The AI Era Is a Great Time to Learn - 15 Years Since I Was a Fledgling Engineer

"What should I learn in the AI era?" "How do I grow as an engineer?" At TechLead Conference 2026, I heard those anxieties often. Fifteen years after asking basic MySQL questions at Python mini Hack-a-thon, and with AI now available to answer anything on demand, I believe this is the best era yet for beginners.

Useful articles for getting started with Apache Cordova

A curated list of articles and docs that helped me get started with Apache Cordova alongside the Ionic framework.

Recommended ways to increase audio input for engineers who have no time due to childcare and housework

For time-strapped engineers with families, a guide to boosting audio input via Podcasts, Audible, and Voicy.

Reading Log: 'IT Enjinia no Tame no [Gyōmu Chishiki] ga Wakaru Hon' (A Book on [Business Knowledge] for IT Engineers) by Yasuyuki Miyoshi

Reading notes on an introductory book covering business knowledge for software engineers.

Reading Notes: 'What You Learn in Your First Year as a Consultant' by Tetsuyuki Oishi

Reading notes on Tetsuyuki Oishi's 'What You Learn in Your First Year as a Consultant.'

Reading Notes: 'Data Management in 30 Minutes' by Yuzutaso and Haseryo

Reading notes introducing data management via 'Data Management in 30 Minutes.'

"HTML5 & CSS3 Lesson Book" is perfect as an introductory book

A short recommendation of 'HTML5 & CSS3 Lesson Book' — a solid introductory book for new engineers and designers.

Reading Notes: '世界は贈与でできている　資本主義の「すきま」を埋める倫理学' (The World is Made of Gifts: Ethics to Fill the 'Gaps' in Capitalism) by Yuta Konuchi

Reading notes on Yuta Konuchi's 'The World is Made of Gifts,' capturing quotes on gifts and education.

ChatGPT Voice Mode Exceeded Expectations for English Conversation Practice

When an English business meeting was suddenly scheduled, I rushed to rehabilitate my conversational English. I tried ChatGPT's voice mode, which I had been curious about for a while, and found it to be unexpectedly effective and extremely useful as an English learning tool.

Recommended Articles for Understanding Cookies and Sessions

Recommended reading list for beginner web engineers to understand Cookies, Sessions, and IPA's session countermeasures series.

Reference Information Summary for Explaining Dependency Injection (DI)

A small link collection I lean on when explaining DI and DI containers to teammates.

What's the Difference Between Git and GitHub?

A link collection I hand out when someone asks how Git and GitHub differ.

Notes for learning dotinstall's "Express Introduction" on Mac right now

Notes on stumbling points when following dotinstall's Express Introduction on Mac.

Notes for learning dotinstall's "Introduction to UNIX Commands (General User Edition)" on Mac

Notes on which lessons of dotinstall's UNIX Commands course to skip on Mac and which to work through.

Collection of Good Articles for Getting Started with Git

A curated collection of articles and slides for getting started with Git.

Collection of Japanese and English Articles to Understand the Difference Between git merge --ff and --no-ff

Reference articles on `git merge --ff` vs `--no-ff`, plus how I use `--no-ff` by default.

[GNU Make] Summary of Reference Information for Learning How to Write Makefiles

A reading list of official manuals, tutorial articles, and books I used to learn how to write Makefiles with GNU Make.

Articles and learning materials for Go language introduction [2019 Edition]

A free-materials-focused reading list I used to get started with Go as an experienced developer. (2019 edition)

How to Ask Questions for Learning

On asking for the method to reach an answer, rather than the answer itself, when you're still learning.

Collection of Helpful Articles for Understanding and Implementing Idempotence in Design

A curated reading list on idempotence — concept, design patterns, REST/HTTP, and shell scripting.

[JavaScript/ES6] Promise Usage, Introduction, and Learning Resources Summary

Introductory articles, an e-book, a Workshopper module, and explainers for learning ES6 Promises.

Differences Between JavaScript Functions and Methods

The difference between JavaScript functions and methods, framed around MDN, CodeZine, and how this is bound.

