Why World Class Engineers Don't Apply For Jobs

Why World Class Engineers Don't Apply For Jobs

From Beyond Coding by Patrick Akil

April 22, 2026 · 38 min · Episode 248

About this episode

Bruno Schaatsbergen discusses how to effectively contribute to open source and the impact of AI on the ecosystem.

Most engineers approach open source the wrong way. They write code, open a PR, and wonder why it never gets merged. Bruno Schaatsbergen, Terraform core contributor and ex-HashiCorp engineer, breaks down the real craft behind contributions that actually land, and why AI is quietly breaking the ecosystem we all depend on. In this episode, we cover: Why pull requests get ignored (and the counterintuitive fix) How AI slop is killing open source from the inside Using AI agents without losing your identity as an engineer Why open source beats a tailored resume in today's market How consistent contributions can reshape your entire career If you've ever wanted to contribute to open source but didn't know where to start, this episode gives you a clear perspective from someone who's been on both sides. Connect with Bruno: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bschaatsbergen OUTILNE 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:04 - How Open Source Shaped My Entire Career 00:02:14 - Why I Take Pride in Every PR I Write 00:03:16 - Open Source vs Personal Projects: The Real Difference 00:04:18 - Why Your PRs Get Ignored (And How to Fix It) 00:05:41 - Know Your Audience: The Counterintuitive PR Hack 00:06:35 - Dealing With…

People in this episode

Host: Patrick Akil

Guest: Bruno Schaatsbergen

Topics covered

  • open source
  • career development
  • AI impact
  • pull requests
  • engineering skills

Keywords

  • open source contributions
  • pull request strategies
  • AI in engineering
  • career growth
  • imposter syndrome

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HashiCorp

Products: Terraform

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