Realistic advice about software dev right now

Theo (t3.gg) argues that in 2026 likability and community presence matter more than technical skill for breaking into dev, and recounts how he bombed his Twitch interview but got hired anyway.

• Theo bombed his 2016 Twitch interview in both C++ and frontend, yet got a 3-month contract at $125k/year because the team liked him and had no better options.
• He argues he likely would not have gotten a dev job if starting today: surplus of applicants, laid-off experienced devs competing, and AI masking incompetence in portfolios and GitHub.
• AI makes GitHub profiles and portfolio projects untrustworthy signals; competency screening is now harder than ever for hiring managers.
• His biggest career hack: focus on who built something, not how — find creators of cool projects and send short, genuine appreciation DMs with no ask.
• Concrete outcome: Theo found a 2-star GitHub library (react-shiki), DMed the creator Basim who had an IT repair job, referred him to YC-backed Assistant UI, and Basim was hired as first engineer within one day.
• Gabriel went from $11/hour to 4x salary by being consistently present and helpful in Theo’s community — not by cold-applying.
• For AI use: ask why something doesn’t work or ask for one small hint; letting AI generate solutions blocks the deep learning that builds real competence.

2026-04-28 · Watch on YouTube