Developer Week 053

Projects

LiteStar REST API

https://github.com/pbrazeale/litestar_REST_API

Build Notes: https://pbrazeale.github.io/posts/litestar-api-build/

This project is a simple To-Do List REST API built with the Litestar and SQLAlchemy 2.0. It serves as a practical example for understanding core concepts like dependency injection, database transaction management, and Dockerization in a modern Python web application.

This project was originally based on the excellent Litestar tutorial by Teclado and has been expanded to highlight key development patterns and lessons learned.

Lessons Learned & Key Concepts

  1. Explicit vs. Implicit Transaction Management
  2. Data Transfer Objects (DTOs)
  3. Docker with extended knowledge from https://www.boot.dev/courses/learn-docker

SARAH: Story Analysis & Revision AI Helper

https://github.com/pbrazeale/sarah

I’m in the middle of refactoring SARAH from CLI -> web app using Streamlit.

SARAH Home Page

Courses

Boot.Dev Back-end Developer Career Path (~72.18%) (📈 +5.73%)

23. Learn How to Find a Programming Job (52/52) Done

20. Learn Docker (43/43) DONE

21. Learn CI/CD (5/40)

Application Process

Applications (88/1,000) ~8.8%

  • 56 Rejections
  • 31 waiting/no response
  • 2 made it past screening
    • 1 proceed to 1st round interview
      • 1 proceeded to 2nd round interview
        • 1 offer letter!

My first ever 2nd round interview went extremely well. I don’t think I could have asked for a better scenario as I was able to showcase my own codebase (SARAH) and walk through my decision making process and design decisions. The meeting was with the founder and lead programmer, and they were both very gracious and understanding of me being a first-time developer.

They probably gave me more grace in the interview than normal based upon the stories I’ve heard; however, I think I was able to impress them. Not only with my technical abilities, but the fact I’ve documented my entire journey, and come this far in only 1 year!

The position was really just a perfect match where what they need perfectly aligns with the technologies I’ve been going deep with and my documented journey helped alleviate any concerns they have about me getting up to full speed within 90 days. The interview ended with them saying they’d get back to me shortly. Hopefully, I have a final answer before this goes live.

UPDATE:

Offer letter came in! Full-time remote Python Developer (AI-powered tools) position. I of course accepted! My core responsibilities will center around building AI-powered tools that automate customer support, streamline internal workflows, and drive real impact across the business.

Waiting to hear back about the onboarding process and when they’d like me to start.