/Career Advice

Advice To The Young

- Murat Demirbas tl;dr: (1) It is called foundations, not theory. (2) Keep your hands dirty, your mind clean. (3) Ship something, anything, weekly. (4) Cram for the deadlines, put your heart into it. (5) Ask and you shall receive. (6) People skills are very important. (7) Manage the stories you tell yourself. (8) Cultivate deep focus through deliberate practice.

featured in #537

40 Life Lessons I Know at 40 (That I Wish I Knew At 20)

- Peter Yang tl;dr: (1) Find the torture that you’re comfortable with. (2) Look for the intersection i.e. the work that satisfies what you want, what you’re good at, and what the market wants. (3) Stop waiting for permission. (4) Maximize your luck surface area. (5) Don’t be the best, be the only. 

featured in #535

40 Life Lessons I Know at 40 (That I Wish I Knew At 20)

- Peter Yang tl;dr: (1) Find the torture that you’re comfortable with. (2) Look for the intersection i.e. the work that satisfies what you want, what you’re good at, and what the market wants. (3) Stop waiting for permission. (4) Maximize your luck surface area. (5) Don’t be the best, be the only. 

featured in #534

Fighting With Your Boss

tl;dr: “Fights between a manager and report can be some of the most stressful experiences in life. Sustained conflict can cause years of strain. Here we’ll try to help you navigate these situations, to limit the damage and to maximize the outcome.”

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Lessons Learned In 35 Years Of Making Software

- Jim Grey tl;dr: (1) Do things in the most straightforward way possible. (2) There is no substitute for working software in Production. (3) Relationships matter if you want to advance. (4) Relationships matter if you want to see your vision come to life. (5) Never be invisible. And more. 

featured in #533

Playing Defense: How To Control The Narrative If Your Work Is Being Questioned

- Wes Kao tl;dr: “You’ll learn how to respond when stakeholders question your decisions or misunderstand you. We’ll cover: (1) Defending your thinking is normal. Embrace it. (2) Your response will either diminish or build your credibility. (3) Case study #1: A colleague from another team questions your decision. (4) Case study #2: Your CEO questions your strategy.”

featured in #532

Lessons Learned In 35 Years Of Making Software

- Jim Grey tl;dr: (1) Do things in the most straightforward way possible. (2) There is no substitute for working software in Production. (3) Relationships matter if you want to advance. (4) Relationships matter if you want to see your vision come to life. (5) Never be invisible. And more. 

featured in #532

Notes For New Hires

- Clinton Blackburn tl;dr: “I’m onboarding new engineers at Vori, and finally took some time to write a few ideas I’ve been kicking around and sharing internally. I have personally found these practices helpful over the past few years, and think others might, as well. This isn’t applicable to only junior engineers, or new hires. I didn’t learn some of these lessons until I was eight years into my career as a tech lead at edX, or a couple years later at Stripe.”

featured in #531

Notes For New Hires

- Clinton Blackburn tl;dr: “I’m onboarding new engineers at Vori, and finally took some time to write a few ideas I’ve been kicking around and sharing internally. I have personally found these practices helpful over the past few years, and think others might, as well. This isn’t applicable to only junior engineers, or new hires. I didn’t learn some of these lessons until I was eight years into my career as a tech lead at edX, or a couple years later at Stripe.”

featured in #530

How I Plan My Week As A Senior Engineer In Big Tech

- Jordan Cutler tl;dr: Today, I’ll share the system that has allowed me to: (1) Finish nearly everything I set out to achieve each day. (2) Plan the most important work to accomplish my goals. (3) Have a record of what I accomplished to reflect, update my manager, and add to a brag doc. 

featured in #530