How to Build a Career When the Rules Keep Changing w/ Taylor Desseyn & Jason Torres

Recorded live at All Things Open, Robbie talks with Taylor Desseyn and Jason Torres about the future of tech careers, AI’s impact on hiring, and why relationships still matter more than résumés. They share insights from years in recruiting and community building, stressing that genuine connection—not cold applications—opens doors in today’s market. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (01:48) - A toast to Busch Light (05:46) - Meet Taylor and Jason (08:14) - Is now a good time to get into tech? (13:12) - How AI is reshaping the tech job market (16:07) - Standing out in a crowded industry (20:36) - Can open source help you get hired? (23:48) - Will Shane Beamer head to Virginia Tech? (25:13) - Do pro athletes really make too much money? (26:47) - Should politicians be paid like CEOs? (30:43) - What it means to be an authentic creator (34:07) - How Torc is chasing greatness (38:01) - Is AI killing organic content growth? (39:26) - Parenting, perspective, and balance (42:20) - Where to connect with Taylor and Jason online Links Busch Light: https://www.busch.com/ Ep 216: Why Open Source Might Be Your Best Career Move w/ Shruti Kapoor: https://whiskey.fm/why-open-source-might-be-your-best-career-move-w-shruti-kapoor Jason Lengstorf: https://jason.energy/ Costco: https://www.costco.com The Office: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office_(American_TV_series) Dragonberry Bacardi: https://www.bacardi.com/us/en/our-rums/dragonberry-rum/ Goldschlager: https://www.sazerac.com/our-brands/sazerac-brands/goldschlager.html Jagermeister: https://www.jagermeister.com/ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ Guidance Counselor 2.0 podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/career-counseling/id1256154656?mt=2 Ep 493 - Pretending to Have The Job Before You Get It w/ Josh Cirre, DevRel @ Laravel: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-493-pretending-to-have-the-job-before-you-get/id1256154656?i=1000729870607 Cobol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBOL React: https://react.dev/ X: https://www.x.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com Discord: https://discord.com Taylor's All Things Open talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEV7TO7UEBU Mr. Beast: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MrBeast Kai Cenat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Cenat All Things Open: https://allthingsopen.org/ .NET: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/ Java: https://www.java.com/ React Miami: https://www.reactmiami.com/ Taylor's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@tdesseyn Slack: https://slack.com/ South Carolina Gamecocks: https://gamecocksonline.com/ Shane Beamer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Beamer Virginia Tech: https://www.vt.edu/ James Franklin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Franklin_(American_football_coach) Pennsylvania State University: https://www.psu.edu LaNorris Sellers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaNorris_Sellers Patrick Mahomes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Mahomes Kansas City Chiefs: https://www.chiefs.com/ NVidia: https://www.nvidia.com/ Apple: https://apple.com Elon Musk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ DHH: https://x.com/dhh/ Rails: https://rubyonrails.org/ Bain: https://www.bain.com/ McKinsey: https://www.mckinsey.com/ Netlify: https://www.netlify.com/ Barstool Sports: https://www.barstoolsports.com/ Syntax: https://syntax.fm/ Sentry: https://Sentry.io/ CodeRabbit: https://www.coderabbit.ai/ Torc: https://torc.dev Torc Community: https://torc.dev/community Torc Discord: https://torc.dev/discord Connect with Taylor Website: https://linktr.ee/taylordesseyn X / Twitter: https://x.com/tdesseyn Connect with Jason GitHub: https://github.com/jasonetorres X / Twitter: https://x.com/TasonJorres Connect with the hosts Robbie Wagner: https://x.com/RobbieTheWagner Chuck Carpenter: https://x.com/CharlesWthe3rd Adam Argyle: https://x.com/argyleink Subscribe and stay in touch Website: https://whiskey.fm Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whiskey-web-and-whatnot/id1552776603 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDf Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1552776603 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhiskeyWebAndWhatnot Whiskey Web and Whatnot MerchEnjoying the podcast and want us to make more? Help support us by picking up some of our fresh merch at https://whiskey.fund.