Eric Roby
@codingwithroby.bsky.social
Software Engineer | Python | AI Nerd | Good Person to Know
https://www.codingwithroby.com/newsletters/python-brain-bytes
https://www.codingwithroby.com/newsletters/python-brain-bytes
What’s the one concept that took you way too long to finally understand as an engineer?
July 21, 2025 at 3:43 PM
What’s the one concept that took you way too long to finally understand as an engineer?
What’s more dangerous: poor documentation or poor naming?
July 21, 2025 at 1:09 AM
What’s more dangerous: poor documentation or poor naming?
How much of your coding today is influenced by AI tools vs your own experience?
July 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM
How much of your coding today is influenced by AI tools vs your own experience?
The best backend engineering feels invisible.
And that’s the point.
No one praises the API that works.
Or the system that scales under pressure.
Or the database that returns queries in milliseconds.
But behind that simplicity?
• Careful tradeoffs.
• Thoughtful architecture.
And that’s the point.
No one praises the API that works.
Or the system that scales under pressure.
Or the database that returns queries in milliseconds.
But behind that simplicity?
• Careful tradeoffs.
• Thoughtful architecture.
July 20, 2025 at 11:01 AM
The best backend engineering feels invisible.
And that’s the point.
No one praises the API that works.
Or the system that scales under pressure.
Or the database that returns queries in milliseconds.
But behind that simplicity?
• Careful tradeoffs.
• Thoughtful architecture.
And that’s the point.
No one praises the API that works.
Or the system that scales under pressure.
Or the database that returns queries in milliseconds.
But behind that simplicity?
• Careful tradeoffs.
• Thoughtful architecture.
How do you know you’ve “leveled up” as an engineer?
July 19, 2025 at 10:57 PM
How do you know you’ve “leveled up” as an engineer?
If LLMs become perfect at writing code, what part of engineering can’t be replaced?
July 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
If LLMs become perfect at writing code, what part of engineering can’t be replaced?
You won’t always know why something broke.
But as a backend engineer, you better know how to find out.
Because something will break:
• A deployment fails.
• An API suddenly returns 500s.
• A background job uses too much memory.
Great ones will know how to debug anything.
But as a backend engineer, you better know how to find out.
Because something will break:
• A deployment fails.
• An API suddenly returns 500s.
• A background job uses too much memory.
Great ones will know how to debug anything.
July 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
You won’t always know why something broke.
But as a backend engineer, you better know how to find out.
Because something will break:
• A deployment fails.
• An API suddenly returns 500s.
• A background job uses too much memory.
Great ones will know how to debug anything.
But as a backend engineer, you better know how to find out.
Because something will break:
• A deployment fails.
• An API suddenly returns 500s.
• A background job uses too much memory.
Great ones will know how to debug anything.
Do you still manually write SQL queries or rely entirely on ORMs?
July 18, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Do you still manually write SQL queries or rely entirely on ORMs?
What’s one “best practice” you’ve seen backfire in real projects?
July 18, 2025 at 4:34 PM
What’s one “best practice” you’ve seen backfire in real projects?
How does your company track if a software engineer is good or not?
July 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
How does your company track if a software engineer is good or not?
What’s a popular software engineering best practice you disagree with?
July 17, 2025 at 10:46 PM
What’s a popular software engineering best practice you disagree with?
What’s the most important quality of a senior engineer (that isn’t technical)?
July 17, 2025 at 2:56 PM
What’s the most important quality of a senior engineer (that isn’t technical)?
Great backend engineers aren’t built overnight.
They’re built through repetition, patience, and consistency.
Everyone wants results.
But few are consistent enough to earn them.
Because in backend engineering, consistency is the cheat code.
They’re built through repetition, patience, and consistency.
Everyone wants results.
But few are consistent enough to earn them.
Because in backend engineering, consistency is the cheat code.
July 17, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Great backend engineers aren’t built overnight.
They’re built through repetition, patience, and consistency.
Everyone wants results.
But few are consistent enough to earn them.
