Friday Links: Confessions, manager pendulum, and the junior hiring crisis
05 Dec 2025 #mondaylinksHey! Here are 3 reads (plus a funny bonus) I found interesting this week.
#1. After being afraid of sharing them, here are the confessions of an uncensored coder (10min). I agree, we don’t have to learn everything about everything. And I have to confess I don’t fully understand Blazor, in spite of working with it for almost a year.
#2. Most companies only offer two tracks for coders. You either stay as an Individual Contributor or join the Management side. Switching between the two is called: “manager pendulum.” But AI might be breaking the pendulum (10min), creating hybrid roles. Or maybe it’s just an excuse to get rid of the role and the compensation?
#3. It’s easier than ever to start coding. But it’s getting harder and harder to break into the market as a junior coder. We’re in a junior hiring crisis (10min). AI seems to have a lot with it…And just in the past few weeks, someone in the same situation reached out on LinkedIn asking for advice. I didn’t have much to say.
Bonus: What if we let AI replace our bosses? Here’s replaceyourboss.ai. The funniest line I got: “Let’s cut the single-use cups but keep the private jet for strategic mobility.”
On my blog, this past week, I shared about 4 AI issues I’ve collected (2min) and 4 lessons I learned while fighting next to my mom with a chronic disease (3min). Feel free to skip that last one if you only want to read about coding. I won’t get mad.
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… My latest book, Street-Smart Coding: 30 lessons to help you code like a pro, from Googling to clear communication. It’s the roadmap I wish I had moving from junior to senior and the one I hope helps you too.
See you next time,
Cesar