Do you want to hear something insane? If you're just starting to code in 2026 during the AI pandemic, and I am talking about no experience, no portfolio, no resume, maybe not even a CS degree. That's actually an advantage. This is actually a good thing. And yes, even with AI around, it's even better. So, imagine this is you. What is your background? Maybe you are a CS degree student, or maybe you haven't even touched a line of code.

You might be in your 20s, or maybe you might even be in your 30s. You have zero experience. No one knows who you are, a blank slate. Then there's me, 9 years of experience. I've shipped projects, handled apps with 250,000 users, and have made six figures in tech for the last five [ __ ] years. I've built an identity around my tools. The difference between you and I, you're free. I am trapped. This is me. I've worked with multiple stacks under my belt and eight or nine years of coding.

And with that comes baggage, comfort zones, egos, and tools that I defend because they've worked for me for years. And this is you, brand new. You are essentially a blank piece of paper. You have no stack loyalty. There's no ego about being best at anything. You just want to learn whatever gets them moving the fastest. Then the industry shifts. Let's say a new AI native framework comes out. It's a stack designed from ground up to pair with AI agents that generates boilerplate quicker and scale applications with 10x fewer lines of code.

Who's more likely to jump on it? Me or you? I promise you, not the 8-year veteran. Human nature clings to what it knows. For me to switch, I'd have to admit I lost my edge. That's not easy. That feels like starting over. But the beginner, you don't care. You've got nothing to lose, nothing to unlearn. You adapt the new stack overnight because curiosity is your advantage. Fast forward 12 months. The market is shifting.

Companies now hire for the AI native stack. You went all in. You built projects that solved real problems in your life. You contributed to open source. You even worked for free just to hone your edge. And me, I'm still holding on to the old [ __ ] stack. Guess who has the advantage now? That's the advantage of being new in 2026. You're not weighed down by the past. You don't have to unlearn years of habit. You can pivot faster, adapt quicker, and ride the new wave before the old guard even dips their toes in.

Of course, this was just an example. Of course, I am not letting myself get stuck. I adapt. But here's the truth. My mentees will surpass me. They've got all the advantages of starting fresh in 2026 even amidst the fear of AI and the market being more competitive. So, my name is Phil. I wrote my first line of code at the age of 30. Five years later, I was a senior developer, tech lead, six-figure salary, and I've kept it up every year since.

Back then, everyone was writing jQuery, but jQuery died. And when it did, it opened the door for React, View, Angular, Svelte, and the new kings. The reason I was able to land my first official role in tech was because I dedicated my life to learning Vue.js at the time. And just like back then, the ground is shifting again. Right now, another wave is coming. My breakthrough came because I went all in on the new thing.

I bet everything on Vue. Today, the same thing is happening again. The ones who start coding now will win. They'll beat the old heads stuck in their ways. And they'll beat the people who wait 2 years to start. Timing is everything. Before I show you why being new is the biggest advantage in 2026, let me handle three objections I know you're already thinking. I know people are going to say, "Phil, people are getting laid off left and right.

Phil, the market is too competitive and it's even impossible to get a junior role right now. Phil, the industry is going to be replaced by AI and software engineers won't be relevant anymore." Breaking into tech is definitely harder now than it was in my time. Yes, AI makes coding easier, but no, it won't replace programming. It multiplies what you already are. If you're good, you become great. If you suck, you just suck faster.

And yes, companies expect more now. Why? Because the market is flooded with people who have boot camps and degrees, but can't actually code. Employers don't care about your paper anymore. They want proof you can build. So yes, all of these things have made programming a harder industry to get into. But this is a good thing. It means less than mediocre devs will get exposed and those who can actually do the job and perform will rise.

It means you actually have to be able to build things that actually matter. It means you have to be able to find solutions to problems with tech. So the earlier you start this year, the better. Because when new AI native tools drop, and they will, the ones who started today will ride the wave. The ones who wait, they'll be chasing it. So let me tell you why being unknown and a beginner is an advantage. When you're new, nobody's watching.

You can learn in public and no one cares if you screw up. You have total freedom to experiment. Break code, crash apps, test everything. That's your playground. There is no expectation from anyone for you to perform. Mess up now, nobody remembers. Mess up later as a senior, that's on your record forever. And right now, learning is basically free. You've got open source, you've got AI, you have the best teachers in the world on your laptop 24/7.

Right now, someone can learn how to build a full-stack app in just under 6 months. That's what we've been doing in my mentorship. People are creating deep projects with actual users on it in under 6 months. The speed at which a complete beginner can get to a first or second year, even third year developer by previous standards of early 2020s has been increased dramatically. With that being said, let me break it down for you.

