Software Development Career Advice
It can be hard to find software development career advice with the politics at most companies.
Who do you trust? And how do you know the advice doesn’t have a hidden agenda behind it?
I’ll share advice here that I wish someone would have told me in my software development career.
Hard-won advice to help you have a realistic mindset and healthy expectations over your career in software development.
Many people think about technology, salary, and promotions when they think of their software development career.
But I think it’s more important to understand the dynamics of people and snags you can get into with how your expected to work.
I hope this helps you stay growing in your software development career!
All Content about Software Development Career Advice
November 20, 2024 | 36:53
Learn how to lead software teams effectively by asking resourceful questions, empowering autonomy, and fostering ownership and growth.
November 6, 2024 | 13:23
Learn how to set and enforce boundaries with your manager to avoid burnout, protect your mental health, and build professional respect.
October 23, 2024 | 17:21
Learn how to maintain creativity in tech careers, overcome corporate limits, and preserve your energy for personal fulfillment and growth.
October 16, 2024 | 20:57
Learn how to recognize and break free from complacency in your tech career to avoid stagnation, job insecurity, and missed opportunities.
October 2, 2024 | 24:16
Discover the hidden risks of corporate job security and learn how self-employment can offer more freedom, growth, and control over your career and income.
September 18, 2024 | 14:51
Be a 10x programmer by writing less code, streamlining features, minimizing complexity, and maximizing team efficiency.
September 11, 2024 | 18:39
Learn proven strategies to get your boss to listen, convince your manager, and persuade them to act on your concerns.
August 19, 2024 | 18:32
LinkedIn is a great resource for connecting with people, but it can also cause serious mental health challenges – and even lead to burnout.
July 22, 2024 | 6:17
Knowing how ready you are to actually make a change is important before you take any action that could alter the course of your life and career.
July 9, 2024 | 15:16
Does programming ever get tiring? Frustrated by being left out of decisions by the company? You may wonder if you should become a manager.
July 1, 2024 | 27:23
There’s some crazy stuff going down in the tech industry. But one of the biggest reasons programmers stop growing, is they don’t get help.
June 10, 2024 | 23:38
We can feel so strongly about experiences we’ve had, that they blind us from being open to other equally valid perspectives
May 6, 2024 | 18:00
Software engineers can cap their earning potential if they fall into common traps when learning is the absolute WRONG thing to do!
April 15, 2024 | 33:38
Making videos, podcasts, or blogs could be just what your career as a programmer needs. But it could also be a complete waste of time.
April 1, 2024 | 14:03
Programmers love to “do it ourselves”, but this can make it harder to get help – when we actually need it.
March 25, 2024 | 27:58
How can you really connect with the person you’re convincing in tech, so they can understand the value you offer – and buy your idea?
March 18, 2024 | 20:54
After being manipulated by many other programmers and managers through political games, I was tempted to fight dirty.
March 11, 2024 | 28:09
Why do people in tech careers often mistake intelligence for wisdom, and why is our industry so prone to making unwise decisions?
March 4, 2024 | 18:56
A lot of tech career advice that promotes short-term thinking – be careful not to burn your bridges before you reach the finish line.
February 26, 2024 | 27:54
It’s tempting to just bail the moment you don’t like some aspect of a tech job, hoping for greener pastures.
February 6, 2024 | 30:27
The popular thing to do when faced with a toxic software project – is to complain. But you can use it to get stronger.
January 22, 2024 | 31:47
If you really want your job and life to get better, and to achieve better things in your software career – the complaining needs to stop.
January 15, 2024 | 29:21
If you’re about to get a new tech job, sometimes the red flags are obvious. But what happens when you want the gig anyway?
January 3, 2024 | 29:56
Programming starts out like any other career – then one day you wake up addicted.
December 20, 2023 | 24:46
Dive into the heart of what makes our programming world so overwhelming and, more importantly, how you can navigate it with ease.
December 19, 2023 | 22:53
As a programmer, it’s important for you to see through AI sensationalism and make informed decisions about your career!
December 6, 2023 | 11:53
If you’re feeling like programming isn’t as fun as it used to be, you’re not alone. You should probably discover the root cause though!
November 6, 2023 | 44:56
Burnout is one of the most common dangers to programmers over their career, and I was no exception.
October 23, 2023 | 29:10
Trusting people is getting tougher than ever these days, and nobody seems to have a harder time than programmers and managers.
October 16, 2023 | 24:29
Understand the Tech Lead role in-depth, debunking myths and revealing key responsibilities to help you decide if it’s your ideal career path.
