Career Optional

By Danny J. Liu

Career Optional is for agile and technology professionals who want to stay indispensable — or stop needing a job altogether. Hosted by Danny Liu, Jira and AI architect with 20+ years in enterprise tec... more

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FAQs about Career Optional:

How many episodes does Career Optional have?

The podcast currently has 16 episodes available.

Career Optional episodes:

March 23, 2026 Human Take: Why I Build
Danny's unscripted Friday take — the real emotions of getting laid off, what his family meant during that time, Dragon Pearl Kitchen, and why he builds.
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11min
March 23, 2026 The Skills That Made It Possible
The specific skills that turned a layoff into a two-week job search — Jira automation, AI integration, and building things you can prove.
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6min
March 23, 2026 The Layoff That Wasn't a Crisis (Part 2: What I Did Differently)
What do you actually do in the two weeks after a layoff? Danny breaks down the moves that led to a new offer in 14 days.
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5min
March 23, 2026 The Layoff That Wasn't a Crisis (Part 1: What Happened)
In January 2023, Danny got laid off from a Fortune 500 bank. Two weeks later he had a new offer. This is the story of what actually happened.
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4min
March 23, 2026 What Career Optional Actually Means
What does Career Optional actually mean? Danny lays out the core thesis: building skills that make employment a choice, not a lifeline.
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5min
March 18, 2026 Trailer: Your Title Is Rented. Your Skills Are Owned.
Welcome to Career Optional — a podcast for agile and technology professionals who want to stay indispensable, or stop needing a job altogether.
Hosted by Danny Liu, a Jira and AI architect with 20+ years in enterprise tech and 13K+ Udemy students. New episodes Mon–Fri. Practitioner-to-practitioner. No fluff.
Note: Intro/outro music coming soon.
Learn more at careeroptional.ai
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3min

FAQs about Career Optional:

How many episodes does Career Optional have?

The podcast currently has 16 episodes available.