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Today, Yaroslav is going to talk about how we can stay competitive in today's changing world. Let's welcome him on stage.
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Hello guys, I'm really happy to be here with you today. I really love arriving at the Sofia airport and seeing these wonderful mountains in the background; it's just amazing. It's one of the most beautiful airports I've been to. This isn't my first time in Sofia; I was here last year at the conference and met many of you. It was really wonderful. I installed the yellow app and throughout the year, I've been looking at apps I don't use, and I thought maybe I should delete this app. But no, I'm definitely coming back, so here I am, and I'm so happy to be back in Sofia.
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My name is Yaroslav, and I'm originally from Ukraine, from the north of Ukraine. My hometown is near Kyiv, which has thankfully been liberated from the Russians. On a positive note, I recently became a father. You might know me from 'Super Rails'; I have a YouTube channel with over 200 videos covering various topics about Rails. I've done extensive work with Hotwire, recording more than 20 videos about how to do unique things with it and provided a cookbook for Hotwire.
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If you haven't tried using Hotwire yet, my videos are a great place to start. Now, the topic for today is staying competitive. What does this even mean? It's such a broad topic. I feel much more comfortable doing technical talks like Hotwire, where I know everything perfectly. But staying competitive is such a broad subject, so how can we stay competitive? What does it even mean? I have the impression that the world is changing much faster than I am. I go on Twitter and see this new tool that has dropped, this new technology that has arrived. Should I even start using it? Should I change my workflows? Is AI going to take my job? How can I stay competitive as a developer?
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I spoke to a few of you yesterday, and here are a few things some of you said about whether AI will take your job. Some said they are debugging very business-specific problems at their job, which would be hard for AI to handle. Others mentioned that they cannot use AI at work because it's prohibited to use public models. Then there are those who said that yes, AI will replace us sometime in the future. If you read the news, you’ll find articles suggesting that AI will replace certain jobs, and that developers are living their last days. Is that true? It's hard to say.
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Have any of you used AI tools for programming or to get answers that help you? Please raise your hands. Not bad! And has anybody used GitHub Copilot? Great! How about Cursor? Awesome, it looks like half of you have. What about Vinsurf? Not so many. In my team, we’ve been primarily using Cursor and Vinsurf, and the results have been better with Vinsurf, so I'm in the process of switching from Cursor to Vinsurf. Both are great, but Cursor is amazing.
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If you didn’t raise your hand for any of these tools, you might be someone who is just coding in a traditional code editor without any tools, and I believe that you could be the first to lose your job because of AI. You see, we are all busy; if you didn’t raise your hands, I’m not pointing fingers at anyone specific, but if you’re not using these tools, you should embrace new technologies. Yes, you can argue that AI hallucinates or that you tried using it and it didn't fulfill your expectations. But you shouldn’t expect it to provide perfect answers; it should help make you more productive.
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AI should act like a co-pilot for your work, assisting you in bouncing ideas around. You shouldn't rely on it to do the entire job for you; it should simply help out. In my team, we use AI constantly to enhance productivity, code quickly, and iterate efficiently. The business doesn't care about how beautiful or artisan your code is; they care about shipping fast and making money.
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The most obvious feature of code editors is autocomplete—you start typing, and it autocompletes; it’s wonderful. I believe everyone uses it, but I've seen people using it just for that basic feature. There are other functionalities too; there’s the agent and the chat feature that can be very helpful. For instance, just yesterday, I needed to check if images were greater than 50 pixels. I knew we were using a library called Whips in my app, but I didn't want to dig through the documentation; I just needed to get the task done quickly. I asked a question, and it provided me with the answer.
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Another tool I've been using a lot lately is a notepad. In this notepad, I describe the entire feature I want to implement, and then I feed that notepad’s content into my code editor. This feature has proven super useful for me. Looking ahead, Toby, the CEO of Shopify, wrote a fascinating article that I recommend everyone read about using AI at Shopify. It's becoming expected that you use AI at work—if you don't, you might find yourself in the least productive percentile of your team or organization.
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If layoffs occur, those who aren't utilizing AI may be the first targets. Another interesting point from that article is that before requesting additional headcount, you should demonstrate why AI cannot accomplish the job. Just think about it—many people may worry about job security due to AI, but consider someone who is already laid off because of it. To stay competitive in the job market, especially in remote work, you need to understand that it comes with much more competition.
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For instance, Basecamp recently advertised for a junior developer position and received over 2,000 applications from around the globe. Can you imagine scanning through 2,000 applications? It's nearly impossible to find the perfect candidate through that many applications. The chances are so low that they will find that one ideal person—they'll likely end up hiring someone else. Remote work means competition not just locally but from anywhere in the world. It’s not just about competing for a job at your local company but also against candidates from India, the US, Canada, and beyond.
