars on the table, totally unaware that negotiating is part of a game that no one told you, you are playing. Once I became a manager, I saw the game from the other side of the table. Here's what I told him: Don't over-think it. Explain that you're genuinely excited for this opportunity and can't wait to start. But... You're hoping to move closer to [insert number here]. As long as that number is not laughably more than the offer, it's safe to ask. I have NEVER, ever seen an offer pulled from 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹 negotiating. If he didn't take my advice - I hope you will 🙏. This weekend, I'll be writing about strange ways I've seen people get hired over the years: https://lnkd.in/g_DTazAE	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	10,419	10,419	38	8	0	0	0.004415	null	2025-03-14 09:32:32	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7306351539806183424
urn:li:activity:7305971908024352770	Side effects of vibe coding: - unmaintainable code - getting roasted on Reddit - hiring software developers to clean up your mess Honestly, I think "vibe coding" is OK to get a quick prototype. Considering most projects have well over hundreds of files - I don't see this approach scaling well.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	495,516	493,751	1,093	261	51	0	0.002835	null	2025-03-13 08:24:01	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7305971908024352770
urn:li:activity:7305794661007167488	As a fan of Amazon Q - it was pretty surreal to talk to one of the big brains behind it. I somehow got Srini Iragavarapu, Director of Generative AI Applications at AWS to sit down and talk with me about Amazon Q, what he thinks about the future for coders and how Amazon saved 4500 years on doing upgrades with AI tools (yes, you read that right). You can listen here: https://lnkd.in/g-GGpsPb	SHARE	Brian	Jenney	1,232	1,232	10	0	0	0	0.008117	null	2025-03-12 20:39:42	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7305794661007167488
urn:li:activity:7305258493807075329	5 mentees from Parsity just started an internship yesterday. Now comes the fun stuff: - using Git... but like for real this time - learning the engineering culture - navigating a massive codebase - merge conflicts - peer reviews What advice would you pass on to these g̶u̶i̶n̶e̶a̶ ̶p̶i̶g̶s̶ brave souls?	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	2,652	2,652	36	14	0	0	0.018854	null	2025-03-11 09:09:10	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7305258493807075329
urn:li:activity:7304207670842953729	Honestly, we have a pretty unfair advantage at Parsity. Megan Elizabeth Dias is a top career coach. Zubin Pratap is a former lawyer and ex-Googler. Our mentees are top notch. Nearly all of them are light years ahead of where I was when I was learning to code. Me - I'm just a shameless self-promoter 😅.	IMAGE	Brian	Jenney	9,706	9,706	46	2	1	0	0.005048	null	2025-03-08 10:33:34	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7304207670842953729
urn:li:activity:7303468073754181632	I have a confession. I've copy pasted throughout my entire coding career. Honestly, it’s how I’ve survived over the years as a developer. On every team where I worked, I took note of what the smarter developers were doing. I copied from the right people at some amazing companies and worked with developers who I truly think might be genius. I stole a little piece of each of these developers to accelerate my own career. The lessons I learned from each of these characters saved me from mediocrity and might help you as well.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	12,956	5,184	58	11	0	0	0.005326	null	2025-03-06 09:34:40	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7303468073754181632
urn:li:activity:7303134143209426944	Listening to too many influencers on LinkedIn will get you stuck in a learning loop. Goes a little something like this: - Bald tech bro with a blue background tells you about hawt technology 🔥 (agree?) - You, a little insecure about your own skills, thinks this is THE way to get noticed. - You buy a course or a book or go down a YouTube rabbit hole. Repeat this a few times and you will be a sub-par developer in many technologies instead of good at a couple. Instead: - Focus on your core skills and identify trends in the local and global market (hint: ReactJS ain’t going away) - Resist the urge to add more tools to your tool belt early on - Focus on getting interviews and learning from your failures or successes - Use a side project to reinforce your current skills and incrementally add new technologies Lastly, just join parsity.io/inner-circle, a mentorship program for career changers who want to break into tech.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	3,424	3,424	29	7	0	0	0.010514	null	2025-03-05 11:27:45	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7303134143209426944
urn:li:activity:7302744404501442560	"𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺," I thought. My salary doubled. My confidence tanked. I walked into the shared office space to meet the 3 other people I’d be working with. The CTO handed me a laptop and I sat between him and the CEO to get onboarded. That day I wrote my first unit test and got an assignment I could barely complete. I was confronted with my own limitations and realized that this wasn’t just all in my head. Looking back, I realize this experience was pivotal to my career. I learned from incredible people and got exposed to high quality code. Also - 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝟯 (#1 baby!). It was not a fun experience but it did force my growth. So if you’re just starting out, or maybe on a new team and discovering just how little you know…good. Embrace the suck, expose your ignorance and be prepared to learn.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	9,801	9,801	82	4	1	0	0.008877	null	2025-03-04 09:39:04	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7302744404501442560
