The Software Engineer's Guidebook
Gergely Orosz
In my first few years as a developer I assumed that hard work was all I needed. Then I was passed over for a promotion and my manager couldn’t give me feedback on what areas to improve, so I could get to the senior engineer level. I was frustrated; even bitter: not as much about missing the promotion, but because of the lack of guidance.
By the time I became a manager, I was determined to support engineers reporting to me with the kind of feedback and support I wish I would have gotten years earlier. And I did. While my team tripled over the next two years, people became visibly better engineers, and this progression was clear from performance reviews and promotions.
This book is a summary of the advice I’ve given to software engineers over the years – and then some more.
This book follows the structure of a “typical” career path for a software engineer, from starting out as a fresh-faced software developer, through being a role model senior/lead, all the way to the staff/principle/distinguished level. It summarizes what I’ve learned as a developer and how I’ve approached coaching engineers at different stages of their careers.
We cover “soft” skills which become increasingly important as your seniority increases, and the “hard” parts of the job, like software engineering concepts and approaches which help you grow professionally.
Praise for the book
“From performance reviews to P95 latency, from team dynamics to testing, Gergely demystifies all aspects of a software career. This book is well named: it really does feel like the missing guidebook for the whole industry.” – Tanya Reilly, principal engineer and author of The Staff Engineer's Path
"Spanning a huge range of topics from technical to social in a concise manner, this belongs on the desk of any software engineer looking to grow their impact and their career." – James Stanier, Director of Engineering at Shopify
Duration - 14h 59m.
Author - Gergely Orosz.
Narrator - Nikola Hamilton.
Published Date - Wednesday, 10 January 2024.
Copyright - © 2023 Gergely Orosz ©.
Location:
United States
Description:
In my first few years as a developer I assumed that hard work was all I needed. Then I was passed over for a promotion and my manager couldn’t give me feedback on what areas to improve, so I could get to the senior engineer level. I was frustrated; even bitter: not as much about missing the promotion, but because of the lack of guidance. By the time I became a manager, I was determined to support engineers reporting to me with the kind of feedback and support I wish I would have gotten years earlier. And I did. While my team tripled over the next two years, people became visibly better engineers, and this progression was clear from performance reviews and promotions. This book is a summary of the advice I’ve given to software engineers over the years – and then some more. This book follows the structure of a “typical” career path for a software engineer, from starting out as a fresh-faced software developer, through being a role model senior/lead, all the way to the staff/principle/distinguished level. It summarizes what I’ve learned as a developer and how I’ve approached coaching engineers at different stages of their careers. We cover “soft” skills which become increasingly important as your seniority increases, and the “hard” parts of the job, like software engineering concepts and approaches which help you grow professionally. Praise for the book “From performance reviews to P95 latency, from team dynamics to testing, Gergely demystifies all aspects of a software career. This book is well named: it really does feel like the missing guidebook for the whole industry.” – Tanya Reilly, principal engineer and author of The Staff Engineer's Path "Spanning a huge range of topics from technical to social in a concise manner, this belongs on the desk of any software engineer looking to grow their impact and their career." – James Stanier, Director of Engineering at Shopify Duration - 14h 59m. Author - Gergely Orosz. Narrator - Nikola Hamilton. Published Date - Wednesday, 10 January 2024. Copyright - © 2023 Gergely Orosz ©.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duration:00:00:15
Preface
Duration:00:03:36
Introduction
Duration:00:03:50
Part I: Developer Career Fundamentals
Duration:00:02:36
Chapter 1: Career Paths
Duration:00:43:02
Chapter 2: Owning Your Career
Duration:00:29:02
Chapter 3: Performance Reviews
Duration:00:28:19
Chapter 4: Promotions
Duration:00:31:26
Chapter 5: Thriving in Different Environments
Duration:00:34:54
Chapter 6: Switching Jobs
Duration:00:37:49
Takeaways for Part I
Duration:00:01:57
Part II: The Competent Software Developer
Duration:00:02:55
Chapter 7: Getting Things Done
Duration:00:45:37
Chapter 8: Coding
Duration:00:27:30
Chapter 9: Software Development
Duration:00:28:23
Chapter 10: Tools of the Productive Developer
Duration:00:24:05
Takeaways for Part II
Duration:00:01:32
Part III: The Well-Rounded Senior Engineer
Duration:00:08:30
Chapter 11: Getting Things Done
Duration:00:33:57
Chapter 12: Collaboration and Teamwork
Duration:00:40:19
Chapter 13: Software Engineering
Duration:00:34:04
Chapter 14: Testing
Duration:00:28:50
Chapter 15: Software Architecture
Duration:00:25:51
Takeaways for Part III
Duration:00:01:40
Part IV: The Pragmatic Tech Lead
Duration:00:02:53
Chapter 16: Project Management
Duration:00:40:32
Chapter 17: Shipping to Production
Duration:00:34:24
Chapter 18: Stakeholder Management
Duration:00:18:47
Chapter 19: Team Structure
Duration:00:12:29
Chapter 20: Team Dynamics
Duration:00:24:06
Takeaways for Part IV
Duration:00:02:39
Part V: Role-Model Staff and Principal Engineers
Duration:00:06:23
Chapter 21: Understanding the Business
Duration:00:41:38
Chapter 22: Collaboration
Duration:00:30:00
Chapter 23: Software Engineering
Duration:00:45:59
Chapter 24: Reliable Software Systems
Duration:00:46:26
Chapter 25: Software Architecture
Duration:00:43:41
Takeaways for Part V
Duration:00:02:10
Chapter 26: Lifelong Learning
Duration:00:23:50
Chapter 27: Further Reading
Duration:00:01:22
Acknowledgements
Duration:00:02:11
Ending Credits
Duration:00:00:18