As I continue figuring out the work to manage engineers, I've asked other, more experienced and better managers to give me whatever advice and commentary they have on a job that's both less discussed and less defined. Here is what they said: * Learn how to manage projects. It's not...
Pick your battles. It's a simple and downright cliche piece of advice. At its heart it's about prioritizing conflicts, and looking to resolve only the most important, the most impactful ones. Frankly it's hard to argue that this isn't the right thing to do all the time....
Ever look at a piece of code and think, Hey, waitaminute, I've seen this before. It was cargo-culted from this module... And the way this class inherits from this other class, well, that doesn't make any sense... Alright, time to roll up 'em sleeves and put in some preverbal elbow...
Software engineering is a meritocracy; if it's not already true, at least it's a noble goal to aspire to, right? After all, to be truly judged on the sole merit of your technical ability and work ought to mean that the accolades are showered upon those who've rightfully earned...
I've been wrestling with this question for years: what does a successful, senior-to-staff-to-VP level front-end engineer look like? It's a question that I've found has different answers depends on who's answering, which itself is based around their definition of what a front-end developer is and ought to...
I think every few months, I'll come across an article that laments that the software industry is explicitly and implicitly ageist; that it's infatuated with youth and has a frat-boy monoculture that does not welcome women or the slightly elderly. I guess young guys come cheap, work hard, and learn fast:...
