Soft Skills Engineering

Dave and Jamison answer these questions: What do internships cost companies? How do you feel about asking hard technical computer science questions in interviews? The second question was prompted by this tweet: In 20 years of engineering I've never said, "thank goodness we hired someone who can reverse a b tree on a whiteboard while strangers watch"— Samantha

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Should I switch jobs to my fourth job within two years of graduating from a bootcamp? What non-technical practices and cultural attributes improve software reliability?

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: How do I deal with someone who says their job (management) is so much harder than my job (engineering)? How do I deal with a two-boss situation where I am one of the bosses?

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: How can I encourage my team to be more visible in the office? How do I learn new technologies without going through a noob phase?

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: How do I deal with engineers who are skilled technically but rude and demeaning? What should I talk about in one on ones with my manager or reports? We also cite Questions for our first 1:1, a blog post by Lara Hogan.

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: When is it appropriate to go over someone’s head? Should I fire the new engineer that we just hired (and who relocated to take the job)?

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: How does venture capital work, and how does it affect me? How do I give great presentations at work?

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: What do you think of unlimited vacation policies? How do I enforce coding best practices? Show notes, because Jamison is feeling ambitious: The Netflix culture slides we mentioned pylint, the linter Dave talked about

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: How can I attract talent? How do I quit without burning bridges?

In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Do certifications help me? How can I solve an avoidance problem?

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

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

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

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

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

In episode 28, Jamison and Dave answer these questions: How long should I stay before I quit my job? Two to three years seems fairly normal. Dave sees people with less than 12 months regularly. Staying at a job means you experience things you wouldn’t if you hopped around a lot. It is much easier to see the hype cycle play out if you stick around. You get to see the outcome of your own decisions. Quitting usually == raise. Chronic job hopping might result in a reputation of not sticking with things. Dave thinks you should quit your first job after 18 months because of the Monty Hall problem How do you encourage junior developers to improve? We assume that these junior developers really want to improve. Make it clear that people get stuck and struggle, and that is normal. Make it clear that you don’t want them to get too stuck. Make it OK to ask questions. People generally live up or down to your expectations, so help them feel trusted and that you expect they will be great.

In episode 27, Jamison and Dave answer these questions: How do I write a great resume? Do you really need a resume these days? How important is formatting and good design? What content should be on your resume? Should I push back on non-engineering tasks like PowerPoint presentations? 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?

In episode 26, Jamison and Dave answer these question: How do you make sure people know about your good work? See Matt Zabriskie’s great post for background on this. We also mentioned Do Things, Write About It. How do you get your point across effectively so you don’t have to say “I told you so” later?

In episode 25, Jamison and Dave answer these question: How do I understand the business side better? Analysis of tabs vs spaces How does your business make money? Just ask your CEO/manager Kill the myth of the pointy-haired boss Smaller companies expose you to this more Just ask questions: What was our revenue last month? How much did we spend last month? Who are our biggest customers? How does the sales process work? The Dave Smith Method® for learning business jargon. Be kind and have empathy when you learn. Can I be a good technical manager without a technical background? Technical leadership vs management. Management means empathy and understanding. Can you get that without “coming up through the ranks”? What are the skills of a good manager? Does being a developer give you those skills? Dave is a Night Elf Code Mage. How do you handle technical concerns as a non-technical person? Don’t fake technical knowledge. Leading a team wh

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