Best Brian Jenney Podcasts (2025)

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Office Hours: Answering Your Coding Questions EP 1 21:08

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18h ago21:08

21:08

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…

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#249 - Data Structures and Algorithms for Beginners (Replay) 26:10

1d ago26:10

26:10

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 …

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#248 - The AI Productivity Myth: Reality vs. Hype 23:31

4d ago23:31

23:31

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)…

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#247 - I Was the Worst Developer on the Team... Again 11:27

9d ago11:27

11:27

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 …

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#246 - Coding Bootcamps, Burnout, and the Hard Truth About Breaking Into Tech: An Engineering Manager's Perspective 27:18

12d ago27:18

27:18

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 engin…

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#245 - What Developers Get Wrong About Interviews 35:57

16d ago35:57

35:57

I spent a few years as an engineering manager, and my buddy Zubin, a former Google engineer, is currently hiring developers at his company. Between the two of us, we’ve seen the good, the bad, and the totally avoidable when it comes to technical interviews. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on what really happens during interviews. What are…

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#244 - From Zero to Software Engineer After 30: My Journey and What You Need to Know 18:43

19d ago18:43

18:43

Ever feel like you missed your chance to break into tech? That 30 marks some invisible deadline for career reinvention? I've been there—and I'm here to tell you it's absolutely false. My journey from addiction to software engineering began in my thirties, while juggling two kids and a full-time job. The truth about learning to code after 30 isn't s…

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#243 - The 70% Problem: When AI Coding Falls Short 34:24

23d ago34:24

34:24

What happens when software engineers rely too heavily on AI-assisted coding tools? Brian and Zubin (an ex-Google engineer) dive deep into what they call "The 70% Problem" – the phenomenon where AI coding tools excel at initial scaffolding but falter when tackling the crucial final 30% of engineering work. Drawing from Addy Osmani's insightful artic…

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#242 - How Anne Got a Developer Job WITHOUT LinkedIn or LeetCode 33:26

26d ago33:26

33:26

What happens when a music educator with performance anxiety decides to become a software developer? Anne discovered coding through The Odin Project and immediately recognized a familiar pattern-based thinking from her music background. "I fell in love with the process of coding, the community of developers," she explains. Despite being an introvert…

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#241 - The Bootcamp Era Is Dead — And That’s Great News for Developers 17:56

30d ago17:56

17:56

AI didn’t kill bootcamps — shallow learning did. So what skills actually matter now that building a CRUD app is a commodity? And can you learn them without working at a company or getting a CS degree? In this episode, I’ll break down why the bootcamp model no longer works, what’s replacing it, and how to develop the old school engineering mindset t…

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#240 - Navigating the Front-End Landscape: A Senior Developer's Perspective on AI Tools, Front End interviews and What Makes You "Senior" 24:07

1M ago24:07

24:07

Yasemin, a senior front-end developer with a decade of experience, shares insights on career progression in front-end development and how the transition from junior to senior is more about mindset than technical skills. She discusses her journey from being task-focused to product-minded while offering practical advice for developers at all stages. …

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#239 - Is Learning to Code Still Worth It? An Senior Developer's Perspective 14:06

1M ago14:06

14:06

Chris, a mentee at Parsity was feeling a bit down and asked me straight up what I think about the future of coding careers. I had to really think about it. With headlines screaming about AI taking our jobs and markets being oversaturated, it's enough to make anyone question their path. But what if the doom and gloom narrative isn't matching reality…

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#238 - My Experience in Vibe Coding Hell 20:31

1M ago20:31

20:31

A rant on the myth of developer productivity with AI and my experience in vibe coding hell with a team of senior engineers. - Why Vibe Coding is great for prototyping and terrible for real software - Why we still need junior developers - Why you should be wary of loud expert beginners online - What skills you ACTUALLY need as a software engineer in…

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#237 - Don't Learn to Code for the Money, But If You Do... 23:02

1M ago23:02

23:02

You want to learn to code because you want more money. Let's just be honest about it. First off - there are many other ways to make a desirable income without learning a difficult skill like coding. You can do sales. You could be a product manager. Maybe start an illegal gambling den? Have you considered selling large quantities of drugs perhaps? I…

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#236 - Developer Internships: The Good, The Bad, and The “Wait, They Threw Out My Code?” 26:06

2M ago26:06

26:06

What’s it really like to go from coding alone to working on a real dev team? Dean Fox shares his raw experience navigating TypeScript, Git, team dynamics, and scrapped code during his first internship through Parsity's Inner Circle program. 👤 Connect with Dean: Dean Fox on LinkedIn Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career change…

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#235: 2 Skills You Don't Need Anymore In the AI Era and 3 More You're Going to Need 18:21

