Interviewing is arguably the highest paying skill you can have as a developer.

I don't think this is fair but it is reality.

I've taken part in well over 100 interviews both as an interviewee and interviewer. I've worked with dozens of developers to ace their interviews and increase their salaries by tens of thousands of dollars.

This is not for developers looking to get into Big Tech. This episode is for the 99%.

We're going to cover the 4 most common stages of the tech interview from recruiter filtering to technical interview to "tell me about yourself" and finally the offer stage.

Here's the unit testing course I mentioned in the episode that you seriously need to check out if you don't know how to write a test: https://github.com/CodeCoachJS/js_pro_unit_testing

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These principles don't just create pretty code—they reduce bugs, simplify updates, and prevent real-world problems like the $10,000 mistake I made early in my career.

Yeah, that was not a fun one.

Check out https://www.dofactory.com/javascript/design-patterns/adapter if you want to learn more patterns.

PS - I write unfiltered advice for early career developers here: 👉 Real Talk JS

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In this Office Hours Q&A, I got some pretty interesting questions:

• Should you lie on your resume to trick the ATS and get more interviews?
• If you’re building websites with tools like Squarespace, does it count as real experience—or are you cheating yourself?
• Is a master’s degree in computer science worth it if you already have some tech skills?

I also share thoughts on how to get experience that actually helps you land a dev job and why every learner should have a side project that they control.

Whether you’re self-taught, in school, or just figuring things out, this one’s packed with advice you won’t hear in most coding bootcamp brochures.

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The software development market didn't die, it's just unrecognizable.

Let's go over 8 harsh pieces of advice that will help you as a career changer to make a successful switch into a career as a software developer.

PS. If you're a front-end developer looking to expand your skills, grab the Node Express Starter Kit here.

Have a question for the Friday Q&A show? Submit it through the form in the show notes, and I'll shout you out or keep you anonymous.

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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, a young dad who was delivering food 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.io, we've seen CS grads take up to a year to get hired. We've seen people go from zero to hired in 6 months or less.

There is no formula. 

What works for one person might work for you and it might not.

Not a great marketing tactic eh? It's just the truth.

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. 

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Got a question you want answered on the show?

Drop it here: Ask Your Question

On today's show:

"I’m currently a mid-level product manager thinking of switching to software engineering. Is that too ambitious?"

“Where do I get good at interview practice? Leetcode seems unrealistic. Is there something more practical?”

“Should I go all in on C# or .NET instead? Or maybe get a CS degree from WGU?”

“As an early career dev, should I be building side projects with AI tools like Cursor—or is that risky before I know how to code well?”

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Learning data structures and algorithms (DSA) isn't JUST a smart interview skill, it will boost your confidence as a software engineer, give you a deeper understanding of computer science fundamentals and they can even be fun once you know how to use them.

If you're self teaching or just starting out with code, they can be intimidating.
They don't have to be.

I break down a pretty comprehensive guide here for learning DSA as well as a video on Binary Search Trees (BST)


DSA Study Guide  My popular guide to DSA
Video on Binary Search Trees (Source Code included in the comments)

PS. Zubin and I are building stuff for Parsity. What should we build next? Take 15 seconds and tell us here: Quick Survey

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Check out this beginner project to use AI with HTML and JS 👇

Grab the project here

I'm no AI hater but I am getting so tired of the dialogue online I read from people who claim that AI is making developers 2, 3 or 10x more productive.

Google's CEO recently came out with a sobering statistic:

AI has made their engineers 10% more productive. (source)

10%.

This is still massive but no where near the gains we were promised or what our managers are expecting.

Let's explore this myth of productivity and what you, as a developer, can and cannot do with AI.

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Have you ever felt like the weakest link on your development team? You're not alone.

The moment you land your first developer job, you're likely to face the crushing weight of comparison. Your teammates seem to know everything while your mind fills with doubts about your abilities. Seven years ago, this pressure nearly drove me out of the industry despite earning more money than ever before. 

The stress was paralyzing - I faced panic attacks each morning and received direct feedback about my inadequate skills.

I developed a powerful three-step system that transformed my approach to professional growth that I want to share with you.

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What do engineering leaders really think about bootcamp grads?

Why are so many developers so stressed?

Is it even worth learning to code in 2025?

Michael Greenspan pulls back the curtain on the realities of engineering leadership, interviewing and the state of the industry, drawing from his extensive experience as both a software engineer and engineering manager before becoming a coach for burnt-out tech professionals.

"Moving into management is a job change," Michael emphasizes, describing how this transition often comes with minimal guidance and significant imposter syndrome. Both Michael and host Brian share their personal experiences of feeling lost when first stepping into leadership positions.

Find Michael at TheCompleteEngineer.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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