Reason number one, the underdog advantage. Being new isn't a weakness, it's your weapon. Every position has an advantage. Being the underdog is an advantage. Comparatively, big companies, they are fat and happy. Senior developers are comfortable and set in their ways. Protecting what they know, but you, you're hungry. You've got nothing but time, energy, and speed. You're not buried in legacy code, you don't have to maintain a 10-year-old system, you can go straight to modern tools, clean code, and faster ways of building.

When I first started, I failed non-stop. That was my advantage. I could take as many shots as I wanted. I could write lines of code that didn't even make sense. There was no pressure to be perfect. Any mistakes I made back then left no permanent mark on my career. I was able to pivot between stacks until I found the right one. You have to find the one that you can go deep on. One that you're willing to use to create that one project it takes from you to the beginning to the end of the process.

That process of starting and finishing a project all the way to the end will give you the full insight of what software development is and kick off your career the right way, the life cycle. For me, it was Vue.js with Node.js. This was my preferred stack. As the underdog, I had a lot to prove. So, I offered to work for free in numerous places. I would literally go to meetups with the purpose of trying to create software for startups.

After a few months, I was able to land a gig creating the Magic the Gathering directory app for a board game cafe. I essentially did this project for free and so they didn't expect much from me as well. I worked tirelessly night and day and was able to finish the app within 2 weeks. The employers were so happy with my work that they referred me to other clients. That experience taught me about authentication, chat, and profile management for the first time.

That one free project fueled my career for the next seven. That's the underdog playbook. Don't fear rejection. Ask for opportunities. Offer to work for free if you need to. Your work might be underpaid, but that experience is worth thousands. That's the fastest way you can start building for someone or anyone. We always talk about how companies look for work experience on your resume. Go make that happen. There are work experiences everywhere.

You just have to be brave enough to do the work for free. It's just the step you have to be willing to take as the underdog. Otherwise, you won't go anywhere. I got this one from Alex Hormozi. He says that if you spend 100 minutes every day on content, spend $100 on ads, and do 100 outreaches, you will create a six-figure business. Well, if you do my version of the rule of 100, you will land a high five or even six-figure programming job in 8 to 12 months.

Here are some of the things I suggest you do starting today. Writing 100 lines of code a day across small projects builds fluency faster than long cramming sessions. Two, 100 algorithm challenges in a month train your brain more than a single marathon study session. Three, spending 100 minutes a day building a single product accelerates mastery. Four, sending 100 outreach messages to engineers gets you mock interviews and mentors.

Five, contributing 100 comments to open source discussions helps you get noticed. And there are a few more things you can do as an underdog. It's by contributing to communities or giving credible answers on LinkedIn posts with helpful comments. You can also write thoughtful comments on GitHub issues and that could help attract maintainers and give you opportunities. Those kinds of effort don't get unnoticed. So, I want you to write in the comments below what is a helpful resource a complete beginner can start today with.

Don't just let me know. Let others know who read the comment sections of this video. Be helpful yourself. Reason number two, it's easier to be nimble as a beginner. Starting today, starting today means you are not bound by a company's road map. Take advantage of this time today because it will never come again once you break into tech. So, cherish this time to learn and grow. It's like the first time you enter the dating pool.

You have never been in a relationship so it's nerve-wracking but also exciting. A senior developer might be the Java guy or the Angular expert tied to a company's needs. Their paycheck depends on it. But you, as a beginner, can explore Python today, React tomorrow, and Rust the next week without derailing a team or a business. This flexibility means you can adapt to the market faster when the hot new tech comes out. And let's not forget that AI exists now.

Eight years ago, when I started, every crowd app took months to write. Now, with GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or Cloud Code, you can create an entire project in a week. This means you can test ideas quickly, learn from mistakes, and keep moving. Something seniors with years of manual coding habits might resist. In my mentorship program, we have our guys create full-scale apps using the fundamentals they have learned in the first three to four months.

Then, my mentors and I equip them with an AI workflow designed to impress recruiters. All the mentees are required to know the fundamentals, but afterwards, they use AI like a scalpel. AI builds the skeleton and they refine it. That's how Julian built Practimate, an AI interview helper for landing tech roles. And that's how Truong built his mental health journaling app. I'll link a few more examples below. And I have a few bigger and larger-scale projects coming up that are built by my mentees, such as the Left Field Trainer and Let's Social.

