Mindset

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?

Shipped code wins

Grow your career ... in this economy??

if you've been following tech news lately, things feel ... 😖 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!

The art of the cowboy merge 🤠

how do you catch a critical deadline that cannot be missed? We're talking external stakeholders, millions on the line, and it all hinges on *your* team getting it done on time. No overtime

Reader Question: What do collaborative teams look like?

New members on our team invariably say 2 things: 1. Wow I've never seen a team move this fast 2. This approach feels weird. I'm uncomfortable Teams like this are not common.

What coding tutorials and teachers get wrong

Chatting about teaching and learning complex technical skills with an engineer I'm mentoring. She's a former chef. We shared the same frustration with online resources.

Reader question: So about that perfect burndown chart ...

If your approach works so well, why isn't every team doing this?

Nobody is coming to save you

How do you react when you don't like The Process at work? Most programmers complain on social media, make a wry joke, and ... suffer. Not great

Reader question: Feeling guilt as a tech lead

Keep getting the guilt, that I'm not able to code, just running around for discussions and solving other issues, managing people. Any idea to manage all the fronts and get rid of this guilt?

You don't *have to* build it sloppy to go fast

My favorite mistake to make when I'm in a hurry is to think that I _have to_ build new features the sloppiest way possible. Find the quick fix and move on. But that's not true.

What makes a great software engineer?

In 2015 a group of researchers asked 59 experienced engineers at Microsoft "What makes a great software engineer?". Here's what they found.

Write abstractions, not just code

Wherein I use a silly example to show why you need more than small reusable single purpose functions to write good software.

Always have 3 answers

How do you stand out as an expert amid tech layoffs?

Coding forces you to understand the problem

Programming translates fuzzy understanding into exacting specifications. That’s why it’s hard. The Illusion of Explanatory Depth reigns supreme

There are no bad teams

it’s the leader, not the team

Writing software is like kicking a can

Writing software is a playful process of exploration and discovery. Like a game of kick the can on a Sunday walk.

The role of a senior+ engineer

"Every product org should have a senior+ engineer whose job it is to run around and make everyone else more productive" 🤔 That IS the role of a senior+ engineer

How we made the best burndown chart you've ever seen

My entire career I've never seen a sprint finished on time. The new manager said "Oh I think we can fix that" ... 18 months later he proved me wrong

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?

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 🤔

How to give and receive feedback

Feedback can save an airplane from crashing, or upset everyone around you. But for you personally, honest feedback is the fastest way to become a better engineer. Fixing what you're bad at is where the gains hide.

Be their shit umbrella

because if you go to bat for the team, the team goes to bat for you

Quick tip for system design interviews

What are system design interviews for anyway?

What is the goal of engineering?

How can you know you're succeeding if you don't know where you're going?

Try to work for a brand

Brand helps your career in subtle ways.

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.