Ever wanted to test a new automated deployment pipeline, dive deep into PHPUnit, or experiment with AI tools – but couldn’t risk bringing down a client’s live site?

The tech landscape is moving faster than ever. Between the rapid evolution of WordPress and the explosion of AI, keeping your skills sharp exclusively on the clock is nearly impossible. Enter the “toy project”: your ultimate, risk-free developer sandbox.

In this talk, we will explore why personal side projects are no longer just weekend hobbies, but critical environments for professional growth. We’ll discuss how to use these low-stakes projects to master essential, modern workflows – like configuring PHPCS, writing comprehensive PHPUnit tests, and building robust CI/CD deploy pipelines – without the pressure of client deadlines or production environments, yet still more use than following your online academy tutorial.

We will also dive into the realities of the AI era. Learning to effectively leverage AI isn’t just about reading documentation; it requires hands-on experimentation. We’ll explore how side projects are the perfect place to hone your AI prompting and integration skills.

Finally, we’ll tackle the business side of the equation. I’ll make the case for why employers should actively support their developers’ open-source and personal projects by allowing them to use company resources – whether that means coding on the company MacBook after hours or utilizing leftover AI quota from premium agency subscriptions.

What you will learn:

* The Power of Low-Stakes Coding: How to use side projects to safely learn advanced tools (PHPCS, PHPUnit, CI/CD) and make your daily work easier.
* AI as a Skill, Not Just a Tool: Why you need a personal sandbox to truly learn and experiment with AI workflows.
* The Mutual Benefit of Sponsorship: A persuasive argument for why companies should encourage the use of idle company resources (hardware and API quotas) for private learning and open-source contributions.
* Restoring some joy in your work, by creating something that you’ll use yourself