Episode 489: Ethical dilemma for a gambling app dev and ethical employers

Episode 489: Ethical dilemma for a gambling app dev and ethical employers

Author: Jamison Dance and Dave Smith December 1, 2025 Duration: 34:57

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:

  1. Hey Jamison and Dave, love your show!

    A question for you guys coming all the way from the Netherlands šŸ§€

    I’ve started as a software engineer in a gambling company lately and the moral aspect of it bothers me a bit.

    And while listening to you talking about the importance of accessibility in the last episode (#488) I came up with this moral dilemma: should a developer push for making a gambling app more accessible for users with disabilities or better not to? šŸ˜…

    Thank you šŸ–¤

  2. Listener Arie Marie asks,

    What are some good ways to research prospective employers to see if they have a strong commitment to ethical and human values? What are good questions to ask prospective employers during an interview? How can I be a developer and do what I love, and know that I’m not making the income inequality greater? How do you develop a lens to look at a company and discern it’s positive impact? How do you know if you’re making the world a better place?


The weekly advice Soft Skills Engineering podcast, hosted by Jamison Dance and Dave Smith, operates on a simple but profound premise: writing excellent code is only one part of a successful career. The real challenges-and opportunities-often lie in everything else. This is a show dedicated entirely to the human side of software development. Each episode tackles the messy, complicated, and frequently unspoken questions that developers face daily. You’ll hear thoughtful discussions and practical advice on navigating office politics, having difficult conversations with managers, negotiating salaries, managing time and energy, collaborating effectively on a team, and building a sustainable, long-term career without burning out. It’s the crucial curriculum that most computer science degrees never cover. Jamison and Dave bring a blend of experience, empathy, and humor to these topics, offering perspectives that are both actionable and relatable. For anyone who has ever wondered how to handle a toxic coworker, get promoted, or simply find more fulfillment in their work, this podcast provides a much-needed forum. It’s a consistent source of guidance for the parts of the job that don’t involve a compiler, reminding listeners that their growth as a professional is inextricably linked to their growth as a communicator, a colleague, and a person. Tune in for honest conversations that go beyond the technical screen.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Soft Skills Engineering
Podcast Episodes
Episode 501: Vibecoding CEO and doing to teaching [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:17
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: A listener named Derek asks, I am the CTO and cofounder of a startup. Now that vibecoding is a thing, our CEO has kind of gone rogue, and and he’s vibecoding a bu…
Episode 495: What to do when my boss quits and moving to Romania? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:14
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hello gentlemen, long-time listener here, and I’d love your take on something that’s been keeping me up at night. The high powered boss that I report to is someon…
Episode 494: Am I interviewing all wrong and leaving old team chats [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:02
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Dear Damison and Javison, I work at a very small startup (<10 engineers) and am trying to hire 2 engineers. I’m doing the intro/screener interview for these roles…
Episode 493: My boss one-ups my negativity and football engineering [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:01
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hey Guys, long time listener, first time asker! At my BigCorp Co., whenever I talk to my skip level about my concerns, it seems we are playing the ā€˜Gloom Olympics…
Episode 492: Fresh grads and startups or the goog [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:30
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Listener AWS multi-region is not real multi-region, ask me how I know asks, We’ve recently acquired some bright-eyed and bushy-tailed new grads. What have you fou…