Ask HN: Books about lifelong engineering/technology career

9 pointssaas_startup1y ago4 comments

I am looking for books/blogs that cover a lifelong career in technology (or engineering). Most of the materials typically focus on singular engineering achievement (building Apple I/II (like iWoz) or sending a rocket to the moon (any books about Von Braun) rather than focusing how one builds a life-long career.

The closest I ever found was a post by Will Larson: https://lethain.com/forty-year-career/

4 comments

mitchbob1y ago

The first part of your request sounds like you're looking for biographies of technologists, while at the end it sounds like you're looking for something more like self-help books. If you're looking for the former, a couple of big, fascinating histories that describe long careers in technology, starting with childhood, are

- The Dream Machine [1], which chronicles the career of J. C. R. Licklider

- The Friendly Orange Glow [2], where Donald Bitzer is the main character.

[1] https://press.stripe.com/the-dream-machine

[2] http://friendlyorangeglow.com/

saas_startupOP1y ago

Those are really good :) Already ordered, thank you!

meander_water1y ago

This was posted here a few days ago:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42930528

markus_zhang1y ago

I just read the first 2 chapters of iWoz and I already decided to recommend this book to everyone, especially if you have a kid. The first 2 chapters worth gold.

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