Tech careers don't need to mean grinding LeetCode. In episode 57, John Crickett — 30+ year engineer, Coding Challenges creator (90K+ subscribers) — makes the case that programmer productivity skyrockets when you build real tools instead. We dig into why your own Redis, Git, or shell beats practice problems, how Coding Challenges went from $17 domain to viral sensation (1,500 signups in one weekend), and what it means to level up through systems programming.

Links

Coding Challenges (Newsletter): https://codingchallenges.substack.com/
Coding Challenges Website: https://codingchallenges.fyi
From The Challenges - Git: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/p/from-the-challenges-git
Will AI Kill Coding?: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/p/will-ai-kill-coding
Using AI To Solve A Coding Challenge: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/p/using-ai-to-solve-a-coding-challenge
Tech Lead Journal #178 — John Crickett: https://techleadjournal.dev/episodes/178/
Confessions of a Data Guy — What Makes Great Engineers: https://www.confessionsofadataguy.com/decades-in-software-engineering-what-actually-makes-great-engineers-john-crickett/
Coding Chats Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/59GU7gzyK2RdIDVkhNS2nt
John Crickett on GitHub: https://github.com/johncrickett
John Crickett on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett
John Crickett on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.social
John Crickett on X: https://x.com/johncrickett

Hosts

Build Real Tools, Skip LeetCode: Systems Programming for Career Growth with John Crickett

Overcommitted | Software Engineering and Tech Careers Insights

Build Real Tools, Skip LeetCode: Systems Programming for Career Growth with John Crickett