urn:li:activity:7302366518619553793	5 things the gym can teach you about coding: 1. 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 - our body, like our mind is not fixed or as limited as we believe. 2. 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 - there is always somebody better than you. Learning a new programming language or lifting a larger weight will keep you humble. 3. 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - if you stick with either endeavor you will see long term benefits and fulfillment. 4. 𝗡𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 (as much as you think) - people are focused on themselves, not you. We’re all looking in the actual mirror or the proverbial mirror at ourselves. 5. 𝗔𝗴𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 (despite what you think) - the gym, like the software industry is not controlled by 20 somethings and as long as you’re breathing, its a good time to get in shape or learn a new skill. Getting in shape at 37 taught me a lot of valuable lessons. I break them down here with a short, easy to follow diet and workout guide: https://lnkd.in/gC7TF8SK Back to coding content... for now.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	4,718	4,718	43	17	2	0	0.013141	null	2025-03-03 08:37:29	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7302366518619553793
urn:li:activity:7301352675453874177	Let me tell you about the 3 worst developers I worked with. The names have been changed to protect the innocent... except for the first one.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	11,082	5,947	56	13	0	0	0.006226	null	2025-02-28 13:28:50	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7301352675453874177
urn:li:activity:7300897967064895488	Sometimes I hate the internet. Putting myself on social media has done way more good than harm but, every once in a while I read a mean comment and think: “Why am I even on here?” Here’s some of my favorites: “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘧𝘶𝘭” (video of me saying to learn HTML/CSS before JS) “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦” (post about software developers. I am, in fact, a software developer. 10 years and going) “𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶?” (video of me, being bald, and coding) Look - I write for 3 reasons: 1. I have a business and I promote it on here: https://lnkd.in/gj-AsQfe 😉 2. I like to write. Been doing it for years - for free. 3. Too many kind strangers have helped me so I write to help you. Hopefully. Take what I say with a grain of salt. I’ve worked with well over a hundred developers to help land their first or next role. That doesn’t guarantee that my advice will work for you. Just know that I’ll never tell you to do anything I haven’t seen work for me or someone I’ve mentored personally.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	8,209	8,209	76	27	1	0	0.012669	null	2025-02-27 07:21:59	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7300897967064895488
urn:li:activity:7300666248164515840	Andrew Bekhiet is a brave soul. A week ago, I asked developers on LinkedIn to let me roast their resume in a video. https://lnkd.in/g5S55d8H Let me be clear: A killer resume is less important in 2025 than in 2020 but if you're playing the game of cold-applying, you might as well give it your all. In the video below, I go through Andrew's LinkedIn, resume and Github with advice that I'd give to my friends, sons and any of you that care to listen. Thank you to everyone who sent me their resume. I was honestly overwhelmed with how many responses I got. As always, I hope you find the advice useful and most importantly, remember that my opinions are opinions. Your mileage will vary. Major shout out to Andrew Bekhiet! You da 🐐	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	4,560	4,560	33	7	0	0	0.008772	null	2025-02-26 16:01:13	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7300666248164515840
urn:li:activity:7300552647529353217	Interview horror stories: - 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲 for not knowing binary search trees (he also dropped the answer to the whiteboard problem on the floor which he’d written on a piece of paper… seriously) - 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 in JS because I thought {} === {} (thank you to that guy!) - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗜 𝗯𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱 and asked to end the interview early because I was too embarrassed to keep bumbling around. - Drinking too much coffee led to a 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 during the final round with the VP. I actually asked if we could start our convo over again 😬. - The time 𝗜 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗱... This was at the start of an in-person interview. I’ve failed plenty interviews. I’ve passed plenty interviews. The failures are always stickier than the wins (and more interesting). The human brain is designed to avoid rejection and failure back when being booted from the tribe meant literal death. Rejection is actually the first step towards an offer. Play. Lose. Get better. Win.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	4,900	4,900	51	6	0	0	0.011633	null	2025-02-26 08:29:48	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7300552647529353217
urn:li:activity:7299874362944282624	5 mentees at Parsity just got hired or started internships. They’re amazing people and well deserving. And they’re not much different than you. When I think of all the mentees I’ve seen get hired either in my program or in the bootcamps where I’ve taught over the years, there are few hard and fast rules. Most did NOT learn in public. Some were not particularly talented. In fact, a few I thought were un-hireable proved me wrong (no one at Parsity btw). Some mass-applied. A few networked their way to the first role. Many of their interviews were barely technical. Some ONLY got LeetCode problems. Your timeline will be unpredictable. Not even Chat-GPT can predict the future… yet. Be persistent, practically optimistic that opportunity will present itself, re-calibrate when you see things not working, maintain your skills and your own success will be inevitable.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	2,910	2,910	36	3	0	0	0.013402	null	2025-02-24 11:34:33	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7299874362944282624
