This article is in response to an answer I wrote on Quora. As an engineering leader, does it make sense to approach things as hands-on management and writing code? Let's see when it makes sense, and when it doesn't.
You can find part one of this here! Applying for Software Development Jobs How do I stand out on an application? I think this is largely going to depend on where you're applying. Something to consider is that especially with large tech companies, they're getting thousands and thousands of resumes all the time. It can be really competitive to be able to even land an interview so sometimes if the caliber of other applicants is high, it can make it difficult to stand out. That's okay. We don't have control over others, but we do have control over ourselves! We can try a few different things to stand out and help you get started on your software development journey professionally. The following are things I personally would suggest and may not reflect the exact views of my employers (past, present,…
Navigating Post Secondary Education for Software Development Do you have any advice regarding university applications? For university, it's been so long since I've had to go through applications that I'm not sure I have really specific advice. I think it's important to know what schools have for prerequisites and really ensure you nail those down. In terms of which school to pick, that's certainly a personal choice. You'll have so many factors to consider including cost, what programs are offered, relocation, proximity to loved ones, etc... As a hiring manager, personally, I am less concerned with WHERE someone went to school versus what they could showcase about what they have learned. I'd also personally suggest checking out schools that offer internships since it's an excellent way to get real experience! This is something that worked really well for me since…
This is a question that I see get asked all of the time and I figured I'd chime in on my perspective on it. Specifically, this is with the perspective of a software engineering manager in a tech organization. So, what are the primary responsibilities of an engineering manager at a tech company? Well before I dive in, I'll explain my background and then I'll offer up my perspective about the key parts to an engineering manager role. My Background as an Engineering Manager First off, here's full disclosure that I have only been an engineering manager at two different companies. However with that said, I have been an engineering manager at two extremely different types of organizations for just under a decade now. My role at Magnet Forensics as an engineering manager started off as a team-leadership role when…
2020 has been an interesting year for everyone, without a doubt. For me, 2020 involved a career change that wasn't something I was expecting at the start of the year. I had been comfortable with my past employer, Magnet Forensics, for just shy of 8 years and had the opportunity to work on many high-impact projects as part of a mission to help with saving children and assisting law enforcement. But at the end of August, I started my first day in my next adventure with Microsoft. I wanted to write a couple of posts about getting up and running at Microsoft so I figured I'd start with some high level points. This post will be focused on what it was like to join a tech giant after helping scale a startup to hundreds of people internationally. Meeting the Team…