The Software Engineer's Guidebook(engguidebook.com)
engguidebook.com
The Software Engineer's Guidebook
https://www.engguidebook.com/
35 comments
It’s my impression, as an engineer, and as expressed in other comments here, that a lot of (most?) engineers rather be doing/making things rather than managing people/processes/politics
I wonder if it’s difficult for companies to find VPs of engineering, staff engineers and engineering managers
I wonder if it’s difficult for companies to find VPs of engineering, staff engineers and engineering managers
I've been a developer for 15 or so years and while I love to build, it's difficult to do anything meaningful in a vacuum. I've also been slowly chipping away at pre-engineering curriculum for the past 10 or so. Once I realized I have a knack for managing developers and I finished an AS, I went back to school for industrial /management systems engineering and haven't looked back. Now I get to architect big projects at a high-level and guide a team of very specialized people who are better coders than I could ever be... but I still get to dirty my hands quite often.
I definitely dread having to do PR reviews sometimes but it's really fulfilling and if that's rare, then that's great for my income potential right?
I definitely dread having to do PR reviews sometimes but it's really fulfilling and if that's rare, then that's great for my income potential right?
Good ones, that deeply understand a technical subject and complexities, but are also great at the other aspects, are pretty hard to find.
I could use a book on how the heck to finally move into a 'normal' software engineering role after having it elude me in every way you can imagine for for the past 3 years after college.
Seriously, how did I become a software lead without first being a SWE? I'm handling it well, but I really just want a 9-5 where 80% of my day spent with the code.
Seriously, how did I become a software lead without first being a SWE? I'm handling it well, but I really just want a 9-5 where 80% of my day spent with the code.
Is that even possible? I'm currently the lowest of the low code monkey with no extra responsibilities but I code for maybe 10% of my time if that. Mostly I coordinate with other people to get info about what's broken this week and when it will be fixed and how soon we can deploy the code that I wrote in 5 minutes last week and who I need to get on board for it. I kind of get it to some extent, code is a liability that's expensive to maintain, but my god it's mind numbing some days. The idea of spending 80% of my time coding is absurd. I'd settle for 25%.
I do think I'm as good as someone could reasonably be at getting the actual devs the info they need and then getting the hell out of their way. I chalk it up to the study and note taking habits I myself have, since I often leave my side projects lying around for months at a time between donors.
Maybe that's why I ended up here. Maybe getting 5 folks like you from 10% to 12% coding time makes a bigger difference than adding my own 10% to the pile :(
Maybe that's why I ended up here. Maybe getting 5 folks like you from 10% to 12% coding time makes a bigger difference than adding my own 10% to the pile :(
I naturally take the lead and often end up in a similar situation where I spent a lot of time on leading, instead of tech.
Early this year I joined a new team and expected the same to happen, but there were also a few other people who wanted the lead. I've taken that opportunity to let them. I'm now mainly coaching them and bothering with the team dynamics, without getting too distracted by stakeholder management. I now regularly have days where I'm pretty much fulltime coding! (And headspace to develop new initiatives outside the team; an unexpected benefit/distraction.)
Early this year I joined a new team and expected the same to happen, but there were also a few other people who wanted the lead. I've taken that opportunity to let them. I'm now mainly coaching them and bothering with the team dynamics, without getting too distracted by stakeholder management. I now regularly have days where I'm pretty much fulltime coding! (And headspace to develop new initiatives outside the team; an unexpected benefit/distraction.)
It's always nice when you wind up on a team full of high agency people!
> Navigating senior, tech lead, staff and principal positions at tech companies and startups.
So why is the preview talking about how to pick first and second programming languages?
So why is the preview talking about how to pick first and second programming languages?
I don't want to progress my career. I want to get better at building things.
>> I want to get better at building things.
Well that was my thought as well. I assumed that the latter would take care of the former. But I'm finding that if you aren't working in FAANG or similar this is not really the case.
I now realize I have to take concrete steps to progress my career in terms of positioning and salary.
Well that was my thought as well. I assumed that the latter would take care of the former. But I'm finding that if you aren't working in FAANG or similar this is not really the case.
I now realize I have to take concrete steps to progress my career in terms of positioning and salary.
If you're optimizing for "I want to get better at building things", you only need to work at a FAANG if you want to work in the high-profile domains they work on. But each FAANG member has about XX,XXX other engineers doing that already, so you're probably going to be assigned to something else anyway.
I'm not sure what's frustrating your career, but most of us are actually working outside of FAANG and doing really great engineering with skills and experience that compound year over year and more than enough income to live very comfortably.
Find the domain that you want to work in and stay focused on it. Build relationships; earn trust; and contribute good, thoughtful work.
