Soft Skills Engineering

<p>In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:</p> <ol> <li>How can a developer damage their credibility online?</li> <li>How can I meet potential employers while I’m still in school?</li> </ol>

<p>In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer this question:</p> <ol> <li>Why would a developer leave a full time job to do consulting or contracting?</li> </ol> <p>It just so happens that Jamison did this a few months ago, and he shares his experience in making the transition.</p>

<p>In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:</p> <ol> <li>Should I go in to management?</li> <li>How do you know if a job is worth applying to?</li> </ol>

<p>In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:</p> <ol> <li>How should you reach consensus on a team? Should you always have consensus?</li> <li>What is the etiquette around editing code in a shared repository?</li> </ol>

<p>Literally the only episode that the advice “quit your job and get a better one” doesn’t apply.</p> <p>Dave and Jamison answer the question:</p> <blockquote> <p>What should I do when starting a new job?</p> </blockquote>

<p>In episode 28, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <h2 id="how-long-should-i-stay-before-i-quit-my-job">How long should I stay before I quit my job?</h2> <ul> <li>Two to three years seems fairly normal.</li> <li>Dave sees people with less than 12 months regularly.</li> <li>Staying at a job means you experience things you wouldn’t if you hopped around a lot.</li> <li>It is much easier to see the <a href="http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/methodologies/hype-cycle.jsp">hype cycle</a> play out if you stick around.</li> <li>You get to see the outcome of your own decisions.</li> <li>Quitting usually == raise.</li> <li>Chronic job hopping <em>might</em> result in a reputation of not sticking with things.</li> <li>Dave thinks you should quit your first job after 18 months because of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem">Monty Hall problem</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="how-do-you-encourage-junior-developers-to-improve">How do you encourage junior developers to improve?</h2> <ul> <li>We assume that these junior developers really want to improve.</li> <li>Make it clear that people get stuck and struggle, and that is normal.</li> <li>Make it clear that you don’t want them to get <em>too</em> stuck.</li> <li>Make it OK to ask questions.</li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/superSGP/status/693933815144779776">People generally live up or down to your expectations</a>, so help them feel trusted and that you expect they will be great.</li> <li>Make the outcome of their work clear.</li> </ul>

<p>In episode 27, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <h2 id="how-do-i-write-a-great-resume">How do I write a great resume?</h2> <ul> <li>Do you really need a resume these days?</li> <li>How important is formatting and good design?</li> <li>What content should be on your resume?</li> </ul> <h2 id="should-i-push-back-on-non-engineering-tasks-like-powerpoint-presentations">Should I push back on non-engineering tasks like PowerPoint presentations?</h2> <p>From listener samspot: I am a Sr. Developer and I am often asked to spend time on PowerPoint presentations for funding and other business stuff. I want to ask why the managers, analysts, etc can’t handle these tasks. I find them to be a frequent distraction from my actual responsibilities, especially because these are so frequently “emergency” requests. Should I push back on this work, or is it better to be a team player?</p>

<p>In episode 26, Jamison and Dave answer these question:</p> <h2 id="how-do-you-make-sure-people-know-about-your-good-work">How do you make sure people know about your good work?</h2> <p>See <a href="https://twitter.com/mzabriskie">Matt Zabriskie’s</a> <a href="http://www.mattzabriskie.com/blog/communicate-your-efforts">great post</a> for background on this.</p> <p>We also mentioned <a href="http://mdswanson.com/blog/2013/08/11/write-things-tell-people.html">Do Things, Write About It</a>.</p> <h2 id="how-do-you-get-your-point-across-effectively-so-you-dont-have-to-say-i-told-you-so-later">How do you get your point across effectively so you don’t have to say “I told you so” later?</h2>

