Daily Learnings: Wed, Jan 17, 2024
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. — Thomas Haynes Bayly
Owning Your Career
I recently bought the book The Software Engineer's Guidebook, written by Gergely Orosz after listening to an episode of the Changelog podcast featuring the author. I was initially interested in reading it as it contains some really great learnings on enterprise-scale system architecture patterns and principles that Gergely learned from his time spent at large, tech-first companies. The first portion of the book, however, is focused on general career advice for developers, which has been a really good read.
I recently reviewed the section titled “Owning Your Career”, which I really enjoyed. The overall point made here (my interpretation, at least) is that no one will care as much about your career as you, so you shouldn’t wait for managers or mentors to pave the way for your career growth. The section outlines ways to approach owning your career, and offers some very practical advice that will help to set you apart. My favorite piece of advice by far is “be seen as someone who gets things done.”
Reading this section as someone that has had the opportunity to manage, coach, and mentor others (unqualified as I may be), I cannot emphasize enough how much this resonated with me. It becomes really obvious, really quickly if an individual is someone that “gets things done” vs. those that wait for people to tell them what to do. Those that take initiative, regardless of their inherent talent or skill level when they join, always rose through the ranks faster.
Some specific quotes from the book on this topic include the following:
When I talk with engineers who want to better their careers, they often ask how they can make better cases for promotion, or improve at office politics. Both these have their place, but if you’re not seen as someone who” gets stuff done,” then nothing else will matter.
Further on…
Finish the work you’re assigned, and deliver it with high-enough quality and at a decent pace. Over-deliver when you can, shipping more and better than expected.
Super important callout here: It’s unfortunately common for folks, especially newer developers or consultants, to prioritize speed over quality. They’ll say something is done without fully testing it (or even testing it at all). Notice that the author says to finish the work you’re assigned AND deliver it with high-enough quality. To me, that means that it’s acceptable, which often means tested.
Finish the work you commit to, focus on important tasks, and let others know when you get things done. Then your work won’t go unnoticed.