I managed multiple engineering teams before quitting big tech.
Now that I quit, I can speak freely.
1/ As a software engineer, you are not there to take requirements blindly.
You are there to partner with your business and product partners.
That means you have to earn an equal seat at the table on product decisions.
2/ Being smart or good at what you do does not give you the right to be a
jerk.
Empathy as an engineer is a superpower.
Caring about those you work with will do more for your career than writing beautiful defect-free code.
3/ As someone in the code, every day, you will see things that others will never see.
You will know what's possible; they'll guess what's possible.
Some of the best product features are born because engineers found clever ways to solve something.
Look out for those things.
4/ You are there to add value first.
All the code you wrote will end up in the recycling bin of some computer if it does not add value directly or indirectly to the business.
It doesn't matter how pretty your code is or how much you love it if it doesn't add value.
5/ Your code should follow this pattern:
- Make it work
- Make it fast
- Make it beautiful
Reminder: You won't have a chance to make it fast or beautiful if it doesn't add value.
6/ Build relationships with engineers in other teams and other companies.
Learn about the problems they are solving. Learn different architecture and designs than the ones your team uses.
You never know when their solutions will save you days of work.
7/ You don't need permission to add value.
If you see something and know you can fix or improve it, do it.
Nobody will ever say to you, "why did you add all that value? WTF is wrong with you!?"
Every time I've done that unexpectedly, I've earned outsized rewards.
8/ 10x engineers do exist and so do .1x engineers too.
If you think they don’t exist, that’s just because you haven’t worked with any of them yet.
9/ Just because you think someone shouldn’t be hired, that does not mean they aren’t a good engineer.
It also does not mean they don’t have a strong work ethic.
A strong work ethic is the most important thing, and it's nearly impossible to tease out in an interview.
10/ Advocate for junior engineers.
My friend @VicVijayakumar reminded me that just because they don't have 10+ years of experience does not mean they won't be good.
Without junior engineers on the team, no one will grow.
Help others grow; you'll grow too.
11/ Have empathy for the people you interview.
You could be in that situation.
The set of things to know is large, even if you only ask basics. Plus, on a whiteboard, the other person is being judged.
They have a lot to lose, maybe hundreds of thousands in income.
12/ Even though you work with computers, your career and future depend on people.
Until AI runs things, people still run the world, and relationships matter a lot.
Build relationships with people outside of engineering, listen to their problems. It will change your trajectory.