Lessons learnt from personal experience and books on taking next steps in software career to become a software craftsperson.
Naren@DudeWhoCodeWhat's Next?
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NarendranIndependent Software Engineer@DudeWhoCode[email protected]
Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer"The most important step a person cantake is not the first one. It's the next one.Always the next step"
Career Capital• The skills and value you accumulate over time• You need to find your career capital and start accumulating it brick by brick
Investment• You need to start investing in order to gain something from career capital• Invest your time and energy to accumulate valuable skills
Skills should look like splash of paint on wall
PythonGo PostgresClojureTeam workStart breadth first & eventually increase the depthRedis* Tech stacks shown here are for illustration purposes only, don't push it into your next project just because you saw it on internet* BlockchainEmpathy
Increasing the odds• Luck is another word for increasing the odds of success• Combine your skills/values to create/explore new opportunities to increaseyour odds of success
Permutations3! = 67! = 5040
Power of Compounding• Your career capital compounds• Your network compounds• Your coding skills compound• Stay calm and be patient
Learn how to learn• Everything you learn becomes a shortcut for understanding something else• The more you know, the more you can know
Adjacent Possible• The space beyond the boundaries of cutting edge where opportunities openup and big ideas tend to happen• You get to the cutting edge by gaining more career capital• You open up more adjacent possibles by combining your skills
Systems over Goals• Follow a system than having a fixed goal• Goals are for future and future is always uncertain• Create a system that aligns with your personal energy• System helps you to form habits
Systems vs Goals• Finance• Increasing asset to X amount is a goal. Investing and saving every month upfrontis a system• Fitness• Increasing muscle mass or reducing fat to X% is a goal. Eating healthy andshowing up to workout is a system• Career• Getting a job in dream startup is a goal. Showing up regularly to code and learnnew stuff is a system
Make it your identity• Finance • I am going to save money I am an investor• Fitness• I am going to workout I am a weight lifter or amateur athlete• Career• I am going to work for FAANG I am a software craftsperson
Craftsperson mindset• A craftsperson asks what value they can offer to the work before asking whatthe work can offer them• A craftsperson follows best practices and picks the right tools• A craftsperson cares for their work
Deliberate PracticeImmediate FeedbackStretchYourAbilityBecoming a Craftsperson
Gains• Once you accumulate your career capital, you start trading your capital forgains• Ex. Getting more freedom/autonomy by giving the value from accumulatedcareer capital
Embrace boredom• Dress up and show up• Fall in love with boredom• Motivation is scarce it's like ignition to the engine, to show up and repeat isthe work of pistons, you need to embrace boredom
Small bets• Use the streak of small wins to get big wins
Stay fit for the job• Both your physical health and mental health is important• If you feel like sh*t while writing code, your code might end up being sh*t• Take enough breaks• Burnouts are nasty
Sometimes things won't work out• You are always replaceable by your employer• Be prepared and have a runway• If you can't shine somewhere, you can always shine elsewhere
There is no one size fits all approach.Keep experimenting and fail forward.
References• So good they can't ignore you (Book by Carl Newport)• How I failed at everything and still win big (Book by Scott Adams)• My personal experiments and failures (No, I don't have a book)
@DudeWhoCode[email protected]Thank you.
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