<p>In episode 25, Jamison and Dave answer these question:</p> <h2 id="how-do-i-understand-the-business-side-better">How do I understand the business side better?</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://medium.com/@hoffa/400-000-github-repositories-1-billion-files-14-terabytes-of-code-spaces-or-tabs-7cfe0b5dd7fd#.ahv57m5mn">Analysis of tabs vs spaces</a></li> <li>How does your business make money?</li> <li>Just ask your CEO/manager</li> <li>Kill the myth of the pointy-haired boss</li> <li>Smaller companies expose you to this more</li> <li>Just ask questions: <ul> <li>What was our revenue last month?</li> <li>How much did we spend last month?</li> <li>Who are our biggest customers?</li> <li>How does the sales process work?</li> </ul> </li> <li>The Dave Smith Method® for learning business jargon.</li> <li>Be kind and have empathy when you learn.</li> </ul> <h2 id="can-i-be-a-good-technical-manager-without-a-technical-background">Can I be a good technical manager without a technical background?</h2> <ul> <li>Technical leadership vs management.</li> <li>Management means empathy and understanding. Can you get that without “coming up through the ranks”?</li> <li>What are the skills of a good manager?</li> <li>Does being a developer give you those skills?</li> <li>Dave is a Night Elf Code Mage.</li> <li>How do you handle technical concerns as a non-technical person?</li> <li>Don’t fake technical knowledge.</li> <li>Leading a team when you don’t directly see the effect of your actions.</li> <li><a href="http://randsinrepose.com/archives/managing-nerds/">Managing Nerds</a> by Rands.</li> <li>Jamison’s former boss’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Object-Programming-Visual-Windows/dp/1556158998">technical expertise</a></li> </ul>

<p>In episode 24, Jamison and Dave answer this question:</p> <p>As a software developer, should I be a generalist or a specialist? This was inspired by a Twitter conversation here: <a href="https://twitter.com/iam_preethi/status/766758679743954944">https://twitter.com/iam_preethi/status/766758679743954944</a></p>

<p>In episode 23, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>You are asked to be a CTO of a start-up. What questions would you ask in order to decide whether to join, and what things would you give most attention to, if you do join?</p> <p>I REALLY want and deserve a raise so I hope you two discuss how a nerdy introvert gets the CFO of a small privately owned business to want to give her more money when she’s already happily donating an additional 10-20 hours a week.</p>

<p>In episode 21, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>What’s up with all this health insurance jargon?</p> <p>How do I get started contributing to open source?</p>

<p>In episode 21, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>What kind of work should interns be given?</p> <p>How do you handle developers who are dead weight?</p>

<p>In episode 20, Jamison and Dave share some stories from people who have been fired.</p> <p>We also answer this question: How do I make code reviews more effective? It feels like reviewers fit into 2 categories: either they are too quick and superficial, or they get bogged down in nit picks.</p>

<p>In episode 19, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>Would you ever fire someone over a coding mistake? For example, should you empathize with ignorance and explain how SQL injection works or is the mistake so basic as to be intolerable. Would you change your answer if the mistake was found during a code review or found as the source of a data breach?</p> <p>How do you positively represent the desire to be demoted? I am called a ‘senior engineer’, but I got that way because of null instead of actual skill. I would like to be a senior engineer at some point, but I would be a better one if I travel more where I have seniors to look up to, established processes etc rather than stressing about defining everything myself; but that’s a weird thing to say to a current or potential boss and is hard to do without also volunteering for a pay cut.</p>

<p>In episode 18, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>I’m a computer science major who still has a couple years of school left. I also have a part time job doing web development. I love what I’m learning and doing at work to the point that I question if it’s worth investing two more years into school. How would you counsel someone in my position?</p> <p>From listener Antonio: How do I prepare for an interview?</p>

<p>In episode 17, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>From listener Greg Harrison: I want to build a side-project, but my lack of coming up with a good idea saps my motivation. Do you guys have any tips?</p> <p>Have you ever been fired? What happened? How do you bounce back?</p>

<p>In episode 16, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>From listener David Renne: What’s the best way to talk to random LinkedIn recruiters, recruiter calls and emails? I prefer the reverse lookup apps to determine if an unrecognized phone number looks like a recruiter it goes straight to voice mail during business hours.</p> <p>As a mid-level dev, i sometimes get frustrated when i try learning new things. how can i be more comfortable as a beginner? Sometimes i get frustrated with myself when i don’t immediately grasp something that i perceive to be very simple. It makes me less motivated to try new things and take risks on new technology, and really feeds my impostor syndrome.</p>

<p>In episode 15, Jamison and Dave join Brad Green, engineering director at Google and Angular team manager, to answer these questions:</p> <p>How do I deal with non-technical people at work? I often get questions that put me into a position where I have to explain really basic concepts to non-technical people like sales and marketing. They seem to rely on me like a crutch, and it gets tiring to have to explain things over and over. How do I strike the right balance of being helpful, but not so helpful that they become dependent on me? I want to be helpful, but I don’t want to spend 90% of my time acting as tech support.</p> <p>How do I keep up with new technology but avoid being sucked in by hype?</p>

