Grow your engineering career
Your code gets you to senior. To go further you need more than code โ interviews, negotiation, picking the right problems, and knowing what the business actually pays you for. These essays cover the career side of software engineering.
Career essays
10 articles from 2022 ยท show all
November 2022
Can you stay a senior engineer forever?
Here's an idea that can take the pressure off your career: Yes, you can stay a senior software engineer forever. But how?
On becoming tech lead
A few weeks ago I made tech lead, a type of staff engineer. Here are my thoughts on what that means, how it happened, and why you'd want such a thing.
October 2022
Reader question: Work at a big international or a local studio?
Fellow reader Frank writes in with a question about career moves and I thought my answer could help you too
Grow your career ... in this economy??
if you've been following tech news lately, things feel ... ๐ Between the layoffs, hiring freezes, investors suddenly caring about revenue, and whatever the heck stock markets are doing, we're in for a rough time. BUT!
July 2022
Always have 3 answers
How do you stand out as an expert amid tech layoffs?
April 2022
When to join and leave a company, project, or trend
Timing changes everything. Who do you think has better engineers? The team that built Google from 9 million daily searches in 2000 to 1 billion in 2009, or the team that launched Google's 10th chat app last year?
March 2022
Are you the engineer who scoffs at high salary numbers?
Engineering compensation falls into groups so different that neither group even realizes the others exist. And they fight about it.
Why experts charge more
Ever noticed how an expert's job isn't that different from an apprentice's? Yet they can charge way more ๐ค
January 2022
Quick tip for system design interviews
What are system design interviews for anyway?
The quickest way to fail a tech interview
No it's not a wrong answer or floundering with algorithms. Not even being nervous or shy or having a language barrier. Culture fit is the least of your worries if you make this mistake.