This is a session I offer periodically to answer questions about life as a software engineer. It's probably of most interest to those in high school considering a degree/career in software and those in college pursuing computer science. Note that this is just a Q&A about being a software engineer – it does not include coding, homework help, etc. I'll give a short background on my time as a software engineer (20+ years) and then will answer questions from the group about my experiences in the profession and what life has been like as a software engineer. I’ll ask an attendee to share a question verbally or in chat, then after discussing that question, I’ll ask for a question from the next attendee, repeating that process for the remainder of the session. We’ll probably cover somewhere between 15 and 25 questions over the course of the session, and every attendee will have multiple opportunities to ask questions. You don’t need to bring anything except questions you’d like to discuss, which I’d encourage you to send to me in advance. I'd like audience questions to drive the discussion, but here are some example questions that I can answer, if requested, during the session: * What’s a typical day like? * Who decides what a product looks like (i.e. designs the UI)? * Does someone review your code? * Do you work alone or with others? * What do you do if you need help? * How’s work/life balance? * How do you learn new skills? * Do you do pair programming? * What do you look for when hiring?

This is a session I offer periodically to answer questions about life as a software engineer. It's probably of most interest to those in high school considering a degree/career in software and those in college pursuing computer science. Note that this is just a Q&A about being a software engineer – it does not include coding, homework help, etc. I'll give a short background on my time as a software engineer (20+ years) and then will answer questions from the group about my experiences in the profession and what life has been like as a software engineer. I’ll ask an attendee to share a question verbally or in chat, then after discussing that question, I’ll ask for a question from the next attendee, repeating that process for the remainder of the session. We’ll probably cover somewhere between 15 and 25 questions over the course of the session, and every attendee will have multiple opportunities to ask questions. You don’t need to bring anything except questions you’d like to discuss, which I’d encourage you to send to me in advance. I'd like audience questions to drive the discussion, but here are some example questions that I can answer, if requested, during the session: * What’s a typical day like? * Who decides what a product looks like (i.e. designs the UI)? * Does someone review your code? * Do you work alone or with others? * What do you do if you need help? * How’s work/life balance? * How do you learn new skills? * Do you do pair programming? * What do you look for when hiring?

This is a session I offer periodically to answer questions about life as a software engineer. It's probably of most interest to those in high school considering a degree/career in software and those in college pursuing computer science. Note that this is just a Q&A about being a software engineer – it does not include coding, homework help, etc. I'll give a short background on my time as a software engineer (20+ years) and then will answer questions from the group about my experiences in the profession and what life has been like as a software engineer. I’ll ask an attendee to share a question verbally or in chat, then after discussing that question, I’ll ask for a question from the next attendee, repeating that process for the remainder of the session. We’ll probably cover somewhere between 15 and 25 questions over the course of the session, and every attendee will have multiple opportunities to ask questions. You don’t need to bring anything except questions you’d like to discuss, which I’d encourage you to send to me in advance. I'd like audience questions to drive the discussion, but here are some example questions that I can answer, if requested, during the session: * What’s a typical day like? * Who decides what a product looks like (i.e. designs the UI)? * Does someone review your code? * Do you work alone or with others? * What do you do if you need help? * How’s work/life balance? * How do you learn new skills? * Do you do pair programming? * What do you look for when hiring?

In the AI era, speed wins. Learn to ship across every major framework: web, mobile, blockchain, desktop, AI and IoT in just 8 weeks. Why This Matters Now: The software landscape in 2026 rewards versatility over specialization. Companies hire builders who can assess a problem, choose the right tool, and ship fast, not developers who know one framework deeply. With AI-assisted development tools like Claude Code and Cursor and other gen AI tools, the bottleneck isn't syntax anymore; it's architectural thinking, tool selection, and execution speed. This series trains you to think in systems, ship in hours instead of weeks, and build a diverse portfolio that signals technical maturity to employers in high-velocity environments like quant trading firms, startups, and research labs. What You'll Experience: Join a eight-week journey where you'll build fourteen production-ready applications across web, mobile, blockchain, desktop, and AI technologies. This isn't about tutorials. It's about shipping real code every session and building a portfolio that proves you can execute fast. Examples of what we might be building: - Mobile Apps: React Native trackers, progressive web apps - Web Foundations: Next.js sites, Flask dashboards, full-stack trading journals - Decentralized Apps* Solidity smart contracts, Web3 dApp frontends - Desktop & Systems: Tauri apps, Python CLI tools, Chrome extensions - Backend & APIs: FastAPI REST services, Apollo GraphQL servers - AI & Emerging Tech: Claude API earnings analyzers, Telegram bots - IoT: create simple robotic based with devices like Arduino and Raspberry Pi Session Structure (60-90 min): Note: Some projects may take more than one session depending on where we get Roughly: 10 min framework overview → 30 min live coding → 30 min you code (try working with another learner) → 20 min deploy → 10 min extensions Prerequisites: - Programming fundamentals (Python, JavaScript, or similar) - Command line and Git basics - HTML/CSS knowledge helpful - Comfort with learning fast and shipping imperfect code Required Setup: Laptop with admin access (school computers may not work here) Software: Node.js 18+, Python 3.10+, Git, VS Code Free accounts: GitHub, Vercel, Railway, Supabase, any generative AI (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, etc) Session-specific accounts announced beforehand - Stable internet connection