The job market for programmers in 2025 is a nightmare. The number of open positions fell precipitously in 2023 and has mostly remained stagnant. Meanwhile layoffs both public and quiet continue to dump applicants on the market. It’s an uncertain time for programmers who are used to having a bit of job security.
And in uncertain times there is money to be made.
There is a certain brand of programming influencer that is geared up to sell you a course that will help you crack that coding interview and land your dream job with that comfortable six-figure income and sweet benefits. They’ve been borrowing engagement-farming tactics from the manosphere to get their content promoted by the recommendation algorithms on various video streaming sites.
The Influence of the Manosphere on Programming
You might have seen those “mock interview” videos where the interviewer insults the person they’re interviewing right to their face. The shocked faces help with the engagement farming. Along with the sarcastic video titles: I was shocked by what this guy knew about operating systems!
This is a tactic I call, “negging.” Just like their manosphere counterparts, these programming influencers will insult and put down the people they are trying to, “help.” This tactic reinforces feelings of insecurity in people watching this display. Nobody wants to be in the ostracized group and the only way into the in-group is… to buy the course, become a subscriber, and give money.
This is a tried-and-true tactic used by manosphere influencers to convince men to buy courses, protein powders, attend conferences, and continually shell out money. It works because people are afraid of being alone, not being respected, etc. But purchasing these things never results in anything other than the influencer gaining some money (and the platform taking its cut).
Shouldn’t I Be Prepared?
You absolutely should be prepared for the opportunities you want to seize. If you want to land a programming job then you should be ready when the opportunity comes. Things might be hard right now but when it turns around you need to be ready.
There’s one thing that works. Practice.
And no, that’s not opening up leetcode or some interview prep course and crushing problems until your eyes bleed and carpal tunnel sets in.
If you don’t already know you’re going to have to learn how to practice. It works the same if you’re training for a marathon or learning how to build a drum synthesizer from scratch. You don’t wake up one day knowing how to read electrical schematics or put on your shoes and run a marathon.
Practice is about discipline and intent. You have to have a goal in mind. You don’t know how to get there but you need a direction to head towards. You need a plan for how you’re going to get there: not a map or a solution! Every mountain and path has been conquered one step and hand hold at a time. Your plan is the routine and the steps you’re going to take to get to the goal.
Develop the Habit
Practice is a habit you have to adopt. Whether you’re training for a marathon, learning guitar, or trying to understand lock-free data structures you’ll need consistent, regular practice. It has to be planned out, spaced out, and regular. It must fit into the rhythm of your life.
Even if you can only fit in half an hour twice a week. It’s not the amount of time. It’s the consistency that matters.
And what do you do in a practice session? Look to your plan! If you want to learn functional programming you might start with a review of last week’s exercises, followed up with reading a chapter from a book you’re working through, and then some exercises on the material from the book. It’s going to be different based on what you’re trying to achieve, the time you have, and where you’re at.
Keep a Journal
You’ll need to keep a journal. You’ll need to review, from time to time, how far you’ve come and adjust where you’re heading. If you’re training in martial arts you might realize that your technique has come a long way but you’re lacking in the stamina you’ll need for that competition you’re working towards. You’ll get that insight from intuition, sure, but you’ll see the patterns and be able to make better decisions about how and what to change in your plan by looking in your journal.
When I’m working on data structures and algorithms I keep a journal. I have a table that tracks which problems I’ve worked on, the date I attempted it, whether I was successful at solving it, and how long it took me to solve it. I use that table to inform me on when I need to revisit a problem I haven’t worked on in a while. I keep brief notes on my solution: what did I struggle with, what I thought about the solution, etc. My goal is to internalize the common data structures and algorithms so that I can recall them from memory when facing a novel problem I haven’t seen before.
When I’m working on a project I keep a journal. I log my work sessions and I keep brief notes about what I finished and what is troubling me. I review them time to time to find out what I’m missing which helps me figure out what I need to learn. And then later on when the project is finished it serves as a source for brushing up on topics that I haven’t had the chance to work on in a while.
Learning How to Practice is Cheap
The thing with practice is that you’re going to find a routine, a plan, and a process that works for you. You need to tailor it to yourself and nobody can do that for you. Coaches can help get you started but they’re ultimately going to be getting you to tell them what works.
If you’re really at a loss go to a library. Tell the librarian there that you want to learn about practice and how to practice. Pick up a few of their recommendations.
Get a journal. It could be a text file on your computer. It could be a cheap notebook and a pen.
Want to write a relational database from scratch? Never tried writing a compiler but always been curious? Operating systems? It doesn’t matter. You’ll need to learn new things. Once you know where you want to go you just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Pick a destination on the horizon and go.