From Teaching to Claude Code: Building Smarter Systems with AI

Welcome back to another episode. Today's episode is a really good example of what modern careers actually look like and definitely not boxed into one time. My guest today is Kevin, the developer based on Malta, whose path has moved through teaching English around the world, managing schools, content writing, SEO, and now into AI operation cloud. What I love about this conversation is how practice is practical. We talk about how AI fits into real life, not in a hype you a but just way to remove friction, automate repetitive tasks and help people do better thinking instead of work. Given shares like ChatGPT and are often just entry point but it's not the end point. And how curiosity and asking better questions can lead you into so much more powerful applications like cloud code and natural language processing, even if you don't come from a natural traditional tech background. We also talk about timing, adoption and why right now is really an approachable moment to start experimenting with AI, especially if you're someone who likes clarity, efficiency and systems quiet background to it. Thanks, Kevin. All right.

All right. So you said your Monday just feels like a long, long day already.

Yeah, because it was quite a busy weekend in terms of stuff getting done. So Monday, Sunday, Thursday, it's all getting work done, I guess. How's your, how's your Monday been?

It's been great. It's been a great Monday so far. Ye.

I am.

You know, when like things. I don't. Kevin, maybe we're not the same here, but sometimes when like things feel a little bit messy and I just like, can dig, dig into it and like write it out and make it make sense and kind of like map it out. Well, I had a little bit of that happening this morning that, that just felt like, ah, cool.

Let's.

Let's start the week off now.

So that always helps. Yes. Tell people where. Yeah, I'm in Malta, Europe.

Wow, cool. And are you from Malta?

I am, yes. Yes.

Okay, so tell us how Kevin, growing up in Malda, landed here with Jam AI.

Yeah, it's been quite a journey, I guess, to get to this place. So. Yeah, I mean, up until I guess I was, or let me go back, I guess. Yeah, Very, very good question. So I was born in Malta. I went to university in Malta. I graduated as OR in business and development, and I became a developer for I guess the first year or two of my career. But I very quickly realized that it wasn't for me, which is kind of funny now because I spend much more time in front of a computer than I thought ever was possible. Anyway, so after a couple of Years of being a developer and I was coding stuff related to like the applications on a Mac operating system. I decided it wasn't for me. And while I was sort of in university I had been doing some teaching, like English teaching. So Malta being a small island and with its location we get a lot of students that want to learn English as a second language. So I was doing this while I was at university and then I approached my, my ex boss back then and I was like is it something I can do full time throughout the year? Because it's more of a. Or in summer there's a lot more demand for it than the rest of the year. So it's it only a few teachers get to do it sort of throughout the year and she accepted. And I spent 11 years teaching English and managing the school at some point as well. When it comes to the academics, it was also a job that allowed me to travel quite a lot. So I spent a year in Australia, I spent three in Cape Town managing the school there. There were quite a lot of trips here in Europe as well, Germany, Belgium, just to name a few. Because we also did a lot of marketing of the school by going to these different places and offering or showing how atypical lesson is because it was very, I guess different than the students being the one sitting down, the teachers being the one sort of at the front of the classroom and giving the lesson. It was much more interactive and it was really around the whole dynamics of sort of how to make learning as interesting as possible I guess. Anyway, Covid hit and the whole teaching situation became a bit of a mess because everything shifted online and obviously what was the norm before was no longer. So it was also time for a change after 11 years in the English teaching industry. So I knew a person that was starting a search engine optimization company. So it was a startup that was the first employee in that company. I spent I think a couple of years doing that and then after that I decided to go full time self employed. So that was when I left that company and this was in four years ago. So it was around yeah, 2022, beginning. End of 21, beginning of 22 I started doing content writing. So I was finding my own clients and offering to write up their blog posts, offering to write up any sort of content that they needed and that sort of transitioned into then OpenAI. I think it was like version 2 came out and many business owners were not yet aware of what it could do. So there was a bit of a. It was a very good time in terms of Demand and supply. There was a lot of demand for content, but not many people knew that they, I mean it wasn't as straightforward and as easy as, or as accurate as it is now. So there was a bit of a discrepancy. Anyway, there was a lot of demand for content at that stage, so it was great to get into the whole content writing as a freelancer at that stage. Over time that demand sort of went down as more and more businesses started using ChatGPT and then all the other tools that came after that. And with that I also started shifting into building automations. So what I loved about it is that it combined the sort of the development side with the content creation side and I love the sort of progression to very roundabout way of getting to answer your question. Then I started doing some teaching in a few communities, doing tech support, doing a few workshops and that sort of builds. And I met Gem in one of these communities. I think she was looking for someone to build, I would say like a voice, like a voice bot or a few automations. I don't recall what it was. It was. And beginning of last year maybe, or end of the year before, anyway, we connected. I did the build for her and then kept on speaking. Then here we are, I guess.