You will probably not make as much money as the FAANG people, but you also won't be caught in vicious political fighting for interesting roles and will enjoy much more personal agency when not wearing their golden handcuffs. But you'll get to get better at building things, and if you focus on a domain you actually care about, the things you build will feel cool to you.
I'm not sure what's frustrating your career, but most of us are actually working outside of FAANG and doing really great engineering with skills and experience that compound year over year and more than enough income to live very comfortably.
Find the domain that you want to work in and stay focused on it. Build relationships; earn trust; and contribute good, thoughtful work.
You will probably not make as much money as the FAANG people, but you also won't be caught in vicious political fighting for interesting roles and will enjoy much more personal agency when not wearing their golden handcuffs. But you'll get to get better at building things, and if you focus on a domain you actually care about, the things you build will feel cool to you.
Yeah, I don't really want to make significantly more money. I'm well above the floor for what I need, and material wants aren't hugely important to me. Supporting my family while building good software is all I really want from work.
Maybe one of these if more worthy of your time?
- The C Book
- GOF Book
- The Dragon Book
- TAOCP Book
- The Rust Book
- The C Book
- GOF Book
- The Dragon Book
- TAOCP Book
- The Rust Book
I've read the Rust book. Adore it. Planning to read TAOCP next. Thanks for the practical book recs, though.
I want to give the book a try. It seems interesting. I'm not sure though. I'm so burnt out seeing anything about a tech career or career advancement is unpleasant. I'm trying to accept that I just have a job, not a career, and that I won't get beyond midlevel.
I came to the realization that software engineering was not what I wanted to do - about 4 years ago. 6 years into my career now. I still do it because I have bills to pay. I sometimes wonder how many others are in my shoes.
That's a bummer. Are you done with programming, or just all the apparatus of arroundig it in a business environment.
I would say a combination of lifestyle and mental aspects. I do enjoy programming still, just not everything else that comes with it. Agile, meetings, business requirement documents, more meetings...
Something I have had trouble with is finding purpose - I work at a government agency, and I feel my work means next to nothing (for various reasons I can't get into).
I did manual labor for a while during university, and the sedentary nature of my current job may be contributing to my decreased interest to carry on with it.
Firefighting looks like something I'd love to do.
Something I have had trouble with is finding purpose - I work at a government agency, and I feel my work means next to nothing (for various reasons I can't get into).
I did manual labor for a while during university, and the sedentary nature of my current job may be contributing to my decreased interest to carry on with it.
Firefighting looks like something I'd love to do.
Looks interesting, ordered one for myself. As other commenters pointed out, I also enjoy building things by myself and there are already plenty of resources out there to keep improving on that front. However, at some point you realize that some if not most projects are bigger than yourself and you’ll need to work in a team. Not to mention it’s also more fun to work with other people where everyone can find their place to shine. With that come politics, processes, and management. And if your project is extremely interesting and attracts lots of folks, you’ll have to learn “the ways” to make sure you still get to keep working on the project. Thanks for a new addition to my shelf!
Surprised there's no eBook yet (as per the FAQs). Once there is, I'll buy. This looks great!
ebook piracy is rampant among the target audience (young/junior developers who are in education or just starting their career) so I’m sure he doesn’t want to release an ebook until paperback sales decline.
I've only read the link and the sample pages slightly, but this feels hyperfocused on advancing your career. Somehow the existence of books like these makes me depressed... is that rational? I just picture the future of tech being all about competitive people trying to race through their careers while the rest of the world puts up with their unpolished software.
What you described is the present of tech, not the future.
"The best way to get what you want is to deserve it"
Who exactly deserves a middle-management position where they sit between the actual business-handshakers who suck the blood from the company and the actual ("individual") contributors who do all the useful work? A nebulous self-busywork position that exists solely because it's convenient for the game of Feudalism that the upper management plays, the possibility of joining their ranks dangled in front of you like some cruel game of keep-away, with them knowing you'll never actually be able to become like them? Nor ever being able to return to the realm of Actual Work, as your skills slowly decay away and you lose your own sense of self-meaning, spending your entire days in meetings playing petty politics and cooking corporate metrics? Waking up every day to a miserable, tired existence as an utterly worthless being, your presence only resented by those underneath you, and mocked by those above you? Who deserves that waking nightmare!?
A good manager reframes and finds a way to protect themself from what you are describing.
This is exactly what I was thinking :(. Well put.
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Also the writing style feels reminiscent of what happens when you ask ChatGPT too broad of a question: You get an overly generic response that assumes you’re starting from absolute zero knowledge about anything about the topic. Probably a great book for someone starting from absolute zero industry knowledge who wants each thing explained in the simplest terms possible.