Building a Career in Software: A Comprehensive Guide to Success in the Software Industry

My current internship is designed for developers from non-traditional backgrounds. There's a big focus on developing skills -- soft and hard -- that improve our ability to be software developers both in our current positions and beyond. This book was recommended by someone in my org and its been a great way for me to start, and further, conversations around these skills.There's so much information in this book, I can see this being a great reference book for myself as I navigate my career.

There's a lot that we take for granted as software engineers. We have a common set of professional standards and best practices but rarely do people take the time to write them down. As a result, each generation of new engineers re-learns the same lessons, often slowly or through trial-and-error. Dan Heller's book is a commendable attempt to summarise these learnings in an approachable format.I found myself recognising and relating to most of the topics. I would have loved to have had this guide starting out in my career. But this book also has value for more experienced engineers with topics such as effecting change within an organisation or leading teams. I think this book should be viewed as a reference manual, that can be revisited as you encounter the various challenges Dan discusses.There are some topics that will doubtlessly be controversial, for example Dan's unequivocal warnings against drinking with co-workers. I think there are aspects of the book that reflect the author's personality rather than being objectively good/bad qualities in an engineer. This is not a bad thing and it's certainly worth the effort to try and understand what's motivated these positions even if your own views are more nuanced (I feel I could write an essay on the drinking rule).

A highly practical compilation of technical and nontechnical lessons well suited for anyone who wants to become a better colleague (while tailored towards software engineers, I would recommend this book to anyone whose profession is collaborative in nature). The book is broad in scope - you’ll find everything from interview advice to email templates, useful shell commands to tips on artfully (and honestly!) persuading people. The author has a gift with words and a wonderful, self-effacing sense of humor that is guaranteed to make you chuckle every now and again.After reading this book, I’m inspired to be a more responsible and self-reliant software engineer, but even more than that, a more humble, respectful and empathetic coworker.

There are many coaching books other there. This one is my personal favorite since it offers advice on both technical skills and soft skills. Having worked as a software engineer manager for many years, I often see some bright engineers struggle to succeed due to lack of soft skills and/or communication skills. I will recommend this book to all my new hires to help prepare them to shine in an engineering organization.

I walked into this thinking that it'd be a snooze and a struggle to get through. It ended up being a brisk read filled with real life examples. It helped to crystalize patterns of top engineers I wished to emulate. I recommended this book to a few of my colleagues as well.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it is full of great advices written in a tone of what you expect to find on the day to day work.To me is great to see documented in frameworks some practices you see strong engineers in the industry.Additionally helped me to evaluate my current approach in the different areas and come up with a concrete plan on how to improve.

If you know a graduate about to embark on a career in software development, the best thing you can do for them is to gift them this book. There is so much explanation and advice about how to be a software engineer, all of the subtle and important factors about working in teams and organizations that we don't get in school and only come through years of hard knocks and making mistakes. Daniel's telling is personal and accessible. Any engineer will become so much better prepared and effective by starting with Building a Career in Software.

This is a great book. Dan is a role model as a software engineer. He talked about his experience in growing to become a staff engineer and gave a lot of actionable items. For example, he gave specific examples about how to write messages to ask for status or in his words "nagging people". There is a lot of stuff we take for granted and the book taught me to become a better engineer and colleague.