<p>In episode 14, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>Since I am primarily a web developer, I often find there is a bit of developer prejudice, against web developers from software engineers of other categories. Often I find they think I am not capable of anything other than jquery dom manipulations, and talk down at me like I wouldn’t understand their expertly setup mysql queries. As it turns out, I too have my CS degree, and start new projects in all kinds of programming languages just to learn them. Any tips for breaking the web dev stereotypes?</p> <p>How to deal with legacy code and legacy coders? The code was probably good once, but it is impossible to maintain and doesn’t work on new hardware. You know the best approach is to scrap it and start from scratch but the original coder is resistant and wants to find a way to “make it work”. What do you do? In my situation, this legacy coder is a peer, and the only person above us doesn’t want to take a side on the argument, so we are left at a stale-mate.</p>

<p>In episode 13, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>What should you do about a boss, or in my case ‘solution architect’, who won’t push back to the client and just keeps sacrificing quality of the product to push more features out?</p> <p>What’s the difference between contract and permanent positions?</p>

<p>In episode 12, Jamison, Dave, and special guest Ann Harter answer these questions:</p> <p>How do I make friends at work? Should I?</p> <p>I hear a lot about being a good manager but not much about being managed. How do I do that?</p>

<p>In episode 11, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>I’m looking for a new job. How do I negotiate to get a better offer?</p> <p>How do you deal constructively with a boss who is well-intentioned, reasonably nice and intelligent, but incompetent, oblivious, and who has minimal to no oversight on their work performance?</p>

<p>In episode 10, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>How about an episode about mentoring? Why is it important, how do we do it, and how do we find the right mentor for us?</p> <p>How do stock options work? How can I tell whether an offer with stock options is any good?</p>

<p>In episode 9, Jamison, Dave, and special guest Layne Mosely answer these questions:</p> <p>As a software developer, is it better to put an aggressive deadline on myself? Or should I let it be open ended? What are the effects of these two approaches on me and my team?</p> <p>What do all these titles mean? Technical lead. Senior software engineer. Director of engineering. VP of engineering. CTO.</p>

<p>In episode 8, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>How do you achieve work life balance? Do you have any strategies that work for you? Any bad examples from your own lives?</p> <p>How do you on-board new engineers?</p>

<p>In episode 7, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:</p> <p>How do I quit my job? What’s the process? How do I avoid burning bridges? What will my employer expect from me? How do benefits work?</p> <p>I’m worried my job is not meaningful? Am I just cranking out code for “the man”? What can I do to get more meaning out of my job?</p>

<p>In episode 6, Jamison and Dave answer this question:</p> <p>I’d like to do some public speaking. How do I get accepted to speak at conferences? How do I give good talks once I’m there?</p>

<p>In episode 5, Jamison and Dave answer this question:</p> <p>What are common ways developers are compensated? Do developers usually get a bonus? Stock options?</p>

<p>In episode 4, Jamison and Dave answer this question:</p> <p>I have heard a lot about “marketing myself” and my “personal brand”. For example, some people say I should be writing a blog post every week or creating lots of YouTube content. They talk about being a “thought leader”. I love building stuff as an engineer, and obviously I want to have a great job, so how important is this stuff?</p>

<p>In episode 3, Jamison and Dave answer two questions:</p> <ol> <li> <p>What should I look for in a dev team?</p> </li> <li> <p>I don’t get enough done at work. I work on a small team that has aggressive plans for developing its product, but I don’t feel like I get enough work done or move fast enough for the company.</p> </li> </ol>

<p>In episode 2, Jamison and Dave answer two questions:</p> <ol> <li> <p>I work on a team, and I am not the team lead. I have lots of ideas for how to do things better. How can I influence my team without being the team lead, or without stepping on his or her shoes?</p> </li> <li> <p>How do you deal with anger at work, both on the receiving and giving end?</p> </li> </ol>

<p>Welcome to Soft Skills Engineering, where we answer your questions about non-technical topics in software engineering. Come get some wisdom, or at least some wise cracks.</p> <p>In episode 1, Dave and Jamison answer two questions:</p> <ol> <li> <p>I’m a developer who gets approached from time to time to work on new software ideas. While I find working on something new and intriguing I have no experience with business. How do I determine how legitimate these opportunities are?</p> </li> <li> <p>At my current job, our codebase is a few years old and we use an “older” javascript framework. In my spare time I’ve really really enjoyed using one of the newer paradigms and technical stacks and I wish I had more opportunity to get experience with these technologies. I don’t see a rewrite or even a migration any time soon for our codebase at this company and have been considering taking a job where I’d have opportunity to work with these newer technologies. This despite enjoying my coworkers, and lacking any major complaints at this company. On a scale from 1 to 10 how crazy am I for considering a job change?</p> </li> </ol>