In this episode, I discuss some of my personal rules for maintaining a reputation of professionalism. Support Developer Tea: https://developertea.com/donate

Should you be a generalized programmer or a specialized programmer? Generalized programmers learn a wide range of languages and/or frameworks, while a specialized programmer becomes an expert in something very specific. There are pros and cons to both, and in this episode, we'll discuss both.

Unless you're extraordinarily lucky, you'll be rejected multiple times in your life. Whether in your personal or professional life, rejection is a normal part of life, even for the best of the best (like the Beatles). In this episode, I encourage you to move past your rejection.

Should you be a generalized programmer or a specialized programmer? Generalized programmers learn a wide range of languages and/or frameworks, while a specialized programmer becomes an expert in something very specific. There are pros and cons to both, and in this episode, we'll discuss both.

In this episode, I answer a question I've received from many listeners: How do I come up with an idea for something to build? This question is somewhat complex, but we'll cover 5 basic tips for idea generation.

Scott Jehl is a designer and developer working at Filament Group. Scott is also an author and speaks regularly at conferences like An Event Apart. In this interview, Scott and I discuss progressive enhancement and his book, Responsible Responsive Design.

Today, I talk about coding for humans in this special Inspiration episode. Remember, computers are only what you tell them to be!

Scott Jehl is a designer and developer working at Filament Group. Scott is also an author and speaks regularly at conferences like An Event Apart. In this interview, Scott and I discuss progressive enhancement and his book, Responsible Responsive Design.

In today's episode, at the request of a listener I discuss the tradeoffs of choosing to adopt a new technology versus using what you already know, even when what you already know might not be the best tool for the job. Don't forget to subscribe to hear more Developer Tea!

In today's episode, I discuss why it's important to create a brand for yourself. Make sure you check out my interview with John Sonmez to hear more about building your own personal brand, and to participate in John's giveaway: https://www.developertea.com/episodes/7976

Today's bonus episode is the first weekly inspiration mini-episode! Today's quote comes from Steve McConnell, author of Code Complete. Thank you for supporting Developer Tea with your listens! We just reached the 200k unique listens mark, and that's thanks to you! If you'd like to become a monthly supporter, head over to http://developertea.com/donate

In this episode, I answer a listener question about what route he should take in his technical education. Spoiler: I actually DO have an opinion and recommendation to this question. For a significant part of this episode, I discuss the concept of the famed "unicorn" developer, and why they're in such high demand. *Note: I accidentally called the listener a "guest" - probably because I consider everyone who listens to the show my personal guests 3 times a week. :)*

I'm excited to be interviewing Ben Orenstein from [Thoughtbot](http://thoughtbot.com/). Ben is a brilliant craftsman of a developer, and in this episode we discuss what it takes to be a craftsman. This is the second part of the interview, so be sure to check out the previous episode for the first part! [Become a Supporter of Developer Tea](https://developertea.com/donate) -Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots podcast: http://giantrobots.fm/ - Upcase: https://upcase.com/join - Vim for Rails Developers: https://www.codeschool.com/screencasts/thoughtbot-vim-for-rails-developers - Vim resources on Upcase: https://upcase.com/vim/resources - Trailmix.life: https://www.trailmix.life Ben's personal site and writings can be found at http://benorenstein.com Ben on Twitter, @r00k: https://twitter.com/r00k Ben on GitHub, @r00k: https://github.com/r00k

I'm excited to be interviewing Ben Orenstein from [Thoughtbot](http://thoughtbot.com/). Ben is a brilliant craftsman of a developer, and in this episode we discuss what it takes to be a craftsman. This interview is split into two parts, so be sure to check out the next episode for the second part! [Become a Supporter of Developer Tea](https://developertea.com/donate) -Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots podcast: http://giantrobots.fm/ - Upcase: https://upcase.com/join - Vim for Rails Developers: https://www.codeschool.com/screencasts/thoughtbot-vim-for-rails-developers - Vim resources on Upcase: https://upcase.com/vim/resources - Trailmix.life: https://www.trailmix.life Ben's personal site and writings can be found at http://benorenstein.com Ben on Twitter, @r00k: https://twitter.com/r00k Ben on GitHub, @r00k: https://github.com/r00k

Around 1:00, Brett asks how to become an “advanced developer.” - Programming Paradigms Stanford Course: https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/programming-paradigms/id495054064 - Paul Graham’s essays on Lisp: http://paulgraham.com/articles.html - Python: https://www.python.org/ - Django: https://www.djangoproject.com/ - Whiteboard: http://whiteboard.is Around 8:10, Daniel asks how to make writing tests less boring and more joyful. Justin Weiss's article about adding tests to a non-TDD app: http://www.justinweiss.com/blog/2014/12/30/how-do-you-take-an-app-from-test-less-to-tdd/

Today I'm joined once again by Ryan Stout, the developer behind the powerful new Ruby web framework Volt. Ryan and I continue discussing why he created Volt, and some of the motivations for developers to move towards "isomorphic development". Check out Volt: http://voltframework.com Support Developer Tea: http://www.developertea.com/buy-me-tea

Today I'm joined by Ryan Stout, the developer behind the powerful new Ruby web framework Volt. Ryan and I discuss why he created Volt, and some of the motivations for developers to move towards "isomorphic development". Check out Volt: http://voltframework.com Support Developer Tea: http://www.developertea.com/buy-me-tea

In this episode, we talk about stigmas and stereotypes. As developers, and as humans, we have a responsibility to treat each other fairly. We also have a responsibility to our craft. In this episode, I discuss the one thing that developers should be measured by.

The first month of Developer Tea was officially marked yesterday, and in this episode, I'd like to thank you. I also challenge you towards the end of the episode. Thank you so much for listening to the show!

What was the last time you _practiced_ writing code? Any expertise arguably requires an intentional, focused effort on practicing a set of exercises. Kata acts as the practice exercises for programming. In this episode, I talk about code kata, and I also talk about the danger of being addicted to problems, and making sure we keep our kata efforts separate from our real problem-solving efforts. [codekata.com](http://codekata.com/) If you enjoyed this episode, please consider buying me some tea: http://www.developertea.com/buy-me-tea