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Coding

Articles and posts related to coding, by Paul Roberts, a Tokyo-based tech recruiter.

Entry-Level Job Hunting Advice in Japan (Bootcamp, University, & Career Changers)

01/11/202605/19/2025 by Paul

Finding your first job can be challenging – entry-level job hunting in Japan comes with its own unique hurdles. This guide is written for new graduates, bootcamp graduates, and career … Read more

Categories Guides, Recruitment Tags Coding, Living in Japan

Code Chrysalis interviews: hiring junior software developers in Japan

08/05/202503/12/2024 by Paul

The Butterfly Effect with Code Chrysalis Join me, along with career coach Bukky Adejobi from Code Chrysalis (a Tokyo-based coding bootcamp), in our new YouTube series where we dive deep … Read more

Categories Recruitment Tags Coding

Profile #23: Alvin Leonard – CTO at SmartRyde

08/05/202510/10/2023 by Paul

Paul: Alvin Leonard is the CTO of SmartRyde, a Tokyo-based startup providing airport transfers to travellers around the world. Alvin and I spoke about his early career as a software … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Living in Japan, Startup

Profile #22: Aidan Fournier – from archaeologist to software engineer

12/28/202503/22/2023 by Paul

Paul: Aidan and I first connected after she graduated from Le Wagon’s coding bootcamp in 2021. Our conversation today covers a wide range of topics, from her time at university … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Living in Japan

Profile #21: Philippe Khin – Solo founder of SewaYou

08/05/202509/07/2022 by Paul

Paul: Philippe Khin is the Tokyo-based founder of SewaYou, an app that helps you easily find language partners in your area. Philippe and I talked about him coming to Japan … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Entrepreneur, Living in Japan, Startup

Profile #20: James Balcombe – software engineer at MODE, Tokyo

12/28/202508/17/2022 by Paul

Paul: James Balcombe pivoted his career from international school computer science teacher to software engineer at a startup in Tokyo. James and I spoke about his early interest in computers, … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Living in Japan, Startup

Profile #19: Jayson Cunanan – AI engineer and entrepreneur

12/28/202508/03/2022 by Paul

Paul: Jayson Cunanan moved to Japan from the Philippines in 2011 to follow his dream of using higher education to find a better life. Jayson and I spoke about his … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Living in Japan, Startup

Profile #18: Drew Terry – founder of OpenSalary.jp

12/28/202507/11/2022 by Paul

Paul: Drew Terry is the founder of OpenSalary.jp, a website promoting salary transparency for the tech community in Japan. Drew and I spoke about starting his career as a software … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Entrepreneur, Living in Japan, Startup

Profile #14: Lawrie Cate – software developer at Tokyo travel tech startup KabuK Style

12/28/202502/17/2022 by Paul

Paul: Originally from the UK, Lawrie moved to Tokyo in 2018 to work as a software engineer at Mercari, the Japanese marketplace unicorn. Lawrie is now at travel tech startup … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Living in Japan, Mercari, Startup 1 Comment

Profile #13: Sushant Pandey – IoT entrepreneur & future Tokyo resident

12/28/202501/22/2022 by Paul

Paul: Sushant Pandey is the founder of Scurid, a distributed digital identity platform bringing scalable security to the world of IoT. A Shibuya Startup Visa holder, Sushant will be relocating … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Entrepreneur, Startup

Profile #12: Jatin Kumar – software developer, HR specialist & curry enthusiast

12/28/202501/11/2022 by Paul

Paul: I first learned about Jatin Kumar after stumbling upon an online post about his GoCurry community last year. I was fascinated to learn more about Jatin’s background as a … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Entrepreneur, Mercari

Learning to code (again) at 49 – part 1

08/05/202509/03/2021 by Paul

A few months ago I got an itch. It started gradually, arriving unannounced, so quietly at first I barely noticed it. But then, over time, it became more noticeable. This … Read more

Categories Personal Tags Coding

Guest Post #2 – Nathan’s Magic Missile D&D spell in Python

08/05/202503/31/2021 by Paul

Paul: Today we have a guest post by my friend Nathan Dibley. It’s Magic Missile code in Python for all you D&D fans! Nathan: Hi there. This is a D&D … Read more

Categories Guest Post Tags Coding, DnD, Python

Profile #8: Sylvain Pierre – Entrepreneur & co-founder of Le Wagon Tokyo

12/28/202502/03/2021 by Paul

Paul: Sylvain Pierre is an entrepreneur, co-founder of the Le Wagon Tokyo coding bootcamp, and Tokyo resident since 2016. We talk about how Sylvain got into entrepreneurship, his experiences in … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Entrepreneur, Living in Japan

Profile #1: Andy Hall – Tilting at GameDev Windmills

08/05/202508/26/2020 by Paul

Paul: Andy Hall is an indie game developer, originally from the US. Now living in Kawasaki, Japan, Andy and I met in early 2000, when Andy joined a Tokyo-based IT … Read more

Categories Profiles Tags Coding, Indie Games, Living in Japan