Develop Yourself

AI is writing more code than ever, layoffs are everywhere, and it feels like software careers might be disappearing. In this episode, we explore why that narrative is misleading—and what’s actually changing in tech. We break down why learning to code still matters, how to use AI without becoming dependent on it, and which core skills will help you stay relevant as the industry evolves. If you’re t...

Grab your free interview prep crash course here: https://parsity.io/interview-prep Whiteboard interviews aren’t broken — most candidates just prepare for them the wrong way. This episode shows why copying Big Tech interview prep is a trap and walks through three algorithm patterns that consistently appear in everyday software interviews. It’s a no-nonsense roadmap for learning just enough DSA to p...

" We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit ." Habits beat motivation; small, daily actions reshape identity and make success inevitable without relying on willpower. The problem is that most people create goals with no system in place. They rely on raw, fragile willpower and motivation and then wonder why they fail. Let's explore how to make habits tha...

Grab this project to learn the basics of RAG and working with agents https://www.parsity.io/ai-with-rag 2025 was one of the most confusing years to be a software developer. We were told AI would replace us. Then we were told it would make us 10× more productive. Neither actually happened — but the hype affected careers, hiring, education, and mental health in real ways. In this episode, I break do...

I want to offer you some politically incorrect career advice that the gurus on LinkedIn won't share with you. From job hopping to the #1 skill you need as a developer: I cover the things that helped me go from struggling bootcamp grad to engineering manager. Resources mentioned in the pod: My article outlining my salary jumps through interviewing: https://brianjenney.medium.com/i-used-to-suck...

We’re in a strange moment right now. The AI bubble is showing signs of popping and the tech industry is waking up from a long night of partying. We were told to “do more with less” and “just use AI” for the past 12 months. After spending a year building production systems this way, I can tell you there’s a growing gap between what people think AI can do and what it actually does. To say I’m annoye...

In this episode of the Develop Yourself Podcast , I talk with three email and growth experts about something most developers overlook: email as a serious  money maker. I’m joined by: Mike , founder of Seventh Sense , an AI-powered email timing platform Boris , Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Educative , one of the largest developer learning platforms Doug , CEO of Optimize 3.0 , a HubSpot Diam...

I lay out the project with tons of resources right here 👇 https://brianjenney.medium.com/your-learning-roadmap-to-become-a-software-developer-2e15e1ce1e22 Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Free 5 day email course to go from HTML to AI 🤔 Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Apply for 1 of 12 spots at Parsity - Learn to build complex software with AI integrations. AI Bootca...

Amber argues that the biggest problem facing new developers isn’t coding ability… It’s lack of real experience, and an over-reliance on feel-good advice that doesn’t translate into hireability. We dig into: Why contributing to real , medium-complexity open-source projects is the fastest path to becoming job-ready Why most juniors aren’t actually hireable yet — and how to fix that How toxic positiv...

Am I too old to learn how to code? If you're alive then the answer is NO. BUT, you are going to need a different game plan than your 22 year old co-workers if you want this to work. I was 31 when I got my first job as a coder. Here's what worked for me and others I've taught over the years. Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Free 5 day email course to go from HTML to AI 🤔 Got a q...

There are some major changes coming to Parsity and this podcast. As a listener, I appreciate you sincerely for listening and I want to extend the largest discount we've ever done for our 30 day Javascript program.  It's usually $49 but I'm reducing it to $10. Complete the 30 days and you got yourself a $1400 discount to Parsity's software engineering program. 👉 Join Dev30 👈 I...

"We don't really need developers any more" "In 2 years, the tools will be so good, that no one will be writing code" "Learn a trade bro" I've heard all of these phrases in the last week and it's honestly getting to me. Too often, the people with the loudest microphones have the least experience with the tools we're using. Besides being a talking he...

Ryan is a current student at Parsity who build an app for his employer, Smoothie King, to suggest drinks in a chat interface using a powerful and lesser-known AI technology: RAG. RAG stands for retrieval augmented generation. Basically, providing information (like smoothie recipes) to an AI model so it can return a highly specific response. Ryan breaks down how he finds the time to build side proj...

