It takes more than great code to be a great engineer. Soft Skills Engineering is a weekly advice podcast for software developers about the non-technical stuff that goes into being a great software developer.

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Episode 48: Quitting a Death March & Am I Underpaid

February 21, 2017 32:31 31.22 MB Downloads: 0

Dave and Jamison answer these questions: When and how do you quit a company that is on a death march? How do I find out if I’m underpaid?

Episode 47: Speaking Up In A New Job and Personal Issues

February 14, 2017 30:41 29.45 MB Downloads: 0

Dave and Jamison answer these questions: How soon into a new job is it appropriate to raise concerns? What do you do when issues in your personal life affect your work? Thank you to Algolia for sponsoring this episode. Check out their job posting at algolia.com/softskillsengineering. Also thanks to Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which I spent 310 hours playing.

Episode 46: My New Crappy Job and Youth vs the Status Quo

February 07, 2017 40:17 38.67 MB Downloads: 0

Dave and Jamison answer these questions: How do I deal with my new job that turns out to be crappy? How do I know how hard to push back against more experienced engineers when suggesting a new idea? Thank you to Algolia for sponsoring this episode. Check out their job posting at algolia.com/softskillsengineering.

Episode 45: RAPID FIRE and Micromanagers

January 28, 2017 24:50 23.84 MB Downloads: 0

It’s our first RAPID FIRE episode, where we answer a bunch of questions rapid-ish-ly. Why do I get passed up for developer jobs? Should I take this high-paying job even though it’s a scary change? Should I quit my first job after five years? We also answer a longer question: How do I deal with a micromanaging project manager? Thank you to Algolia for sponsoring this episode. Check out their job posting at algolia.com/softskillsengineering.

Episode 44: Discussing Firing and Writing Job Postings

January 25, 2017 34:25 33.04 MB Downloads: 0

Dave and Jamison answer these questions: When I let someone go, should I tell them the reason why? How do I write a good job description? We mention Julia Evans’ blog post A litmus test for job descriptions in the second question.

Episode 43: Internship Costs and CS Interview Questions

January 16, 2017 40:37 38.98 MB Downloads: 0

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 🐝 Quiñones (@ieatkillerbees) December 14, 2016

Episode 42: Bootcamp Job Hopping and Cultural Reliability

January 02, 2017 30:20 29.11 MB Downloads: 0

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?

Episode 41: Management Snobs and Two Bosses

December 28, 2016 24:26 23.45 MB Downloads: 0

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?

Episode 40: Office Visibility and New Tech

December 21, 2016 33:13 31.88 MB Downloads: 0

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?

Episode 39: Brilliant Jerks and One on Ones

December 12, 2016 30:40 29.43 MB Downloads: 0

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.

Episode 38: Going Over Heads and Firing Just After Hiring

December 05, 2016 34:6 32.73 MB Downloads: 0

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)?

Episode 37: VC Funding and Internal Presentations

November 29, 2016 31:54 30.63 MB Downloads: 0

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?

Episode 36: Unlimited Vacation and Enforcing Best Practices

November 22, 2016 27:10 26.07 MB Downloads: 0

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

Episode 35: Attracting Talent and Quitting Responsibly

November 15, 2016 40:26 38.81 MB Downloads: 0

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

Episode 34: Do Certifications Help and How Can I Avoid Avoidance?

November 07, 2016 29:23 28.2 MB Downloads: 0

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