urn:li:activity:7298749539195203586	My most hated interview trend? This one really boils my potato: The take home assignment that's supposed to take 2 hours but actually takes 8. They often require a backend, front-end and interfacing with some AWS service and deployed to the web with authentication. "𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴" 😑 They're largely unavoidable. Here's some generic tips for dealing with these kinds of challenges: - 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝟭 𝗼𝗿 𝟮 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 (identify the critical functionality and test it) - 𝗮𝗱𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (what is this, how does it work and how can I run it locally) - 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 of you walking through the functionality (a short one... like 2 mins tops) Few people will do this. That's the point. 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙅𝙎 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞-𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 👇	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	134,626	134,555	103	38	0	0	0.001047	null	2025-02-21 09:04:54	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7298749539195203586
urn:li:activity:7298024159853391872	I once worked at a coding bootcamp where a student didn't know how to open their file explorer. I wondered how in the hell they were supposed to keep up with the other students who had CS degrees or worked in QA as we powered through the curriculum. The answer is obvious. They didn't. Zubin Pratap and I were discussing the future of coding bootcamps last year and we see the landscape changing. We're both career changers who got into tech in our 30's from very different walks of life. We're opinionated. We've seen what works and what absolutely will not. It's why we've partnered to create an individualized coaching and instruction program with a VERY tiny number of people ... for a long time. You can check it out here: parsity.io/inner-circle It won't be scalable. It won't be easy. It will be highly effective.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	6,123	6,123	37	7	2	0	0.007513	null	2025-02-19 09:02:30	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7298024159853391872
urn:li:activity:7297637564344078336	A co-worker called me out at a small start up some years ago. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵”. It stung to hear that. He was also right. I was not junior either. I had been using AngularJS for a couple years. (don't judge me) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: I’d become a framework developer. I knew how to use AngularJS but didn’t understand the JS or patterns behind it. I resolved to suck less at JS. I went back to the basics including: - promises - async/await - 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 - design patterns - closure I went through all the Kyle Simpson books. I made janky apps to internalize the information. I gained knowledge and confidence. Understanding the fundamentals provides a lot of benefits: - frameworks become less magical - you start seeing patterns everywhere - less learning curve when switching between technologies - libraries become more read-able Frameworks are great. You need to know them. Just don’t build your house on a shaky foundation.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	13,839	13,839	80	13	0	0	0.00672	null	2025-02-18 07:26:18	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7297637564344078336
urn:li:activity:7297300848827604992	There are developers with less talent than you who are getting hired. I know the news sucks right now but hear me out: You are likely not competing for the same roles as the influx of highly paid engineers who just came into the market. So continue to work on your skills, keep applying to all those non-sexy companies and tech-adjacent roles and make connections online and IRL. Some will tell you that getting that your first role (or the next one) is a 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲. Others will say 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Neither is wrong. Try a combination and do what works for you. 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵: - 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 100 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺, then maybe consider looking into your resume or LI profile and asking for advice - 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺? Identify what concepts you need to study - 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴? Try a mock interview with a friend or mentor and see if you're coming off like an unsafe bet (or a creep 😅) A couple mentees at Parsity landed roles this month. The process wasn't fast or easy. I've yet to find a "hack" to land a role. 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳, fail, learn and re-calibrate. Just don't quit.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	48,115	48,104	98	14	1	0	0.002349	null	2025-02-17 09:08:19	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7297300848827604992
urn:li:activity:7296570613899345920	Learn how to code and maybe don't write code again? I spoke with Robert Toth, Ph.D., CEO of Theta Tech, an AI Medical company who has convinced me that the future belongs to programmers who are using English as their primary coding language.	ARTICLE	Brian	Jenney	7,879	4,959	53	8	6	0	0.008504	null	2025-02-15 08:46:38	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7296570613899345920
