Buy vs. Build
My first job was building a Windows program, using an old framework—even at the time, back around 2004–2005—called Microsoft Foundation Classes. It was a thin client, taking UI and UX commands from...
Learning
Review: 10% Happier
Within my Things to-do lists, there's a project category dedicated to books I come across, most of which eventually make their way to my Kindle. My reading habits come and go—tracked by...
I Don't Want to be a Manager
"I don't want to be a manager" is always a sad line to hear from software engineers. Granted, I have a conflict of interest: I've chosen this line of work as my profession for the last 5+ years, and it turns out that hiring engineering managers is generally even...
No Shortcuts to Software Development Experience
Software startups, once their engineering organizations reach a certain size, put together a career ladder for their engineers. It usually comes at a point where there’s enough diversity in abilities that a distinction is...
Transitioning to Management is Trial by Fire
A couple months back, I wrote about how promotions typically work inside of midsized to large companies. In short, they’re usually descriptive in nature, so the individual only gets the new level and title...
Review: The Dip
I read The Dip by Seth Godin because it promised to be a short book on self-improvement. It’s supposed to teach its readers how to decide to follow through on a personal or professional project, right there in the subtitle: A little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick). It...