A better way to study and prepare for software engineering interviews — There’s no way around studying algorithm questions if you want a high-paying job writing code. Don’t expect to cram it into the weekend before your interviews, either. Several colleagues spent 3 -6 months grinding LeetCode questions before interviewing and getting hired by FAANG companies. That said, you can spend months…

It just might save your startup — Technical debt isn’t always a bad thing. I’ve seen it save projects. I’ve also seen high-quality code sink companies, particularly early startups. The key is to make decisions consciously, rather than out of sloppy habit. Sometimes you can be a craftsman Most engineers would agree that there’s nothing more enjoyable than treating software development as craftsmanship.

Why most companies would be better off avoiding microservices — Microservices can seem like the perfect solution. In theory, they increase development speed while allowing you to scale different parts of your app independently. But in reality, microservices come with hidden costs. That said, I don’t think you can truly appreciate their complexity without building them firsthand. Here is what…

How to avoid plateauing and become a senior engineer faster — I’ve hired and mentored a number of junior developers over the years. Some learn rapidly, add value, and subsequently leave for higher-paying jobs. I wish all developers we hired were like this. Unfortunately, the average hire is more likely to plateau within their first six months and fail to continue…

Red Flags To Consider Before Joining A Startup To Write Code — I’ve written code for startups for most of my career. A few were well managed; I learned a lot and was generally happy. But others were absolute train wrecks. Product direction changed weekly, there were no senior developers, and management wasn’t even sure where money was going. Based on these…

Get a job, start a business or invest, but don’t found a startup! — The 4 years I spent as co-founder cost me money. I left my company poorer than I had joined it. Building a product, getting paying customers, and raising money didn’t make a difference. This might surprise you if you don’t work in the overly sensationalized world of startups, but this…

You need a mentor if you want to become a data scientist ASAP — Becoming a data scientist on your own is possible but slow. If you’re coming into the field without a foundation or a network to guide you, it could take years. There are a thousand things to learn, and many more rabbit holes dotting the landscape to distract you. A mentor…

Pair programming helps recruit the best candidates with the least amount of effort — Most people hate pair programming with a burning passion. But the people that like it, love it. While we use it on the job, it’s also my favorite technique for interviewing potential hires. Pairing is a better predictor of job success than any other technique I’ve tried. It allows vetting…

From best to worst, based on my experience selling code for cash — A year of freelance software development left me with a number of takeaways. But the most important is this. Writing code is easy but getting clients is hard. If you’re going to take a run at being a freelancer, understand what you’re getting into, know that being a rockstar developer…