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A few months ago, I posted a job opening and received around 40,000 views and hundreds of messages. It was physically impossible to process and respond to everyone in an efficient manner. Most of the applications were simple to dismiss because many contained AI-generated cover letters or responses where people were simply copying my text, inputting it into an AI tool, and generating their application. It's not an effective way to stand out. Here’s my big secret for staying competitive: building in public. For instance, I have tutorials on my YouTube channel, which allow people to see my thought process and the solutions I offer in each video. I also maintain a blog where I write about the recent tasks I've completed or the lessons I've learned.
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Additionally, I have created several small open-source projects and give talks, all of which help me get noticed among the vast pool of candidates. You might think you’re just a software developer looking to do your job, earn a paycheck, and go home, but remember that you’re competing against others like me who are building in public and engaging with the community. Would you hire someone like Andrew Kane, who has created fantastic libraries, or someone who doesn’t even have a profile picture on LinkedIn?
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This idea of putting yourself out there is not just for developers but applies to all roles. A fascinating story from Shopify involves a girl who posted a video stating her desire to be a marketing intern there. This video went viral, receiving over a million views, and she was offered a job within 24 hours. She highlighted how important it is to showcase your uniqueness and that in 2025, the best way to get hired won’t be through traditional resumes but through shipping something great that can’t be ignored.
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Furthermore, don't be just another one of those 100 applicants applying through easy-click applications. Competition is for losers; differentiate yourself instead.
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Have you tried tools like Vzero or Replit? These tools were impossible just two years ago. You can now open a website and instruct it to create an application for organizing events with ticketing and schedules, and it will generate a prototype. I tried asking one of these apps to create a screencasting app for Ruby on Rails, and it produced a basic application where all the pages were interactive. It even suggested video names that I could create myself!
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As an example, a friend of mine has been building a construction industry app with Vzero for about a month without writing any traditional code, just through typing descriptions of what he wanted. He was able to pitch this working prototype to potential investors before they even raised money or enlisted developers to build it properly. Think creatively! Imagine if Snapchat, Shopify, Tinder, and TikTok had a baby; what would that application look like? You could come up with innovative app ideas that aren’t restricted to coding alone.
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With Cursor and all these text-to-code applications, building prototypes and proofs of concept has never been easier. You might say the age of the 'idea guy' is upon us; they no longer need programmers to create version zero proofs of concept. There is good communication out there, but development is much more complex than simply writing code. You have to figure out authentication, authorization, and so many integrations that go into turning code into a product.
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It's not just about the development side. Many of you might have pet projects that you enjoy working on, but if you can’t eventually sell them, it doesn't matter how well they perform. Yes, building has become cheaper, but the critical factor remains attention from users and whether they will use and pay for your product. I love building things, but what is the point if no one wants them? I could create countless proofs of concept, but they’d be worthless if they don’t attract an audience.
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In terms of competition, the Ruby on Rails framework is facing challenges as Ruby appears to be declining in popularity. It is up to us, the developers, to ensure Ruby remains competitive. I contribute by creating tutorials that help people learn to build Rails applications from scratch on platforms like Udemy and YouTube. You should also consider how you can help the Rails community remain strong. Using new low-code and no-code tools is essential, as those who start building on those platforms might prefer hiring someone familiar with those tools over a traditional Ruby on Rails developer.
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If you don't know what to build, consider developing a text-to-code application for Rails. There’s potential there. Speaking of open-source applications, there are many financial tools built with Ruby on Rails that you can find and explore for ideas. You can understand how cursor rules are implemented in these applications and adapt them for your projects. Many tools like 'DA UI' and 'AVO' have features that offer additional functionalities and can help improve your projects.
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As technology evolves, staying relevant in open-source means understanding that having a business model behind it can offer more stability than just a repository that might be abandoned one day. If I see a project that has a business commitment behind it, I feel safer knowing it will likely endure. For me, as a content creator, I have produced hundreds of videos on Ruby on Rails; some of these aren’t relevant anymore since more straightforward queries can now be answered by an AI.
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I need to rethink how I make content that better engages viewers. For example, I once detailed the process to acquire Apple API keys, which are notoriously difficult to obtain. I spent a lot of time on that, and audiences can benefit from a video walkthrough of my experiences. New content ideas should include super practical guides that aren’t easily replaced by what AI can tell you.
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When creating courses, I found that self-paced learning is less competitive than cohort-based learning. People are more engaged and less likely to drop out when they learn in groups rather than working through a course on their own.
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Before I finish, I want to remind everyone to keep learning and embrace change. Don’t say, "I’ll check out AI tools in two years." It’s important to work and build in public. Show your authenticity; don’t be just one of the many applicants. Thank you.