[JavaScript] Reference Information for Understanding Memory Management (Japanese & English)

MDN's Japanese and English Memory Management pages as reference material for learning JavaScript GC.

Promise reference articles summary [JavaScript/ECMAScript6]

A personal reading list of reference articles for learning ES2015 Promises in JavaScript and Node.js.

For beginners learning programming, I recommend specialized engineer training instructors

Why I recommend specialized training instructors over working engineers for programming beginners.

[Linux] Learning Sites for Understanding Swap (Japanese & English)

Red Hat documentation on Linux swap space in Japanese and English, useful for bilingual engineer training.

Machine Learning (ML) Recommended Introductory Books Summary

A curated list of introductory machine learning books recommended by engineers at an AI startup, spanning practical, theoretical, and advanced levels.

Won't mentoring systems produce good results unless the person recognizes 'there's a need for a mentoring system'?

A note on why mentoring systems tend to work only when the mentee themselves recognizes the need for one.

Personal Study Methods and How-To Guide for Network Technology

A self-study guide to networking for app engineers — books, hands-on tips, a troubleshooting checklist, and must-have gear.

Node.js consists of two things: a runtime environment and libraries

A note on the Node Beginner's Book framing that Node.js is two things: a V8-based runtime and a bundled library of modules.

Collection of articles useful for learning Node.js

A list of Japanese-language articles that looked useful when I was learning Node.js.

[Node.js] Difference between module.exports and exports

A short note on module.exports vs exports in Node.js — when in doubt, use module.exports.

[PHP] Studying "PHP Code Optimization Tips"

Study notes from reading the "PHP Code Optimization Tips" articles trending on Hatena Bookmark.

[Regular Expression] Beginner's Tutorial Using Python re Module

Reading notes on the PyJUG-published beginner's tutorial for Python's re regex module.

Event Report: "Test Automation Cases That Reflect QA Engineers' Thinking"

How realistic is the dream of "automating all tests with AI"? From the importance of "expected quality" and complex test automation cases for phone services, I gained grounded insights into practical AI utilization.

RailsCasts - Features Many Ruby on Rails Tutorial Videos and Code

Introducing RailsCasts — Ruby on Rails tips explained with video screencasts and code.

[Resources] 'Let's Read the World's JavaScript @ 2012'

A slide deck that summarizes the JavaScript landscape and information-gathering methods circa 2012.

Listen to Rebuild.fm on repeat

Listening to Rebuild.fm on repeat during train rides turned out better than I imagined.

[Ruby] Increment is "+=1" Not "++"

In Ruby you increment with += 1 rather than ++, briefly compared with PHP.

[Ruby] Summary of Sites Useful for Learning Sinatra Lightweight Framework

Helpful links for getting started with Sinatra, Ruby's lightweight web framework.

[Ruby] String and Array Conversion Methods

Notes on using String#split and Array#join to convert between strings and arrays in Ruby.

Server-side Kotlin + DGS framework + Exposed Practical Introduction

The reference links I used to ramp up on server-side Kotlin, the DGS framework, and Exposed.

Reading Notes: '稼ぐ人が実践している お金のPDCA' (Money PDCA Practiced by High Earners) by Kazumasa Tomita

Reading notes on Kazumasa Tomita's 'Money PDCA', covering outsourcing your time and investing in education.

Reading Notes: '起業の失敗大全――スタートアップの成否を決める６つのパターン' (The Complete Guide to Startup Failures: Six Patterns That Determine Success or Failure) by Tom Eisenmann

Reading notes on Tom Eisenmann's 'Why Startups Fail' — oversized fundraising, the 6S framework, and the speed trap.

[Vim] Summary of Articles That Aspiring Vimmers Might Find Helpful

A link roundup of highly bookmarked Vim articles for aspiring Vimmers.

Recommended Vue.js Introduction Books for Beginners

Two recommended Japanese introductory books for Vue.js beginners on the team.

Purchased 'WEB+DB PRESS Complete Edition' as training material for new engineers

Purchasing the WEB+DB PRESS Complete Edition as source material for new-engineer training.

WebRTC introductory books

Three introductory books I referenced when starting to work with WebRTC.