Yeah, very cool. No, I, I love that and I, I love that, that, that with a resume or someone's background there's this story, this path. Right. So it's like, well, first of all I have questions, of course. So I want to learn a little bit about you before you went to university to become a developer. Like what even got you interested in that?

I think I was always a bit more on the analytical side compared to the, like, I would rather be on my computer instead of, I don't know, going to a party or like a quiet coffee shop versus a party. I would always go for the quiet coffee shop where it's me, myself, I'm learning, I'm sort of developing those sort of skills which in a way the English teaching part or English teaching phase of my life was great in that regard because you have to be a social person. Like I remember the first couple of or first few months where I would go into the classroom and all the students are looking at me expecting a lesson. I'm like, like, what do you want? What do you need from me? All the training that were given before that. So it was. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the combination of what I was growing up and what the English teaching job gave me, it is now something That I really enjoy and sort of get a lot of satisfaction when I see that what I'm able to transmit to other people, they can implement and improve whatever skill they're into. But to answer the question of how I got into development, I don't really know. I think in secondary school actually there was. We had this sort of programming class using very. Now what feels like dinosaur programming where I think like each sort of each word by by hand obviously like button by like one button at a time. And that gave me some, I guess some love into or thinking about problems logically and finding a solution to solve them. It wasn't something that I was very passionate about or something like that though. I think it was more made sense. Yeah. When I think about it, like my mother knew someone that had a friend who had a company here, a Malta development company, who was the sort of the person leading this development company. And I think that's how it got, I got into it. So it was more sort of you should speak to this person. And then it sort of kept on going from there.

But also what a nice reminder to like utilize your network.

Yeah, yeah, 100%.

Okay. And then in this. How did you, how did you learn your English? How did you, I mean, did you get TOEFL certified? Like how, how did you go from developer to ESL or efl?

Yeah, yeah. So to teach at like in summer and as a, at a basic level, I guess you do your tefl, which I think is like, I mean there's a few words or I guess similarities in terms of what it is called. But here it was called tefl. That was like a, I know like a. It was a few evenings for a period of months and then you can get, you can start to teach then. I had also done the one after that, which I think was called Certisol. Again there's a few of them and that allows you to sort of manage a team and then it's like the next level after the first certificate. So in terms of learning English, since Malta has two official languages which are Maltese and English, most people have at least a very basic or at least a basic level of English and it's also taught in school. In addition to that, growing up I remember watching Cartoon Network instead of like some people watched or were better at English, other people were better at Italian as a second language because of what sort of channels you would watch growing up as a kid. In my case it was more cartoon networks and the sort of English, English based channels, I guess. So that's where that English knowledge came from at a young level, I guess. Perfect.

Cool. I think it's funny. So, so obviously you and I both get to work with Jam, right? And from the first few interactions I met you, I'm like, okay, Kevin and I probably couldn't be any more different, right? I'm like, I want to get in. I'm like, hi Kevin, tell me about your childhood traumas and like, let's be best friends, you know. And Kevin's like, you know, I don't have time to do anything but what we're doing. And, but, but I love this because I also was an ESL teacher. I also traveled around the world and I turned it into a nonprofit that is now a 12 year old program in the school districts in Central Texas where we teach English through dance. So we use content based instruction and total physical response. And I only share this with you because when you were talking about the, the idea of being interactive and engaging with. Yeah, I get it. So also just a beautiful reminder that like we're all a lot more similar than we might give each other credit for.

Right? True. I'm thinking that once we had. So in summer I was taking care of like around 70 teachers at one point and we were teaching like the younger students that were, I guess like up until 12 years old. And every week they would have this graduation ceremony and it would be a few, I mean sometimes upon, I guess as many as 500, 600 students graduating in a two hour period. And it's, I guess it's tough to imagine, but I had to do a special dance along with my team of teachers on a stage in front of these people and I, I was the one leading these people doing this dance which, which now it's so tough to imagine even myself. But yeah, when I say the story to or people that I knew from that job remind me of that. It's like it feels like it's a different person. But it's also, I guess you develop the skill that if you need it when it comes to the. Maybe the extra version or the some things that you're not or you're no longer. You don't do on a regular basis. I guess that muscle is there and can board that card is there and can be sort of used if needed teaching, I am, I'm just not dancing. I'm just not dancing on screen.

