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    Swizec's articles in the "learning" category

    I aim to write mindblowing emails with real insight into the career and skills of a modern software engineer. "Raw and honest from the heart!" as one reader described them.

    Below are 151 articles filed under learning. Enjoy ❤️

    Reader question: Should you learn the latest hotness?

    Great question. Common concern. *What if I get stuck in a technology that isn't hot??* Or worse, burn out re-learning every new thing 😱
    September 22nd, 2022

    The audience loved my talk but I didn't

    A critical look at a conference talk that went great but felt a little off.
    June 24th, 2022

    Meetings – a senior engineer's secret weapon

    Boo meetings, yay code, right? There comes a time in your career when coding is no longer your highest impact contribution. Might even be holding you back. 🙊
    October 1st, 2021

    A great engineer knows their tools

    Earlier in my career when I thought I was god's gift to engineering but wasn't, I failed one of those stupid interview questions that "have nothing to do with the work". It was a great question.
    September 9th, 2021

    You don't need a big team to automate your work

    The opposite of folks who follow every FAANG trend and over-engineer their companies to death, are the folks who *never* take advice from the big boys.
    July 27th, 2021

    Tips for a fulfilling tech career

    When I dropped out of college to focus on freelancing back in 2012, I set 3 ground rules:
    July 23rd, 2021

    What I learned from Software Engineering at Google

    When I first picked up Software Engineering at Google I thought it was another one of those FAANG books full of lessons that make no sense at human scale. I was surprised, lessons apply to teams as small as 5.
    July 16th, 2021

    Your career needs a vision

    In his book, The Art of Science and Engineering, Richard Hamming says the key to a great career is vision. What does that really look like?
    July 14th, 2021

    Preventing RSI for programmers

    I've been computering daily for 24 years, since I was 9, and managing RSI since high school. People often ask how it never gets bad. This is the article I always wish I had written.
    July 9th, 2021

    Do important work

    Next time you finish a project, ask yourself: *"Might this work be important?"*. Add the polish.
    June 19th, 2021

    Can you code faster?

    What slows you down most while coding? It's not lack of skill. It's not lack of ideas. It's uncertainty. Fear.
    February 26th, 2021

    How I use delegation to get more done

    Productivity porn shows you how to pack more into your day. Productivity porn is wrong my friend. You need to remove things to grow.
    October 23rd, 2020

    Should you take a pay cut for equity

    Would you take some % of your salary in bitcoin? The joke is that compared to pre-IPO equity, bitcoin is predictable and has a known value.
    October 9th, 2020

    Computer science is not software engineering

    Wow, college was such a waste of time ... when did you ever invert a binary tree outside of an interview? Honestly I never inverted a binary tree in college either ☹️
    October 2nd, 2020

    Why senior engineers get nothing done

    You start a new job and it's amazing. Code all day, clear objectives, easy guidelines, ship a bunch of features be a hero. Then something happens and suddenly you get nothing done. 🤔
    September 11th, 2020

    Why Understanding beats Knowledge

    Understanding beats knowledge every day. To have a strong career, learn to understand, not just to know.
    August 28th, 2020

    This kid is amazing


    January 25th, 2019

    Loops are the hardest


    February 15th, 2018

    Am I thinking too small?


    January 11th, 2018

    How resumé-driven development shapes our industry

    All that once was new is old again
    October 19th, 2017

    Go the fuck home


    October 20th, 2016

    I Got Schooled


    September 2nd, 2016

    Teaching beginners


    August 19th, 2016

    Learning me a Haskell


    December 23rd, 2011

    Calorie counting is silly


    September 20th, 2011

    Mac OS X Lion and Wi-Fi


    September 18th, 2011

    KVM and the great outdoors


    September 11th, 2011

    The quickreading


    September 10th, 2011

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