James Hudnall’s Post

Are you an aspiring developer? Passionate about your work? Have a strong interest in continuing to independently learn and grow? Willing to put in the work? LinkedIn's REACH Apprenticeship just opened applications for it's latest cohort! Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/dv3ZarTu

I love my job. That's it. That's the post.

I’m excited to share that I’ve been promoted to Software Engineer at LinkedIn! Deeply grateful for the REACH Program, my team members, manager and the many mentors that helped make this possible. Can't wait to embark on this new chapter once I'm back from paternity leave.

What does it take to reach 100k followers? For John Crickett, decades of providing value. John landed his first job in tech at the dawn of the internet, and immediately started impacting those around him for the better. Fast forward to today, he's managed, served as VP of Engineering and contributed to multiple companies across the globe. He's also creating resources to help early career devs hone their skills and break into the industry. But his path wasn't always up and to the right; it was littered with temporary setbacks, layoffs and my favorite term from the episode: "being made redundant." John shared his journey this week on Exponential Growth.

On the surface, Jade Wilson's path to success seems straightforward: - Studied CS in school. - Landed a developer role. - Recruited by Microsoft. But this list leaves out incredible nuance, including: - Overcoming early discrimination. - Finding her voice. - Empowering women in tech. Jade shared this and more on this week's episode of Exponential Growth. Prepare to be inspired.

A few years ago, McKenzie Noel was teaching horseback riding lessons. An unexpected conversation sent her down a path of rapid growth in a tech-adjacent role. Soon, she would discover a passion for programming. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, she was writing code full time. McKenzie shared her story with me this week on Exponential Growth. It was a masterclass on: - Networking. - Being open to opportunities. - Pursuing an extraordinary life. Special shoutout to Winsupply for having such an incredible company culture.

Want to level up your prompt engineering game? Consider incorporating the Five W's: - Who: Who do you want the LLM to "be?" There's a big difference between a coding instructor and a copywriter. - What: What exactly do you want? "A study plan with video resources and links to each" vs. "A study plan" - When: Should you incorporate any time constraints? Do you want to learn the subject in 6 weeks, or 6 months? How many hours a week? This information can affect the output. - Where: Keeping with our study plan example, where will this learning take place? The likely assumption is "online," but if you are looking for in-person options, state that. - Why: This is the motivation behind your "ask." Instead of: "Write a motivational quote" Consider: "Write a motivational quote for someone who is feeling imposter syndrome."

Looking for a weekend project to level up your prompt engineering game? I just finished DeepLearning.AI’s ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers course. It was one of the most informative courses I’ve ever done. Highlights: - Beginner-friendly. - Code along in the browser. - Understand the OpenAI api, and actor roles. - Create a chatbot All in 1 hour (a little more if you tinker, which you should). Best part? You don’t need to write a line of code to get value. But if you can, it gets even better. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/dNxWjEZq

You don't have to optimize every aspect of your life. It's ok if you don't: - Meditate, run and read every morning. - Cold plunge and sauna. - Plan out the next 5 years of your life. All of these have benefits. But the stress of trying to live up to someone else's version of success? That will outweigh any benefit these might provide. Remember: You get to define what success means to you. No one else.

Imagine a career arc that: - Starts in a Whole Foods freezer. - Redefines data practices at Expedia Group and Amazon. - Starts a company to democratize Data Science. Now, imagine that arc described through the lens of Foundation crises. That's the story Kirsten Lum shared with me this week on Exponential Growth. Some of the topics I found most entertaining: - Why you should pursue licorice jelly beans. - Answering hard questions hidden behind easier ones. - What Storytellers looks for when hiring talent. You don't want to miss this one.