Hey. Yet.

Yet.

Yeah.

Always say yes. Yeah.

Very cool. So then we go into this content. We. We kind of dig into SEO and then this content writing and then we built these Automations. And here you are with us. So I want to take a pause. What do you do when you're away from your computer?

I go to the gym. I ride my motorcycle. So I think those are the two. The two, the two best things to really be present and not think about work. Because that is.

Do that with a helmet.

I do. Yeah.

Okay. Can you tell Mom? I'm a mom. And what else, what else do you do?

I do acroyoga. So. So I'm very passionate about that. Yeah, it combines acrobatics and yoga. Yeah. So different movements. It's also very. I find it's more difficult than it looks in the videos that you see online and all that stuff. It's also a difficult view. Okay.

Yeah.

But, yeah, I enjoy that. Even from a being present point of view, I find you have to be really present and sort of think about what's coming next. And there's a sort of trust involved with the partner that you're doing the movement with.

Cool.

So very cool.

And do you, do you teach that as well?

No, I don't yet. Yet.

Okay. And how did you get involved with that?

I had a friend whose ex wife was a dance instructor and once I went to. I mean, again, I'm speaking about dance, maybe there's something here, but I went to this like she was giving a Brazilian dance class and there I met this guy that was about to start an acroyoga course. So I went for this course and then I guess I started to enjoy it more and more and then. Yeah, it's been two, three years that I've been doing that as well.

Good for you. And how often do you do that?

I try to do it once a week. But it's also. People come to Malta, they leave. There's a lot of sort of people that come, they go. And it's not always easy to have consistent partners for it, but when possible, there's also a big event that happens here in Malta every year that people fly in for. And I think it's becoming quite a popular activity as well.

Super cool. So cool. Okay, so you're in this AI space when you're not at the gym doing acro yoga, doing riding your. Your bike with your helmet. And tell us what you're most excited about right now in all things AI.

Yeah, well, it's a bit of a tough question because it changes so frequently. Like the whole industry changes so frequently. But I think some of the. It's like if I think of something that can't be done now One thing I love doing is also try to build with what will be possible in the near future in mind, if that makes sense. So we might not be able to do this now with the current technology, but if I build with this in mind when the technology becomes available, then it will be easier to slot that in instead of sort of building from the foundations back up. For example, things related to Voice are pretty exciting and I think we're not quite there yet, but there's also been a lot of improvements. Things related to video and video generation. AI influencers. I was having a conversation with a local businessman here in Malta. He's spending so much time hiring models and organizing shoots and ensuring the lighting is perfect and the weather is, you know, what it should be. And then if anything, any of that goes wrong, the influencer wakes up feeling, I don't know, not feeling so good was one of his things that he mentioned. The whole thing that needs to get postponed at the expense of whatever was prepared for that. So there's a lot of things that are happening. I'm also very excited about how in a way it opens up this. These latest advancements open up the space for everyone to get into it, while also showing how, how many levels there are to the whole game. In a way, you can get in here quite easily, whereas before you had to have a certain level of expertise to get. Get in at level one, whereas this is now maybe level one, two and three are more accessible to everyone. But also that's a great way. I think that if you are curious, if you are learning more about what you can do and you're sort of questioning things as well, getting to level four and five, I feel there's more of a. It's easier to connect the dots and to have that bridge to go from the next level to the next, from this level to the next one as well.

Yeah.

So.

So what would you tell people that are just like so afraid to even intentionally dip their toe into this world of AI?

I would say, yeah, what's there to lose? Because it's a great way to, number one, solve your own problems. And things related to, I know, repetitive tasks, things that you don't really want to do at the moment. There are tools that if or anything, or maybe as close to that as possible, when it comes to things that you do on your computer, they can be done by an AI. It's not always perfect, but if you think about it like that, I would say, can you afford not to do it? Not just. It's like if you're not taking action now. I think the divide between those that do and those that don't will keep getting bigger. So there's, number one, no reason not to do it. And number two, I would also say maybe at one stage it will be you also don't have a choice, if that makes sense. So I think now is a great time to get into it. Any issue, any problem where you get stuck, there's help within AI itself. I think those are all the reasons as to why you should instead of sort of shouldn't.