urn:li:activity:7296286993955594240	I've read all your resumes. 2 years ago when I was an engineering manager and hiring for some open roles we got flooded with applicants. Here's what I saw: • many "aspiring", "learning" and self-proclaimed "juniors" • weather apps... so many weather apps • empty GitHub profiles • "passionate" developers (should I report this to HR?) • experience sections with zero mention of coding Let me be honest. I've made most, if not all, of these mistakes myself. Luckily most of these mistakes are easy fixes but some are less obvious. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁, 𝗜'𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁 (𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲) 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲. I plan on doing a short video so others can benefit. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗠 𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝟭 𝗼𝗿 𝟮 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗽!	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	25,237	25,212	63	25	1	0	0.003527	null	2025-02-14 13:59:37	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7296286993955594240
urn:li:activity:7295497292562776065	Breaking into software as: 𝗔𝗻 𝟭𝟴 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱 - just go to college kid. Most of your peers will have a CS degree. There’s a reason this is called the “traditional” path. 𝗔 𝟮𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 - you’re probably saddled with debt from college. You also have time on your side. Do local market research and reverse-engineer your tech stack for what to learn. 𝗔 𝟯𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀 - you probably want to spend some money on a mentor or a program to significantly shorten the time to "hired" and avoid painful guess work while juggling more responsibilities. 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 - build something you care about using some relevant tech. Realize no one wants to take a chance on you. Reverse your risk by having an online presence that points to your coding history and maybe work for f̶r̶e̶e̶ validation.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	16,593	16,593	81	8	4	0	0.005605	null	2025-02-12 09:41:38	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7295497292562776065
urn:li:activity:7294788646862237697	Here’s the harsh truth about interviews that no one ever really addresses: Luck is a factor. You could be absolutely qualified for a position and study all the relevant material. Get a bad interviewer? All that pre-work might go down the drain. Maybe your interviewer asks a crazy difficult question or has different standards for what constitutes a reasonable solution? Or maybe luck works in your favor. Maybe you study a particular question that you have memorized and then you get asked that question. Maybe the interview is not technical at all and just consists of small talk and personality fit. So if you’ve recently bombed an interview or are beating yourself up because you see others achieving success on a timeline that doesn’t seem possible for you, realize that interviewers are both a game of skill AND chance. Increase your surface area for luck by continuing to apply, studying and separating signals from noise.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	3,328	3,328	41	7	1	0	0.014724	null	2025-02-10 10:45:44	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7294788646862237697
urn:li:activity:7293734121204289537	If your LinkedIn feed is full of: - AI fear-mongering - rage bait - toxic positivity - smart ass-hats - "do you agree" - 🚀🚀🚀 Here are some people I get a lot of value from: T͟e͟c͟h͟-͟R͟e͟l͟a͟t͟e͟d͟ Zubin Pratap - friend/business partner/super smart software engineer Alex Lau - Senior Software Dev helping you avoid common pitfalls in your career Rahul Pandey - expert meme user and top notch advice for devs Thomas Winskell - early career developer sharing his learning journey Brooke Sweedar - duh Robert Toth, Ph.D. - an expert with AI who got me to finally use Cursor 🙇‍♂️ 🌻 Anna Miller - a realistic (and positive) approach to find a tech job David Roberts - this dude helps developers find jobs and is funny af N͟o͟n͟ ͟T͟e͟c͟h͟ Dan Koe - contrarian thinking and writing Justin Welsh - practical audience building advice for entrepreneurs Aaron Hayslip - serial entrepreneur sharing his journey to multiple M's Remember this: LinkedIn will do it's best to feed you topics, people and posts it thinks you will like. If your feed sucks, consider following some better people.	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	19,852	19,852	119	38	2	0	0.008009	null	2025-02-07 12:55:25	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7293734121204289537
urn:li:activity:7292634362993422339	He created a full stack app that worked pretty well. It even looked nice. But when I asked how it worked… Oof. 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗲. Too many people fall into the trap of looking at a tutorial, following along with the instructor and typing what they type. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗳𝗳: a shiny new app. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁: a false sense of mastery It’s an enticing trap and it may even fool someone into hiring you. More than 90% of my side projects have never had users or been deployed. I made janky apps and sites to learn new concepts, frameworks and even join a startup as a mid-level developer in a completely new tech stack. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲. Leverage them to learn what you won’t at work or what you would like to work on next. If you want my step by step guide on creating a solid side project you can grab it in the comments 👇	TEXT	Brian	Jenney	38,307	38,142	87	18	2	0	0.002793	null	2025-02-04 12:05:22	https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7292634362993422339

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