Blog

Notes from the engineering field

Deep-dive playbooks on software architecture, AI agents, Vibe Code rescue, testing and career — everything I learn in the real engineering field, written down.

AI Tools Comparison 2026-06-06 · 10 min read

Claude Code vs Cursor Which Should You Pick in 2026?

Claude Code vs Cursor: 6 months on real projects. Pricing traps, agentic ability, best picks for 4 developer types, and a decision table to choose right.

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Pillar Guide 2026-06-06

The Complete Guide for Engineers in the AI Era One Map, From Anxiety to Control

How do engineers thrive in the AI era? A pillar guide covering 6 topics: AI replacing engineers, vibe coding, AI Agents, Cursor tips, and the Rescue SOP.

Monetization 2026-05-31 · 13 min read

5 Ways Engineers Monetize Their Skills From Trading Time to Building Assets

Your skills are worth more than a salary. 5 ways engineers monetize skills—freelancing, consulting, content, products, services—and the order to do them.

AI Coding Trends 2026-05-29 · 11 min read

Vibe Coding: What Is It? A Full Breakdown + How 5 Types of People Should Use It

Vibe coding explained: the 2025 buzzword Andrej Karpathy coined. What it is, its upsides, its fatal flaws, and how 5 types of people should use it.

Testing 2026-05-29 · 13 min read

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Unit Testing Why + How

Unit testing for beginners: why tests make you faster, how to write your first test, choosing between Vitest and Jest, and how much coverage to aim for.

Interview Prep 2026-05-29 · 17 min read

System Design Interviews The Complete Prep Guide

Freeze in a System Design interview? You lack a framework. A 6-step process, 10 must-know components, 5 classic questions, and the 4 beginner mistakes.

Remote Work 2026-05-29 · 13 min read

The Complete Guide to Remote Work for Engineers

Want a remote engineering job? The full guide: 3 remote models, finding overseas jobs, negotiating salary, taxes, and beating work-from-home loneliness.

MVP 2026-05-29 · 14 min read

MVP in 6 Weeks The Full Playbook + Traps Every Founder Should Know

Build a SaaS MVP in 6 weeks: validate your hypothesis, scope, tech choices, pricing, launch, and first users. Written for non-technical founders too.

Side Project 2026-05-29 · 12 min read

Your First Side Project From Picking an Idea to Launch

Building your first side project? 5 rules for picking an idea, how to cut scope, a 4-week launch timeline, and the 7 traps 90% of people fall into.

Engineering Docs 2026-05-29 · 10 min read

How Engineers Write a README 12 Senior Habits

Your README decides whether your GitHub looks like an engineer's. 12 habits senior engineers follow, plus a complete copy-paste README template.

Interview Prep 2026-05-29 · 14 min read

The LeetCode 100-Problem Strategy From Zero to a Job Offer

Grinding 500 problems won't get you there—100 of the right ones will. A complete LeetCode 100-problem strategy across 6 categories, plus a mistake log.

Git Tutorial 2026-05-29 · 15 min read

Git Workflow ─ The Complete Guide From Solo to Team

Keep forgetting Git? The complete workflow from solo to team: branching, PR conventions, rebase vs merge, conflict resolution, and 10 daily commands.

Engineer Side Hustle 2026-05-29 · 12 min read

An Engineer's Guide to Starting a Side Hustle From 0 to Your First Paycheck

An engineer's side hustle guide: 5 types, the startup cost of each, what to do in month one, pricing, and 3 traps 99% fall into. No fantasy income.

AI Tools 2026-05-29 · 13 min read

12 Cursor Tips From Knowing It to Being Good at It

12 Cursor tips to write code 3-5x faster after a year of use: Composer, @codebase, .cursorrules and prompt templates, each with a code example.

Collaboration Skills 2026-05-29 · 11 min read

Code Review: How to Do It 8 Tricks to Keep Your PR From Getting Rejected

Code review isn't a trial, it's a teaching session. 8 tricks each for PR authors and reviewers: prep, comments, settling disagreements, and AI tools.

AI Agent 2026-05-29 · 13 min read

AI Agents ─ The Complete Beginner's Guide From Using Them to Building Your Own

AI Agents explained: what an Agent is, how it differs from a chatbot, using Claude Code, Cursor Agent and MCP, plus 6 projects and 4 traps to avoid.

Careers in the AI Era 2026-05-29 · 11 min read

Will AI Replace Engineers? An Honest 2026 Answer

Will AI replace engineers? An honest look at what AI can and can't replace, plus 8 habits that keep your bargaining power in the AI era.

Career 2026-05-29 · 15 min read

Switching into Software Engineering The Real 2026 Path

Switching into software engineering in 2026? The realistic path: self-teaching vs bootcamp, what to learn in 6 months, and how to land your first job.

Career 2026-05-26 · 9 min read

7 Engineer Habits That Matter More Than Skill for a Raise

Engineers on the same start salary drift 2x apart on pay, not from skill but 7 habits: commit messages, PR reviews, 1-on-1s, and how you handle mistakes.

Build in Public 2026-05-26 · 8 min read

100 Days Building in Public ─ The Real Day 1-8 Log

One engineer, 100 days building a personal brand in public from zero. Day 1-8: what I did, what I got wrong, and the 2am hero-copy rewrites.

Engineering Discipline 2026-05-26 · 10 min read

AI Gives You Code, Not Software — A 14-Point Checklist

AI writes code that runs, not real software. 14 engineering checks that separate 'it runs' from maintainable: git, tests, env vars, monitoring and more.

Vibe Code Rescue 2026-05-25 · 16 min read

Vibe Code Rescue: The Complete SOP Turn AI-Written Mess into Maintainable Software

How to rescue vibe code: the 7-step Rescue SOP, 3 diagnostics, a real NT$45,000 case study with before/after code, and when to rewrite instead.