2M ago18:21

18:21

The developer landscape is shifting. Fast. AI isn’t replacing developers—it’s replacing the kind of developer that only knows how to write boilerplate and follow tutorials. There are some practical skills you're going to want to pick up in the AI era and a few I'm kinda sad to say are becoming less relevant by the day. I mentioned my unit testing p…

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#234 - Coding Isn’t Enough: 3 Weird Traits That Predict Success in Tech 16:24

2M ago16:24

16:24

What separates successful tech career changers from those who struggle? After switching careers into tech at 31 following years of addiction, and mentoring hundreds of aspiring developers, I've noticed some odd patterns and traits of those who make it vs those who don't. This episode is not meant to discourage you. I hope it gives you a practical i…

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#233 - How Mindi Navigated ADHD, Bootcamp Burnout, and Landed a Dev Role 38:53

2M ago38:53

38:53

We cover: Why even smart, driven people need help when learning to code What ADHD looks like as a software engineer—and how she manages it How burnout hit hard after landing the job Why public speaking became a surprising superpower Getting hired without ever doing a technical interview Her honest take on AI tools, TypeScript, LinkedIn vs. Twitter,…

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#232 - The Harsh Truth About Coding, AI, Bootcamps, and Breaking in to Tech 16:09

2M ago16:09

16:09

Think you need a CS degree to get hired? That bootcamps are scams? That AI is making developers obsolete? In this episode, I share some very hot takes on what it really takes to break into tech — and why most of what you’ve been told is dead wrong. I talk about the rise and fall of bootcamps, the myth of guaranteed outcomes, why advice from FAANG e…

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#231 - Roasting A Listener's Resume, LinkedIn and GitHub Profile 14:21

2M ago14:21

14:21

A listener, Andrew, was kind enough to send me his resume, LinkedIn and GitHub profile for me to roast. Overall - he did a good job BUT there are some issues I would fix that I've seen in many of the hundreds of resumes I've seen over the years as an engineering manager or while helping to hire other developers at companies where I worked. You can …

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#230 - AI Will Replace Most Coding: What Chief Scientist Laly Bar-Ilan Says Developers Should Learn Next 29:32

2M ago29:32

29:32

Laly Bar-Ilan has been working in AI and natural language processing for over two decades—long before it was trendy. She’s now the Chief Scientist at Bit, where she’s helping build composable, AI-first developer tools that might just replace most of the coding we do today. In this episode, we talk about what staying ahead actually looks like for de…

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#229 - The 2025 Tech Job Market Sucks? Here's How You Beat It 17:51

2M ago17:51

17:51

The job market in 2025 feels broken—and you’re not imagining it. AI-generated spam is clogging recruiter inboxes, resumes are becoming less relevant, and LinkedIn is more influencer platform than job board. In this episode, I break down why things feel so hard right now (for everyone—not just developers), and give you a practical, modern strategy t…

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#228 - The 3 Stages of Learning Javascript: What to Build && What to Learn 14:31

2M ago14:31

14:31

No one said it would be easy. If you're having trouble learning JS, you're not alone. I nearly quit coding when I had to learn JS. I even considered trying to become an email developer (yes, this was a thing). Fast forward 10 years later and I've made a career with JS and even teach it to others. I want you to have a much better experience. We will…

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#227 - How Busy Professionals Can Learn to Code (Without Losing Their Minds): A 3 Step Process 15:42

3M ago15:42

15:42

Ever feel like learning to code is impossible with your packed schedule? You're not alone. Ten years ago, I was juggling parenting two kids, working full-time with a brutal Bay Area commute, and driving Lyft on the side just to make ends meet. Finding time seemed impossible—until I discovered three game-changing strategies that transformed my journ…

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Special Episode: Answering Fan Mail 14:55

3M ago14:55

14:55

Have you ever sent a message into the void? That's exactly what's been happening to listeners who've tried to contact me through Buzzsprout's messaging system. From a father in Dayton balancing family responsibilities while trying to break into tech, to aspiring developers wondering if JavaScript is still worth learning in 2025, these messages touc…

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#226 - New Coders Can't Code? 28:15

3M ago28:15

28:15

The rise of AI coding tools has fundamentally changed how people learn programming, creating a concerning trend: developers who can produce impressive-looking applications without understanding how they work. What makes a developer truly valuable? Contrary to popular belief, it's not the ability to rapidly generate new code. A revealing LinkedIn su…

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#225 - The 3-Month Coding Bootcamp Myth: 4 Things You Actually Need to Get Hired 17:30

3M ago17:30

17:30

Thinking about joining a coding bootcamp to land a job in three months? Let’s get real. I’ve been coding professionally for over a decade, and while a bootcamp kick-started my career, it didn’t teach me everything I needed to stay hired. In this episode, I’ll share four critical skills that most bootcamps overlook—but that you’ll absolutely need if…