So what do you recommend, Kevin, for those that are just kind of currently using ChatGPT as an alternative and more efficient Google?

Right.

What do you, what do you recommend for people to. To go from that to their next step in. In AI?

It depends on whatever they want to accomplish, I guess. But as a general sort of blanket answer, I would say last week or the week before we did an introduction to cloud code. And I think that's a great way to start thinking about it from a How can I take this further point of view? And it also opens up so many different possibilities in terms of, again, depends on the problem that you're trying to solve. That would be, I guess, the thing that opened up so many possibilities lately. Because last year if we wanted to build an automation that connected a few different things, it was either getting into something like make.com or an A10. Now there's not even the need for that again, depending on what you're trying to solve. I still think there's a need for those tools in specific situations. But I think looking at these tools and at the end of the day being curious enough to. Even if you're using ChatGPT, having conversations where you're asking it what is possible and what it would recommend for your specific situations and not being afraid to have that conversation and saying, I don't really understand this. Can you explain it to me like I'm five? Or in simpler languages? I love that sort of prompts like I don't. I have no idea what you're saying. Explain it to me like I'm five? Or use simpler analogies. And it has a very good way of doing that.

And I like that a progression. So, so, so going from like, hey, how do I make this type of chicken tonight? To hey, I would really like help sending out some automated emails. How do I do this? Yeah, talk to me like I'm five.

Explain it to me like it's a kitchen chicken chicken recipe. In the kitchen analogy, it's like if you can tie it to something that you understand. Like if I had to do it the opposite way around. I'm not big into cooking, so if I had to. Yeah, like how do I cook the best chicken ever? Explain it to me in programming terms. I don't know. That would be something that I would do.

None of that. Make it work for you.

Exactly.

So, so tell us. So this, this podcast, it won't get uploaded until February 6th. Today is January 26th. So a whole lot can happen between now and then, you know. So, so, so when you listen to this on February 6th, what, speak to your, Speak to your future self? What, what do you want to have learned by then and accomplished by then and have checked off your to do list personally and professionally?

So I'm traveling to the UK this weekend. Thank you. Between Friday and Monday. So hopefully I'll, I wouldn't have frozen to death by the time I listen to this. So that's one hope I have. Because I'm, I'm not, I'm not a very big, like I can't live in a country where it's cold and gloomy. So that's one thing.

I get it.

Yeah.

I get it.

Yeah. There's a lot of ongoing client projects at the moment, so hopefully it will be a bit less hectic because some projects will have completed awesome potentially with sort of the next level after that. But at the moment it's a bit hectic with juggling multiple stuff. So there is that.

Yeah.

I guess the other thing is always trying to maybe what I don't know now and learning new things that can unlock things that make life easier or that allow me to do more from a self development point of view. I guess I'm very big into the whole. It's like what's the next level? And then what's the level after that once you get there.

Yeah, no, I, I, I feel you on that. So I love that. So you know, not asking you to look at your crystal ball and not to put you on the spot. So this gets released on February 6th. Welcome to February, everyone. And you know what, what can people look forward to learning from you inside Club Jam?

Yeah, I think we're adding more in the cloth code, getting the AI to do more of what you wanted to do using natural language, both in Club Jam and I mean using AI in general. So I think more of that where maybe going back to the kitchen analogy, you know, where you are, you know, the outcome that you want, which is the dinner ready to go and you don't have to figure out the steps in between. And if you can explain what you want and have a better idea or have an idea of maybe tools that you want to use, which, I mean, I don't know, you'd need to use the oven, you'd need to do all the things that need to be done for the chicken to be cooked right. If you can say, I want this, this is where I am. These are the tools I have available. How can we get this done? I think we're getting closer to that. Becoming more and more of a reality where instead of typing, I'm dictating stuff, I'm brain dumping my thoughts, and then the final product is as close to. I don't want to say something that's ready to go, but getting there or as close to that is becoming more and more of a reality. That's where I would sort of bet on if I were to be a betting man, I guess.

And I love, I love, you know, I love that we ended this call and you used the term natural language. Right? And this kind of this interwoven dance on this conversation of language and dance and. But yeah, such a reminder to. You don't need to speak code to have AI work for you.

It is even like cloth code in a way. It is a bit of a, I guess, confusing sort of, or a statement that would put off some people when they hear the word code. But I also think that's much, much more than just coding.

Well, cool. Well, I look forward to learning more from you and Kevin, I look forward to speaking with you soon. Thank you so much for being here with me today.

Sounds good. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Bye.

Talk soon.