Develop Yourself

"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 head on a podcast, I'm also a father and full time software developer. I made this episode not only to vent about why AI hype is so dangerous but why the future isn't as bleak as the mainstream media is leading us to believe.

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 Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI

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 projects like this and how he built this app.

Want to build your own AI-powered app? Check out this project: parsity.io/ai-with-rag

Connect with Ryan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhardin378/

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 Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI

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 shortcuts
• A way to test your JS skills

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 Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI

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 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 Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI

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%.

Referenced study: https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/evaluating-impact-ai-labor-market-current-state-affairs

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 Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI

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 integrations.

AI Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI

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 “Easy Apply” until your fingers hurt and still don't have any interviews, this is for you! 

I’ll show you the simple LinkedIn system that can get you hired without begging strangers for referrals or posting daily “grindset” nonsense.

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 Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI

👉 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

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 Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI

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 CS theory and practical stacks
• when bootcamps accelerate outcomes and where they fall short
• self-taught pitfalls and how to add structure and accountability
• coastal vs mid-market hiring differences and pay signals
• skills startups test versus what larger firms test
• the minimum effective dose for a hireable portfolio
• why fundamentals compound value in years three to five
• how AI raises the premium on first principles

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 Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI

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 the January cohort and become the go-to person in your organization for integrating AI into your web applications. Hold spot here

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 Bootcamp - for software developers who want to be the expert on their team when it comes to AI