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#224 - How Jeremy Went From Tutorial Hell to Front End Developer at Apple 36:56

3M ago36:56

36:56

Jeremy spoke with a couple mentees at Parsity which led to a conversation where I learned about his unusual (and long) journey into software. If you're a career changer and you're dealing with impostor syndrome or tutorial hell and need some practical advice on breaking into tech, you're going to get a lot out of this episode. Connect with Jeremy h…

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#224 - Should You Still Learn JavaScript in 2025? 20:01

3M ago20:01

20:01

With the rise of AI and Python’s dominance, is JavaScript still worth learning? In this episode, I break down why JavaScript remains the best starting language for new developers, how it sets you up for success in web development, and even why it’s still relevant for AI. Plus, I introduce a new AI developer course for those looking to leverage AI i…

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#223 - AI for JavaScript Developers: What You Actually Need to Know 19:58

3M ago19:58

19:58

I started off 2025 knowing jack sh*t about LLMs besides how to ask Chat-GPT questions. Since then, I've built a multi-agent app for work, learned some linear algebra to understand how LLMs work at a basic level and started using a new tech stack for working with these LLMS. In this episode, I lay out the technologies you need to learn to keep up wi…

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Has Cursor Cooked Junior Developers for Good? 15:28

3M ago15:28

15:28

Cursor is an AI-powered text editor for coders. Let me be honest - if I was a junior developer, I'd feel a little nervous looking at what it's capable of doing. But I'm not. So I'm not. Let's explore why Cursor is an amazing tool that will cause a ton of headaches when used improperly and what you can do as a junior developer to to create a technic…

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#221 - How AWS Used AI to Save 4,500 Years of Work – with AWS’s Director of Generative AI Applications 31:17

3M ago31:17

31:17

I've been using AWS Q Developer for a few months now but it turns out I've barely scratched the surface. Srini, Director of Generative AI Applications and Developer Experiences at Amazon Web Services, who leads the team behind Q, agreed to be interviewed by me. We discuss: • How AWS Q Developer helps software engineers with coding, testing, and deb…

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#220 - Real-World JavaScript: Why Loops and Arrays Are the Backbone of the Internet 13:09

4M ago13:09

13:09

You’re learning about JavaScript arrays all wrong. For loops, zero-indexing, blah blah blah. But WHY? What makes arrays so damn important? Let's break down why arrays and objects are the backbone of the internet and a couple common problems that JS beginners should work towards solving. A video on using APIs with JavaScript: https://youtu.be/4naH4q…

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#219 - The 3-Step No-BS Guide to Getting in Shape After 30 27:55

4M ago27:55

27:55

Don't worry - this won't become a fitness podcast... or I dunno, maybe it will. Seriously, I know how much exercise has changed my life and directly contributed to my ability to debug code, stay sane during stressful periods and make me feel a bit more confident. Next episode we'll be back to tech focused content but I sincerely hope you find this …

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#218 - The 3 Worst Developers I Ever Worked With 17:13

4M ago17:13

17:13

There are enough stories out there about how to be a 10x developer, whatever the hell that means. I want to share with you the 3 worst developers I ever worked with and what made them so awful. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Except for the first one… Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who wan…

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#217 - How to Get Your First Tech Job - Straight from a Recruiter 24:10

4M ago24:10

24:10

Henry Ngo is a tech recruiter who wants to see you win the game of job hunting. We chat about: • The Importance of a compelling hero section in resumes • Utilizing technology and AI in the recruitment process • Tips for effective communication during interviews • Addressing myths about the competition in job applications You can connect with Henry …

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#216 - Take-Home Coding Challenges Suck. Here’s 3 ways to Beat Them... 10:59

4M ago10:59

10:59

I might be in the minority on this one but I cannot stand these types of interviews. IF you must participate, you might as well give it your best shot. Let's go over 3 ways I've personally seen mentees at Parsity crush the take home assignment so you can do the same. Here's a short unit testing course that yours for free: Grab it here. 👈 Send us a …

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#215 - Building Software with AI: Dr. Robert Toth on the Future of Coding, Cursor and True Prompt Engineering 31:14

4M ago31:14

31:14

I used to roll my eyes when someone talked about "prompt engineering." Then Dr. Toth showed me what's possible in a video where he created facial recognition software in under 9 minutes. Toth is the CEO of an AI Medical Tech company with decades of coding experience. He's a smart cookie. He schooled me on how to use new coding tools like Cursor, wr…

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#214 - A step by step guide to building a really good side project 20:36

