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    Make sure it works first

    We love elegant systems and code. They feel good. But elegance is not the question. First you gotta make sure it works and solves the problem on time and under budget. Because anyone can make a bridge that stands, but it takes an engineer to build a bridge that barely stands.

    We talked about this and other insights from my upcoming book with Bas Steins on his podcast. I think you'll enjoy the conversation.

    Additionally my talk from TechLeadConf last month is now public. You'll hear about lessons learned while tripling the size of our engineering in a year. It's been a wild ride.

    It's one of my best talks

    I swear my camera looked better when we were recording.

    Cheers,
    ~Swizec

    Published on October 21st, 2025 in Software Engineering, Learning, Mindset, Podcast, Talks, Scaling Fast Book

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    Senior Mindset Book

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    Have a burning question that you think I can answer? Hit me up on twitter and I'll do my best.

    Who am I and who do I help? I'm Swizec Teller and I turn coders into engineers with "Raw and honest from the heart!" writing. No bullshit. Real insights into the career and skills of a modern software engineer.

    Want to become a true senior engineer? Take ownership, have autonomy, and be a force multiplier on your team. The Senior Engineer Mindset ebook can help 👉 swizec.com/senior-mindset. These are the shifts in mindset that unlocked my career.

    Curious about Serverless and the modern backend? Check out Serverless Handbook, for frontend engineers 👉 ServerlessHandbook.dev

    Want to Stop copy pasting D3 examples and create data visualizations of your own? Learn how to build scalable dataviz React components your whole team can understand with React for Data Visualization

    Want to get my best emails on JavaScript, React, Serverless, Fullstack Web, or Indie Hacking? Check out swizec.com/collections

    Did someone amazing share this letter with you? Wonderful! You can sign up for my weekly letters for software engineers on their path to greatness, here: swizec.com/blog

    Want to brush up on your modern JavaScript syntax? Check out my interactive cheatsheet: es6cheatsheet.com

    By the way, just in case no one has told you it yet today: I love and appreciate you for who you are ❤️

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