Because in backend engineering, consistency is the cheat code.
They’re built through repetition, patience, and consistency.
Everyone wants results.
But few are consistent enough to earn them.
Because in backend engineering, consistency is the cheat code.
If coding becomes 10x faster thanks to AI, what becomes the new bottleneck?
July 16, 2025 at 11:16 PM
If coding becomes 10x faster thanks to AI, what becomes the new bottleneck?
What’s one thing AI still can’t do that makes you valuable as a developer?
July 16, 2025 at 3:34 PM
What’s one thing AI still can’t do that makes you valuable as a developer?
Good backend engineers build features.
Great ones build confidence.
Confidence that the system will scale.
Confidence that edge cases are handled.
Confidence that if something breaks, it won’t take the app down.
Because backend engineering isn’t just about building what works.
Great ones build confidence.
Confidence that the system will scale.
Confidence that edge cases are handled.
Confidence that if something breaks, it won’t take the app down.
Because backend engineering isn’t just about building what works.
July 16, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Good backend engineers build features.
Great ones build confidence.
Confidence that the system will scale.
Confidence that edge cases are handled.
Confidence that if something breaks, it won’t take the app down.
Because backend engineering isn’t just about building what works.
Great ones build confidence.
Confidence that the system will scale.
Confidence that edge cases are handled.
Confidence that if something breaks, it won’t take the app down.
Because backend engineering isn’t just about building what works.
Do you think daily standups actually help engineers get more done?
July 15, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Do you think daily standups actually help engineers get more done?
Do you think pair programming is actually helpful?
July 15, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Do you think pair programming is actually helpful?
Most people don’t fail to learn backend engineering.
They just never start.
They wait for:
• The “perfect” tutorial.
• The “right” course.
• More free time.
But the engineers who grow?
They start messy. Start small. But they start.
They just never start.
They wait for:
• The “perfect” tutorial.
• The “right” course.
• More free time.
But the engineers who grow?
They start messy. Start small. But they start.
July 15, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Most people don’t fail to learn backend engineering.
They just never start.
They wait for:
• The “perfect” tutorial.
• The “right” course.
• More free time.
But the engineers who grow?
They start messy. Start small. But they start.
They just never start.
They wait for:
• The “perfect” tutorial.
• The “right” course.
• More free time.
But the engineers who grow?
They start messy. Start small. But they start.
What’s the most underrated skill for a senior engineer?
July 14, 2025 at 9:02 PM
What’s the most underrated skill for a senior engineer?
If AI keeps improving, what will backend engineers focus on 5 years from now?
July 13, 2025 at 7:41 PM
If AI keeps improving, what will backend engineers focus on 5 years from now?
Do you think a 10x engineer is a myth or anyone can achieve this?
July 12, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Do you think a 10x engineer is a myth or anyone can achieve this?
When I hire entry-level developers, I look for just 3 things:
1. Do you have strong backend fundamentals?
2. What past projects can you share?
3. Are you someone I’d want to work with every day?
If you can demonstrate these, you’ll move on to the next round.
It’s not about a perfect resume.
1. Do you have strong backend fundamentals?
2. What past projects can you share?
3. Are you someone I’d want to work with every day?
If you can demonstrate these, you’ll move on to the next round.
It’s not about a perfect resume.
July 12, 2025 at 11:02 AM
When I hire entry-level developers, I look for just 3 things:
1. Do you have strong backend fundamentals?
2. What past projects can you share?
3. Are you someone I’d want to work with every day?
If you can demonstrate these, you’ll move on to the next round.
It’s not about a perfect resume.
1. Do you have strong backend fundamentals?
2. What past projects can you share?
3. Are you someone I’d want to work with every day?
If you can demonstrate these, you’ll move on to the next round.
It’s not about a perfect resume.
How do you balance deep work with meetings as an engineer?
July 12, 2025 at 3:59 AM
How do you balance deep work with meetings as an engineer?
Do you think remote work makes software engineers more productive, or more distracted?
July 11, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Do you think remote work makes software engineers more productive, or more distracted?