Ben and Ryan are joined by software developer and listener Patrick Carlile for a conversation about how the job market for software engineers has changed since the dot-com days, navigating boom-and-bust hiring cycles, and the developers finding work at Walmart and In-N-Out. Plus: “Party in the front, business in the back” isn’t just for haircuts anymore.
The home team talks about the current state of the software job market, the changing sentiments around AI job opportunities, the impact of big players like Facebook and OpenAI on the space, and the challenges for startups. Plus: The philosophical implications of LLMs and the friendship potential of corvids.
Ben and Ryan discuss how complex images (and maybe even interactive games) are being encoded in living cells, the latest trends in prompt engineering, and the educational benefits of gaming.
Overall, these layoffs are a body blow to diversity in tech, not just slowing but actually reversing hard-won gains.
As the discouraging news continues, we revisit how our core community of developers has been experiencing the layoffs—and explore what sets this economic situation apart from previous dips and busts.
The home team talks with Wesley Faulkner, Senior Community Manager at AWS, about what’s going on with this cycle of tech layoffs, how to position yourself for success on the job market, and why it’s worth interviewing for jobs you might not want. Plus: The two things you should do as soon as you get an offer.
The home team convenes to talk about how tech layoffs are reshaping the industry, where to look for software engineering jobs beyond tech, the brain-computer interface that speeds up communication for people with paralysis, and Ben’s million-dollar game idea (free for the stealing).
Suddenly losing a job can be personally destabilizing. But lots of us have been there and gotten through it.