August 3, 2022 | 14:23
Explore the balance between self-documenting code and comments in programming, and discover the best practices for clear, maintainable code.
June 26, 2022 | 15:36
I thought I knew what developers needed, but then I met over 200 people online to learn what unlocks their career. The results were surprising in some ways, and not in others….
June 14, 2022 | 14:28
It’s tempting to compare yourself to other devs or take assessments to see how you measure up, but it’s impossible to know if you’re a good programmer!
May 11, 2022 | 15:21
The 4 tech career desires is a concept I discovered through my first 3 years of career coaching.
May 4, 2022 | 20:54
Today we’re going to talk about how canceling developers and other IT professionals for mistakes can hold you back from the career you want in software.
July 17, 2018 | 8:34
Blocking multiple people to pause a software project so you can fix a problem can be hard if everyone’s focused on how much people are getting done.
July 10, 2018 | 11:16
Over the years I’ve had to lead many software developers, and it’s become much easier since letting go of being seen as “the expert”.
June 27, 2018 | 10:47
As you grow, it can be tempting to start comparing your career to other developers. But it’s a slippery slope that can easily send you off track.
June 2, 2018 | 7:06
Software development draws us in with endless opportunities, but are they right for every project? There’s a time to stop learning and write code!
May 30, 2018 | 18:15
At some software companies, it can be hard for people to learn from mistakes they make together on a software project.
May 25, 2018 | 7:02
There’s no shame in getting help from a friend on a software project! In this episode I tell a story about how getting help was critical to my success.
May 19, 2018 | 1:10:42
Iain Lowe is an experienced software developer and manager based out of Montreal, Canada who I interviewed about healthy development topics.
May 4, 2018 | 24:19
It’s common in many companies for there to be animosity between programmers and managers. But it’s smarter to consider healing that rift.
April 26, 2018 | 12:47
It can be confusing when most companies don’t make it clear how software developers can get promoted for more senior roles.
April 24, 2018 | 28:43
Software developers are often frustrated when a product manager changes the design at the last minute. But product managers are a programmer’s best friend!
April 9, 2018 | 12:56
Have you ever been confronted with accepting circumstances you couldn’t change on your software project that were really difficult?
March 29, 2018 | 8:02
There’s something about software development that makes it hard to stop thinking about programming after work.
March 9, 2018 | 20:26
Programmers can lose hope in just a few years in the industry if they don’t have the tools to cope with pressures unique to the job.
March 5, 2018 | 20:08
Ever had an idea for something on your software project, but someone else takes the credit? This sucks, there’s no way around it.
March 2, 2018 | 12:05
Though having a career in software development can be exciting, there are software industry lies that if you believe – can ruin your career.
February 20, 2018 | 14:25
Could it be that you’re on a project with a software leader that’s a narcissist – one who criticizes everything you do?
February 19, 2018 | 20:28
You can find the best software project for your personality if you consider a few aspects of software companies I’ve learned.
February 17, 2018 | 17:09
I hear a common complaint that programming has gotten harder over the years. But often we do it to ourselves with how we work!
February 12, 2018 | 17:06
Once you’ve solved programming problems easier when “in the zone” or “flow state” – it can be hard to work any other way!
February 10, 2018 | 19:14
Overcome walls people can put up – and instead have them welcome your suggestions on a new software project.
February 6, 2018 | 21:48
Technology addiction hurts your software development career if materialism makes you get caught in “new framework disease” and chase shiny objects.
February 5, 2018 | 15:28
There’s plenty of “fake news” from the software industry, so beware of the DevOps lie. In all the confusion – just follow the money to see why.
February 4, 2018 | 14:36
If you get the feeling your software project is in a death spiral, there are several things you should try before you give up hope!
February 1, 2018 | 13:06
Programming estimation is a dangerous activity that should be approached with caution! But it doesn’t have to be so stressful.
January 31, 2018 | 12:11
How you say no on a software project can build resentment if you don’t establish clear boundaries – and decline the request with grace.
January 30, 2018 | 10:48
How you handle late software tasks often has far reaching implications on your career, reputation and your health.
January 28, 2018 | 24:15
It’s easy to blame your company when a software project seems to require so many hours, that you suffer from software project burnout.
January 24, 2018 | 23:03
Imposter syndrome is something software teams often talk negatively about, but it can actually be a sign of growth.
January 23, 2018 | 35:42
We all to realize we’re on a failing software project. What you do then will have a bigger impact on your health than your reputation.
August 8, 2017 | 21:25
Anxiety can cause you to feel worried that you won’t get what you want out of your software development career, and it makes people do funny things…