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.
I wonder if it’s difficult for companies to find VPs of engineering, staff engineers and engineering managers
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?
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.
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 :(
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.)
So why is the preview talking about how to pick first and second programming languages?
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.
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.
- The C Book
- GOF Book
- The Dragon Book
- TAOCP Book
- The Rust Book