4M ago20:36

20:36

Let's cut to the chase. Here's the video for building a side project: Watch on YT Grab the cheat sheet for side projects here. Here's the waitlist for the AI Mentorship Program: Apply here See ya! Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who want to pivot into software. ✉️ Got a question you want answered on the pod? Dr…

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#213 - The Google Interview: Luck, LeetCode, and What Actually Matters 36:46

4M ago36:46

36:46

Can you believe I never asked Zubin about his interview at Google? I failed the Google interview a couple times (so far) but Zubin crushed it. And he did it without studying hundreds of LeetCode problems, using an approach which no one really talks about. I hope you find this episode useful whether you're trying to nail the big tech interview or ge…

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#212 – Learn Fast(er): The Uncomfortable Method That Actually Works 14:29

4M ago14:29

14:29

Your most powerful skill as a software developer isn't how many languages you know or what technology you've used. You're real power is in how fast you can learn. Tech changes quick. You got to keep up. I break down a method I've used to learn that you might not like. It's effective as hell. Here are the tools I mention in this episode: Loom.com Ex…

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#211 - 5 Things Salespeople Know About Getting Hired (That Developers Don’t) 31:46

5M ago31:46

31:46

Want to get hired faster? Start thinking like a salesperson. Developers often struggle with the job search—not because they lack skills, but because they don’t know how to sell themselves. Meanwhile, ex-salespeople seem to land jobs faster, even with less experience. What’s their secret? In this episode, Jeremy Smith shares how his background in sa…

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#210 - Why You Keep Failing Tech Interviews (And It’s Not Your Fault) 18:25

5M ago18:25

18:25

A student at Parsity recently bombed a tech interview—and it wasn’t just their fault. The hiring process in tech is broken, with endless interview rounds, AI filtering out candidates, and companies that don’t even know what they’re looking for. In this episode, we break down why tech interviews are so flawed, what really happens behind the scenes, …

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#209 - Zuckerberg, Rogan, and the AI Takeover: Should Engineers Be Worried? 29:14

5M ago29:14

29:14

Zuckerberg went on JRE and told the world that AI will replace mid-level engineers soon. Are we talking about the same mid-level engineers here? AI fear mongering gets lots of engagement but how real is this threat? Zubin and I talk about what mid-level engineers do, why NO ONE is safe and what developers still do better than AI. Here are the resou…

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#207 - From Addict to Software Developer: A Story of Habit Stacking 12:56

5M ago12:56

12:56

Learning to code didn’t change my life. Getting sober and exercising did however. 10 years ago I was lost in addiction and headed on a path to jail or death. I think there are some lessons from my failure that may help you on your own journey. Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Parsity - For career changers who want to pivot into software. ✉️ …

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#206 - You Asked, We Answered: No BS Advice for Thriving as a Developer in 2025 49:27

5M ago49:27

49:27

Alex Lau has nearly 2 decades in software and even wrote a book to help developers avoid the pitfalls that nearly derailed his career. What I like about Alex is that he keeps it real. We answered questions from you in this episode with no BS. - Mass applying vs networking vs building in public - How to negotiate your salary and what hiring managers…

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#206 - Real Developers Barely Code: What Your Job Will Really Be Like 20:24

5M ago20:24

20:24

Think developers spend all day writing code? Think again. A recent study from Software.com reveals that developers actively code for just 52 minutes per day—about 4 hours and 21 minutes per week. So what the hell do software developers actually do? In this episode, I break down 2 actual assignments I've been given at both a small startup and a larg…

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#205 - 5 Steps to Solving (nearly) Any Coding Problem 18:43

5M ago18:43

18:43

In this episode of the Develop Yourself podcast, we walk you through my 5-step process for solving coding problems. If you’ve ever found yourself staring at a problem, unsure of where to start, this episode is for you. I’ll show you how to break down problems, test your assumptions, and leverage patterns to find solutions that work. I also show you…

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#204 - AI Is Coming for Your Dev Job (But Not Really): AGI, o3 and Fear Mongering 15:02

5M ago15:02

15:02

How cooked are we now that OpenAI is getting closer to AGI (artificial general intelligence)? It feels like AI is inching closer towards making software developers obsolete but how much of this fear is real and how much is complete hype? The answer shouldn't surprise you if you write code for a living... Send us a text Shameless Plugs 🧑‍💻 Join Pars…

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#203 - Breaking into Tech: Self-Taught Success Stories with Vanessa and Wilfredo 44:09

6M ago44:09

44:09

In this episode, Vanessa and Wilfredo share their inspiring journeys of breaking into tech as self-taught developers. Learn how they avoided tutorial hell, built standout portfolios, and reinvented themselves online to land their first jobs in software engineering. Packed with practical advice on overcoming imposter syndrome, choosing the right lea…