Stay tuned in the Discord and their upcoming videos for updates. Next, this is the number one mistake beginners make when they start coding. They try to learn like four or five languages at once. If I could go back in time and tell my younger self what not to do, it would be not to learn JavaScript, Python, PHP, and Java at the same time. I would tell myself to just stick with JavaScript for my first year. You're not making any progress by doing this, because the winners of 2026 pick one stack, one framework, and go deep.

They will build a project from start to finish. You don't need 20 shallow tutorials. You need that one polished repo that screams, "I can [ __ ] build." This one repo gets you interviews and makes recruiters take you seriously. Bootcamps flooded the market with shallow devs. CS degree students know theory, but they aren't practical and most of them haven't made something real that solves a real problem. That's good news for you because companies are hunting for specialists who can actually build.

That's why you pick one. React, Svelte, or whatever. Just be the go-to guy for one of those. The companies who are looking specifically for your skills will chase after you. Be a specialist, not a generalist. That's how you break into the tech market in 2026. Depth transfers, shallow doesn't. Go deep now. So, when the new technologies arrive, which it will, your fundamentals will carry over. You'll master it faster than anyone else.

Reason number three, your competition changes over time. Competition never goes away. It just changes shape. That's why your beginner phase is so valuable. Most people quit the moment they see competition. That alone eliminates 80% right off the gate. Of the 20% left, the ones who stick through the shifts of this industry and block out the noises, they become the high-value six-figure developers. It's already happening.

Yes, the market is tough, and yes, AI is here to stay, but the demand for software is exploding. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said it himself. The world needs 1,000x more software. Therefore, he predicts programmers will earn three times more, not less. More. So, if you stick it out, you get smarter, faster, and more productive. And when AI creates new high-paying jobs, you'll be the first in line. Let me show you how competition changes.

Stage one, you. In the beginning, it's just you versus you. The lazy version that picks Netflix over code. Beat this version first before you move on to the next stage. Stage two, friends and family. Then your competition becomes your friends and family. They'll tell you that coding is too hard. AI will take your jobs. Stick with the current paths. Ignore the noise. Keep coding. Ship projects. Be consistent. Proof silences doubt faster than words.

Stage three, other candidates. After that, your competition becomes other candidates. They might have better resumes and they might even have a CS degree, which you might not have. Who cares? My best mentees had none of that. What they had was grit, persistence, the ability to start a project and finish it. Stage four, being on a team. Then you land a job and your competition becomes your team. Can you ship features?

Can you communicate clearly? Can you be the person your manager trusts to deliver? Competition here becomes a bit different. The question isn't outdoing others anymore. It's about, can you play well with others? It's about being the most reliable, not the smartest or the fastest. Teams don't want the smartest coder. They want the most reliable teammate. They want the one who can document their work. They want the one who can take on boring tasks or hard tasks and nail them.

Your edge? Be teachable, then teach others. Level yourself up, but pull your team up, too. AI can't replace that. A leader, a decision maker, an impact player, that's you. And at some point, the competition won't be just with other coders. It's the market itself. AI will automate some jobs and even eliminate them. Regulations will shift industries and some big tech firms might not hire for a while. So, what? You've been adaptable and overcame so many challenges since day one.

You're that underdog. These regulations and shifts will hit the biggest corporations the hardest. So, what do you do? You pivot to industries that are starving for developers such as healthcare, education, energy, climate tech, etc. And every new wave of tech, whether it's AI agents or new frameworks, they all need humans to design, test, and debug. That will never change. Companies won't risk handing it all to AI. That's where you come in.

Not a senior developer who's been stuck in their ways since 2018, but a person who started in 2026 and adapted to every weather change since day one. So, when you see the noise, a YouTube comment, your family members or friends about how learning to code in 2026 is so stupid, just keep going. When you skip parties to study, people will question you. Just keep going. When you land your first job, the people who questioned you before will make some snide comments out of envy.

Ignore it. Just keep going. Your only job is to keep moving, to find people who push you higher. Remember that jealousy is proof you're on the right track. Remember that being unknown and new to tech in 2026 is your superpower. You can experiment without fear, fail without consequences, learn faster than bloated companies can adapt. Nail the basics before you scale. Expect your competition to change and be ready for it.

Guard your time from [snorts] doubters. Be the teammate people trust. And above all, remember AI isn't your replacement, it's your ally. The coders who start now will grow up with AI as their partner. That makes you dangerous. That makes you the underdog who wins. So, comment below, I will start today, or I will start [ __ ] today. No, you won't start [ __ ] today. So, comment below, I will start today. Take your first shot because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

And remember, if I can do it, you can do it too. Coding saves lives. I had a lot of coffee today.