Mozilla layoffs 🦊, COVID19 tech industry 🦠 and a bit on side projects 👷‍♀️ - Synk #4
Tags: newsletter, showdev, webdev, news
Published: 2020-08-16 10:54:29

---
title: Mozilla layoffs 🦊, COVID19 tech industry 🦠 and a bit on side projects 👷‍♀️ - Synk #4
published: true
description: It's been a very interesting couple of weeks in the world of development. From a restructuring of Mozilla to noteworthy career tips, we've got you covered! Welcome to Synk #4!
tags: #newsletter #showdev #webdev #news
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/bsdz943g0wxzh6js5spm.png
---
It's been a very interesting couple of weeks in the world of development. From a restructuring of Mozilla to noteworthy career tips, we've got you covered! 

Remember, if you enjoy the content, you can subscribe over at [synk.sh](https://synk.sh).

## 📰 The News

###[Mozilla restructure leads to 250 employees being laid off](https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21363424/mozilla-layoffs-quarter-staff-250-people-new-revenue-focus)

As part of a company restructure, apparently triggered by the current coronavirus situation, Mozilla has decided to reshift focus only to specific products, leading them to lay off various dev favourites including the MDN team (whose birthday we just celebrated in the last issue) and the DevTools team. A truly sad day for those affected by the restructuring, as well as those who heavily rely on Firefox for development.

💬DISCUSS: [REDDIT ](https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/i8dwht/mozilla_have_laid_off_the_entire_mdn_writers_team/)| [HACKERNEWS ](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24132494)| [TWITTER](https://twitter.com/SteveALee/status/1293487542382333952)

###[Here is how the tech sector is dealing with the impact of COVID-19](https://www.hiringlab.org/2020/07/30/tech-sector-covid19-impact/)

The impact of coronavirus has been felt by many across the tech industry, and the data seems to confirm that. Though there is some issue with this data, such as the fact that it mostly focuses on the US and does not offer a breakdown of various seniority levels, it's fair to say that many industries, including tech, will be struggling for a while.

💬DISCUSS: [REDDIT](https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/i0td3m/indeedcom_data_show_that_the_job_market_for_tech/)

###[20GB of NDA Intel blueprints have been leaked](https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/06/intel_nda_source_code_leak/)

If you've been waiting for Intel documentation for years, then you're finally in luck, as 20GB of Intel blueprints have now been leaked! In all seriousness though, this leak may could bring on a new wave of Intel exploits we've seen in the past few years (Spectre and Meltdown). Also noteworthy is that the leaker's account has already been suspended from Twitter.

💬DISCUSS: [REDDIT ](https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/i4xxnk/20gb_leak_of_intel_data_whole_git_repositories/)| [HACKERNEWS](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24074588)

# 🔭 Code Discovery

###[A tool to automatically update your dependencies and keep things secure](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate)

Renovate is a very nifty, highly customizable tool that can automate pull requests whenever your dependencies need updating. Think of it like a supercharged version of Github's own dependabot.

###[A different, faster way of parsing JSON](https://github.com/simdjson/simdjson#bindings-and-ports-of-simdjson)

JSON is everywhere, and parsing it isn't always as fast as one might wish. Simdjson aims to change that, and it's already used by companies such as Microsoft, Shopify, and Yandex for that exact reason. Check out the Bindings and Ports of the README to find out how you can use it in your own application.

# 🎓 Career Development

###[Always ask questions in your interviews!](https://github.com/viraptor/reverse-interview)

Many people fixate so much on answering questions during interviews that they tend to forget they are a two-way street. Both parties have to find each other appealing, so here are some questions you may wish to ask; a reverse interview!

###[CS is not for everyone, and that is absolutely fine](https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/i8aynq/i_no_longer_thing_cs_is_the_right_career_for_me/)

Working in CS can be absolutely exhausting, as tiresome as any other job. Whether you're burning yourself out or just not enjoying the job at all, it's okay to think about changing a career. After all, your wellbeing is more important than the job you're doing.

###[Only coding at work is okay](https://zeroequalsfalse.com/posts/it-is-ok-to-only-code-at-work/)

Anecdotally, a lot of us have probably experienced the pressure of feeling like we constantly have to be coding. But the truth is, it's absolutely fine to only code at work. Will you be the top programmer at your company? Perhaps not, but are the sacrifices you have to make to get there worth it? That's for you to decide, and no one else.

💬DISCUSS: [REDDIT](https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/i7t6qv/it_is_perfectly_ok_to_only_code_at_work_you_can/)

# 🤔 Miscellaneous

###[How Adam Wathan turned Tailwind CSS into a multi-million dollar business](https://adamwathan.me/tailwindcss-from-side-project-byproduct-to-multi-mullion-dollar-business/)

Adam Wathan, the creator of the fantastic Tailwind CSS framework, has shared some insight into his journey of turning Tailwind from a side project to a succesful business. If there is one key takeaway here, it's this: keep building things. Just because one product you made wasn't succesful doesn't mean the next one (or the 100th!) will not be either.

💬DISCUSS: [REDDIT ](https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/i3erm0/tailwind_css_from_sideproject_byproduct_to/)| [HACKERNEWS ](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24031290)| [TWITTER](https://twitter.com/adamwathan/status/1290267369936269314)

###[NodeJS best practice, from the source](https://github.com/nodejs/nodejs.dev)

Want to see what a proper NodeJS project looks like? Then check out the official repository and spend some time perusing its wonders. Maybe you'll notice some cool things, such as the fact that 64.9% of the code is written in TypeScript. A sign of things to come?