Career
The New Pattern of 2026 Tech Layoffs: 'Cut and Pivot'
I examine the new 'Cut and Pivot' strategy behind tech layoffs in 2026 and what it means for our careers.
#indie-hacker
59 posts found.
Career
CS Degree, Bootcamp, or Self-Taught: The Equation in 2026
Analyzing the equation between a CS degree, bootcamp, or self-learning when charting a career path in the software industry in 2026, based on my 20 years of.
Career
Too Late to Learn Code in 2026? The Wrong Question
Mustafa Erbay's career advice: Is it too late to start learning code in 2026? I explain why continuous learning and adaptation are what truly matter.
Career
The AI Premium is Real: Engineers with AI Skills Earn 12-56% More
Why engineers with AI competencies earn higher salaries in the industry, which skills stand out, and the impact of this premium on careers…
Career
Of course, Mustafa Erbay's blog: homelab and career focused
The impact of homelab setup on my career, practical steps and how to stand out in job interviews?
Career
The 5+5 Safest and Most Dangerous Software Roles in the Age of AI
How AI technologies are transforming the software world, which roles will remain safe, and which are at risk, based on my own experiences…
Career
Is a University Degree Still Necessary for Software?
With 20 years of system architecture experience, I examine the place of a university degree in the software world and its pragmatic realities.
Career
To My 20-Year-Ago Self: 7 Things That Would Change My Career
With 20 years of system architecture experience, I share the turning points of my career and 7 things I wish I had known looking back. This is not advice, but…
Career
Should I Become a Manager? No One Tells You It's a Reversible Decision
Transitioning to a management position isn't a one-way street as commonly believed. My own experiences show that returning to technical roles is possible and.
Career
Choosing an AI Code Assistant: Copilot, Cursor, and Claude Code
Examining the effectiveness of AI code assistants in software development, comparing GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Claude Code based on my own experiences to.
Career
I Became a Manager and Returned: Do I Regret It?
The reasons behind my transition from a management position back to a technical career, the challenges I faced, and the lessons I learned.
Career
My Most Expensive Engineering Decision
Sharing the story of an engineer's most costly 'yes' decision in their career, with lessons learned from 20 years of experience.
Career
The Candidate Who Impressed Me Most in a Job Interview
I've conducted hundreds of job interviews. Most candidates had memorized technical information, but only one truly impressed me. Why? Because of their.
Career
Companies Quietly Hiring Juniors While Everyone Fears AI
While the rise of AI sparks fears of job losses, many companies continue to invest in junior talent. This post explores the reasons behind this trend and its.
Career
The Heaviest AI Users Atrophy the Fastest: The Skill Atrophy Trap
I examine how over-reliance on AI tools dulls our professional skills, with examples from my 20 years of field experience. In the long run, this…
Career
Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Was a Junior
5 critical lessons distilled from my 20 years of career experience, which I'd tell my junior self.
Career
What Does It Mean To Be 'Senior' In The Age of AI?
In the AI-transformed tech world, the meaning of 'senior' is changing. Experience, problem-solving, and workflow mastery are more important than prompt.
Career
No Longer a Bricklayer, You're the Foreman: The Quiet Evolution
The developer's role is quietly shifting from writing code to becoming a 'foreman' who holistically manages systems and workflows. This transformation.
Career
How to Survive as a Developer in the Age of AI?
With 20 years of experience, I explain how developers should position themselves in the AI era, emphasizing the importance of technical depth and real.
Career
The Price Tag of Self-Hosting: A Comparison with Cloud Costs
I compare the costs of self-hosting versus cloud computing based on my experiences. Real numbers, trade-offs, and which is more profitable in different.
Career
Two Distinct Software Developer Markets in Turkey: 95,000 TL vs.
Exploring the software developer salary gap in Turkey, the profound differences between the 95,000 TL and 175,000 TL levels, and the systemic reasons behind.
Career
Passkeys: Enterprise Adaptation and Individual Use Cases
Exploring the potential of Passkeys in both the individual and corporate world, their technical details, and the real challenges in adaptation processes, based.
Career
2026 Technical Interview Broken: 38% of Candidates Use Invisible AI
The 38% rate of candidates cheating in technical interviews with unseen AI tools questions the future of hiring processes. This situation...
Career
5 Self-Hosting Projects for Infrastructure Specialists: Real-World
I share my experiences with 5 critical self-hosting projects that infrastructure specialists can undertake on their own servers to gain real-world experience.
Career
They Cut the First Step of the Ladder: The Junior Developer Crisis
A pragmatic perspective from my 20 years of field experience on the difficulties junior developers face in finding jobs and the reasons behind this situation.
Career
Have AI Tools Made Me a Better Engineer?
In light of 20 years of experience, I discuss the impact of AI tools on my engineering career, the areas they've accelerated, and the importance of critical.
Career
You Think AI Speeds You Up by 24%; It Actually Slows You Down by 19%
I compare AI's promised acceleration in software development with the actual decrease in productivity observed in the field. Why did we slow down, and how can.
Career
Monolith vs. Modular Monolith: An Indie Hacker's Choice
As an indie hacker, I explore software architecture choices: balancing the easy start of a Monolith with the flexibility of a Modular Monolith, based on my own.
Career
The Only Rule That Hasn't Changed in 20 Years: Real Experience
Drawing from my 20 years of experience in system architecture, networking, and software development, I share what truly lasts in a changing tech world...