You’ll learn the six core JS skills to master before frameworks, why TC39 keeps changing the language, and how to test your skills with a challenge you can access below. 👉 Try out the JS Form Challenge. 👈 We also cover: Why hiring trends still test JavaScript, even when jobs say React How to think like a developer: requests, responses, and UI updates The fastest way to level up without AI shortc...

Let's be honest - interviews suck. But you can't suck at them. In this episode I break down what your next interview as a junior developer will LIKELY include. Your mileage will vary. Grab the interview guide below which includes a playback of a live event that Parsity recently hosted and a ton of resources:  https://brianjenney.substack.com/p/the-junior-dev-interview-guide Send us a tex...

Thinking about learning to code with ChatGPT, Cursor, or Copilot? Hit pause for ten minutes. In this episode, I break down why AI isn’t replacing developers but it is making it harder to learn.  You’ll learn the right time to start using AI as a beginner, how to avoid outsourcing the struggle that builds real skill, and the “teach-back” method that can boost your learning retention by up to 90%. R...

Original article: https://medium.com/@wlockett/you-have-no-idea-how-screwed-openai-actually-is-8358dccfca1c Your AI engineer starter project: https://parsity.io/ai-with-rag Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Free 5 day email course to go from HTML to AI 🤔 Got a question you want answered on the pod? Drop it here Apply for 1 of 12 spots at Parsity - Learn to build complex software with AI integr...

Grab the templates for posting to LinkedIn here: https://www.parsity.io/learning-in-public I’ve grown from 0 to nearly 40K followers on LinkedIn with barely any viral posts, and along the way I learned how the platform really works.  In this episode, I’m breaking down the exact strategy junior developers are using right now to get recruiters to notice them and get hired faster. So if you’ve hit “E...

👉  Your adult time audit worksheet  👈 I get it. There is no time.  You have kids, maybe adult dependents or a really good show you're binging in between our slow descent into a dystopian reality. I don't believe in fluff. Let's cover a practical guide on learning to code as a busy adult and some of the easy (and not so easy) steps you're going to need to take. Send us a text...

Let's weigh college, bootcamps, and the self-taught route with blunt pros and cons, then map each path to market realities, hiring filters, and long-term growth.  The goal is to help you choose a route that gets you hired faster without stalling your career later. • how degrees are used as filters and where they matter • why top-tier schools win on internships and networks • the gap between C...

I just quit my job as a senior AI developer, and while helping hire my replacement, I realized how few people actually know how AI apps work.  In this episode, I walk through Retrieval-Augmented Generation step by step—the same system I built at work—and show you the real skills developers need right now. 👉 Grab a hands-on project with a video you can follow along with here 👈 Hold your spot in t...

Just give up? Everyone says no one’s hiring junior developers anymore — but is that actually true? In this episode, I sit down with recruiter David Roberts to uncover what’s really happening in the job market, why most applicants are getting filtered out, and what you can do differently to land your first role. We break down the biggest myths about entry-level tech jobs, how recruiters actually th...

Every headline says AI is eating developer jobs. But spend a week in production and you’ll see the opposite: brittle code, flaky tests, and tools that look fast until you actually ship something. In this episode, I break down why the “AI replaces engineers” story sells so well—to investors, to execs, and to lazy headlines—but falls apart in the real world. We’ll talk through a Cornell + METR study...

I thought Ben was a troll when he slid into my DMs after a LinkedIn argument. Turns out, he’s building some of the most practical AI systems I’ve seen. In this episode, we talk about how that disagreement turned into a friendship—and why Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) might be the skill every developer needs in 2026. Connect with Ben here Check out Lobi Software here Finally - if you want to...

Ever had your AI pair programmer stop helping and start breaking everything? I did—and this time, the data proves it wasn’t just me. Claude fell off.  TypeScript that wouldn’t compile, migrations stuck in loops, refactors that went completely sideways. Turns out Anthropic’s own postmortem revealed three separate bugs causing degraded output—context routing issues, output corruption, and TLA-X blah...