Joe Wastie’s Post

Here’s why you’re failing to climb the ladder and get promoted to a senior software engineer position. You’re too focused on what tools you know but unable to show how you’ve grown. Naturally, highlighting: → The different tech stacks you know → The different certifications you’re qualified for → The different languages and frameworks you know Makes sense as you think it will give the impression you’re qualified for the job. But to move to a more senior role, you must be more than an individual contributor. You need to showcase how you’ll add value to the team. So, they’ll understand you’ve got the skills, but you also need to highlight: → the value you bring beyond coding → how you’ve taken on challenges and delivered → the projects you’ve delivered and how you did it → the people you’ve helped grow and how you did it → how you’ve aligned yourself with the vision set forth → how you ultimately deliver value for business growth You need to earn their trust. You need to be adaptable.  You need to be growth-aligned. All this even before you’re up for a review. So, my advice: Talk about the impact rather than what tool you used to bring the impact. – P.S: If you’re a  Sr. Engineer or Engineering Manager who needs help with mock interviews for: (1) System Design  (2) Behavioral/ Leadership Feel free to schedule it on my calendar here: https://lnkd.in/gzwFe_QB DM me if you have any questions.

New developers should develop their career with this in mind. Good backend principles (SOLID), UI (KISS), testing, and cloud! Opens a lot more avenues VS too niched down (although I think you should niche down real hard on 1 programming language eventually when you reach mid-level).

Your job title says "software engineer", but you seem to spend most of your time in meetings. You'd like to have time to code, but nobody else is onboarding the junior engineers, updating the roadmap, talking to the users, noticing the things that got dropped, asking questions on design documents, and making sure that everyone's going roughly in the same direction. If you stop doing those things, the team won't be as successful. But now someone's suggesting that you might be happier in a less technical role. If this describes you, congratulations: you're the glue. If it's not, have you thought about who is filling this role on your team? https://noidea.dog/glue

Recently I heard someone (not a software engineer) argue that the more complex the code is, the smarter the engineer behind it is. I know this sounds plausible to those who don’t write code. But it’s complete BS. Complex code isn’t smart. Complex code is not an asset. Complex code is a liability. The most experienced and adept software engineers I know tend to create the simplest and easiest to understand solutions. Simplicity is a sign of maturity. This is a great lesson to learn if you’re interviewing for engineering roles. If a candidate is trying to wow you with complexity, they may not be that experienced. If they can explain complex things in simple ways you can understand, they are likely an experienced and adept engineer. If they can show you how, in the process of solving a problem, they made the overall system simpler, this is the kind of smart you want to hire.

Great software engineers have one thing in common. It's not that they know a specific technology well, it's that they can parse new information quickly to solve problems. That's why top tech companies don't care what language you interview in. They just want strong generalists at most levels. This changes if you're hired as a specialist, but that's less common. Focus on high-level ideas and patterns that you can take with you wherever you go. This will go a lot further than remembering specific details about the technology and tools you use.

The number one skill of any highly productive software engineer or data scientist (or really any engineer/scientist for that matter) is the ability to learn new things quickly and apply them effectively to whatever solution you’re building. In addition to having a deep and nuanced understanding of the data you’re working with, you need to constantly synthesize new technologies, research findings and be able to seriously understand their implications beyond what they’re immediately being applied to in the material you read. That’s where the most immediate value add lies. That’s the job. Few of us will ever discover or make something truly novel or cutting edge, but many of us can and do find new applications for things that are already being done. Learning is your superpower. You should never be afraid of what you don’t know; you should be hungry to always learn more.

Ever wondered what a day in the life of a Software Engineer looks like? Here's a sneak peek behind the curtain: - Morning standup meetings to sync with the team - Coding and debugging to create efficient solutions - Testing to ensure everything works as expected - Collaborating with designers and product managers - Learning and implementing new technologies It's not always easy - there are bugs to fix, deadlines to meet, and challenges to overcome. But the feeling of solving a complex problem or seeing your code come to life makes it all worth it. So, whether you're a student thinking about a career in tech or a seasoned professional, remember: Every line of code you write is a step towards something amazing. Now, back to the terminal.

The best software engineers are often the biggest pain for product people — here's why! 👇 Ever met a software engineer who doesn't just nod along to every request? Who challenges ideas and isn't afraid to say "no"? Those are the ones you want on your team. 💡 They're the ones who: - Don't just take orders - Question your ideas - Dares to say "no" But what truly defines great software engineers is that: - They care about customers - They engage with customers - They understand the "why" of the business When you ask these engineers for "X," what do you get? Often, it's not just "X" but "2X," "3X," or even "10X" because of their profound understanding of both the business and the technology. 🚀 Working with them might be a challenge, but through support, trust, great leadership and management, the outcomes of having these great engineers can be remarkable.

You are a senior software engineer if you take on the most boring and annoying tasks of your team. Senior software engineering is a mindset — it shows that you understand the importance of getting things done, no matter how mundane the tasks might be. It shows that you understand that business priorities come before your personal preferences. Being a leader means dealing with both the good and bad aspects of the job. #softwareengineering

The same principle applies to infrastructure and many other things in technology. Complex is rarely good.