Career
The First Thing I Look for When Hiring: Talent or Fit?
With 20 years of system architecture experience, I look for much more than just what's on a candidate's resume. What catches my eye first during hiring? Based.
Career
Managing Cardinality Explosion in Observability in 3 Steps
Strategies for detecting, filtering, and managing the high cardinality issue that inflates costs and disks in metric infrastructures.
Career
The Biggest Lie in the Software World: 'Perfect Code' or Real Success…
With 20 years of experience, I'm revealing the biggest lie in the software world: how chasing perfect code hinders real success and the pragmatic approach…
Career
Building Your Own Platform vs. Using a Ready-Made Solution: Lessons
With 20 years of system architecture experience, I compare the cost of building your own platform against the advantages of using ready-made solutions. An.
Career
20 Years in IT. Here's What I Still Don't Know
With 20 years of experience in system architecture and operations, I'm still discovering and learning many things in the IT world. In this post, I'll share.
Career
Distributed Lock Alternatives: Which One to Use in Which Scenario?
Take a deep dive into the alternatives, use cases, and trade-offs of locking mechanisms in distributed systems.
Career
The True Value of an Idea: The Cost of Success and a Pragmatic
With 20 years of system architecture experience, Mustafa Erbay discusses the true value of an idea, the most expensive mistake in his career, and the pragmatic.
Career
Distributed Systems Idempotency Design: 3 Practical Ways
I explain the three practical idempotency strategies I use to prevent duplicate requests in distributed architectures, with production experiences and code.
Career
Is Software Engineering Dead?
A bold look at the current state of software engineering with 20 years of system architecture experience. With real experiences and a pragmatic approach...
Career
My Biggest Entrepreneurial Mistakes
In my 20 years of system architecture and software development experience, I've made some big entrepreneurial mistakes beyond just technical knowledge. Here.
Career
The Support Bill of Choosing an Offline-First Mobile Architecture
I analyze how adopting an offline-first architecture in mobile applications increases long-term support costs rather than just development efforts.
Career
Building a Product vs. Marketing It: Which is Harder? A 20-Year
In my career, I've learned that the difference in difficulty between building a great product and marketing it isn't what we often think. Here are my.
Life
Mobile App Size: 3 Priorities from an Indie Hacker's Perspective
Optimizing your mobile app's size is crucial for increasing download rates and improving user experience. Here are 3 critical priorities from an indie hacker's.
Career
Kernel CVE Response: 3 Priorities for Infrastructure Professionals
I analyze 3 steps infrastructure managers should prioritize when responding to critical kernel CVEs, based on field experience.
Career
Optimizing Supply Chain Data Flow: 3 Steps for ERP
A 3-step guide to optimizing supply chain data flow in manufacturing ERPs, covering database, transaction queues, and network segmentation.
Career
Commercial APMs: Why They Are Always Overkill for an Indie Hacker
Why commercial Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tools are disproportionately costly, especially for solo developers and small teams...
Career
Kernel CVE Response Pattern: A Practical 3-Step Approach
Learn how to respond quickly and effectively to critical CVEs in the kernel with a practical 3-step approach.
Career
Why Network Certifications Are Insufficient for Your Career
I explore how far network certifications can actually carry you in your career, and why field experience and deep knowledge are much more critical.
Life
IPv6 Transition: A Useless Struggle for the Indie Hacker?
Analyzing the real cost and benefit of IPv6 transition for solo creators. Focusing on practical utility rather than technical jargon.
Career
BurnCPU's First 100 Users: The Most Expensive Mistake of My Career
With 20 years of system architecture experience, I explain how the most expensive mistake of my career wasn't a line of code, but a 'yes'. A thought-provoking.
Career
Mobile App API Versioning: The Career Cost of Technical Debt
An in-depth guide to mobile application API versioning strategies, the impact of technical debt on careers and projects, and best practices.
Career
Drawing Technical Boundaries in Network Consulting in 3 Steps
I examine what happens when we don't define the boundaries of our work in infrastructure and network consulting, in 3 steps from L2/L3 layers to DNS.
Career
How the BurnCPU Idea Came About: A Career Story
I'm sharing candidly how the 'BurnCPU' idea, one of the turning points in my career, was born, the problems I faced, and what it taught me.
Career
Why I Built My Own Social Network
One of the biggest decisions in my career was to build my own social network. I'm sharing why I embarked on this journey, my expectations, and what I learned.
Life
MVCC Misconceptions: The Indie Hacker's Database Choice Dilemma
I analyze the practical implications of MVCC, performance trade-offs, and real-world scenarios when choosing a database for indie hackers.
Career
Does GitHub Copilot Make Developers Lazy? My Perspective
With 20 years of experience, I question how AI tools like GitHub Copilot impact developer productivity and whether they lead to laziness.
Career
The Thing I Wish I Had Given Up On Sooner in My Career
A lesson distilled from twenty years of experience: My biggest mistakes weren't technical, but not knowing when to give up. How I fell into the perfectionism.
Career
Why Do Most SaaS Companies Fail?
With 20 years of system architecture experience, I explain why most SaaS startups fail and what the right steps should be.
Career
There Is No Such Thing as a Perfect Product: The Naked Truth of 20
With 20 years of system architecture and software development experience, Mustafa Erbay deconstructs the 'perfect product' myth. Pragmatic approaches and.
Career
What Happened After My Mastodon Account Was Suspended?
A personal experience on the limits of free speech on social media and how platform decisions impacted my career.