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Software Developer Life: Career, Learning, Coding, Daily Life, Stories
Software Developer Life -- Career, Learning, Coding, Daily Life, StoriesWe've made a dent into the 21st century and software has been eating the world. Suspenseful tech dramas play out in the news, boot camps churn out entry-level developers in a matter of months, and there's even an HBO show dedicated to Silicon Valley.In the midst of these trends lies a severe lack of attention to the daily life of the developer--the day-to-day reality that surrounds each line of code. There are plenty of resources available to help the budding developer learn how to code, but what about everything else?Who Should Read This Book?This book is for anyone interested in getting a sneak peek inside the world of software!The new graduates about to jump into their first jobsThe veterans who want a dose of nostalgia and a good chuckleThe product managers looking to empathize more with their coding counterpartsThe disgruntled developers contemplating the meaning of lifeThe high school students thinking about jumping on the computer science bandwagonThe budding programmers looking to become more effective and gain more leverage at workWhat's Inside The Book?This book is a highlight reel of content revolving around Software Developer Life.Inside you will find 40 concise chapters covering 5 broad LifeStoriesEveryone has something unique to share. This book gathers together various perspectives and unique stories to give a well-rounded view of modern software development.This is not a technical book. This is everything else.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 18, 2018
66 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 24, 2018
Not the book I had hoped it would be...
It is about IT professionals alright. But it didn't touch the nerve that I had expected it to.
My first problem was the structure of the book. As you can understand from the book description, there are 40 concise chapters covering 5 broad topics. Forty freakin' chapters. That's a bit much, even if they are concise. Then, the stories / chapters are not arranged per their topic, which would have made it more coherent. But....
Like the 2 stars mean, it was an okay read.
It is about IT professionals alright. But it didn't touch the nerve that I had expected it to.
My first problem was the structure of the book. As you can understand from the book description, there are 40 concise chapters covering 5 broad topics. Forty freakin' chapters. That's a bit much, even if they are concise. Then, the stories / chapters are not arranged per their topic, which would have made it more coherent. But....
Like the 2 stars mean, it was an okay read.
May 18, 2020
great book!! david gave really great insight into the tech industry and advice on how to approach different situations! i would highly recommend this book to any CS students or someone starting out their career in tech 🙂
June 22, 2018
I'm a fan of the author's videos, but I did not find much value in this book as an experienced developer.
I was hoping for more of a look into the day-to-day work of his and others' experiences as software developers. The book is more of an overview of the software development industry and education. The few chapters I enjoyed were the personal stories of developers the author interviewed.
There's little structure to the book. Each chapter covers one area (e.g., career, learning, etc.) and there is very little cohesion. You'll read a section about CS education, then skip to one focused on careers, followed by coding, etc. Chapters don't really build on one another. The book reads more like a collection of blog posts.
Some of the information isn't well researched. At one point, the author tries to illustrate an example using Walmart, but doesn't even know how many software developers they employ. He says hundreds or perhaps thousands. That's an order of magnitude difference that I feel the author could have spent a few minutes researching, and it puts doubt on another parts of the book.
If you have little knowledge of the software development industry or computer science education, you'll find some value reading this.
I was hoping for more of a look into the day-to-day work of his and others' experiences as software developers. The book is more of an overview of the software development industry and education. The few chapters I enjoyed were the personal stories of developers the author interviewed.
There's little structure to the book. Each chapter covers one area (e.g., career, learning, etc.) and there is very little cohesion. You'll read a section about CS education, then skip to one focused on careers, followed by coding, etc. Chapters don't really build on one another. The book reads more like a collection of blog posts.
Some of the information isn't well researched. At one point, the author tries to illustrate an example using Walmart, but doesn't even know how many software developers they employ. He says hundreds or perhaps thousands. That's an order of magnitude difference that I feel the author could have spent a few minutes researching, and it puts doubt on another parts of the book.
If you have little knowledge of the software development industry or computer science education, you'll find some value reading this.
May 3, 2019
Software Engineer Life gives me a realistic view of tech environment I can approach after graduation. Plus, he gathered technical and non-technical stories that his friends and he encountered in the past. Through these stories, he has proven that only technical skills are not enough, but being a better developer accumulates and improves non-technical skills, avoiding being a diva developer, such as collaboration, communication, motivation. He presents some tips, how to embrace confusion, be compatible with bosses, showcase best performance on code, get through interviews wisely, keep existence in a team, go deep into fundamental of everything, avoid being arrogant, choose appropriate comapny based on interest, personality and skill, ect. Overall, this book is one of the best book for people who get first foot in tech door. The word and the sentence I love most in this book is “initiative” and “The devil is always in the details, and the details make us better developers”. Thanks David.
February 9, 2019
Great "life guide" for developers. The author goes through a lot of things you just wont read anywhere else outside of direct mentorship, like how to find mentors, software development philosophy and how one wants to approach direct reports as a technical lead, philosophy of applying to tech roles, how to read beneath the surface during those interviews, a great easy summary of different type of companies and industries.
Excellent all the way through, didn't agree with everything, though he was a bit too conservative in his career strategy, but excellently written and read. A must for anyone in a technical computing related role.
Excellent all the way through, didn't agree with everything, though he was a bit too conservative in his career strategy, but excellently written and read. A must for anyone in a technical computing related role.
March 25, 2020
As a fan of David's YouTube channel, having his highlights summed up into an easy referable book holds tangible value. I can easily see myself keeping this copy with me and rereading portions from struggling in modules, tackling career fairs and pleasing unreasonable bosses as I reach those respective milestones through my career.
Yet, much of the content is indeed rehashed scripts from his videos. The chapters also seem to be jumbled up and ordered in a completely random way. This is a problem especially with a few chapters having quite overlapping stories and thus advice. It could have been easily trimmed by 50 pages.
Yet, much of the content is indeed rehashed scripts from his videos. The chapters also seem to be jumbled up and ordered in a completely random way. This is a problem especially with a few chapters having quite overlapping stories and thus advice. It could have been easily trimmed by 50 pages.
June 27, 2018
A refreshingly honest and personal book, a fun read, and invaluable resource for newcomers and veterans ion software alike!
There are too many books on software out there, but not enough emphasis on how to be a good engineer in the real world. Touching on the many self-guided and institutional options for education, as well as personality traits and habits in the workplace, this book motivates self improvement and personal success. A must read for anyone in the field.
There are too many books on software out there, but not enough emphasis on how to be a good engineer in the real world. Touching on the many self-guided and institutional options for education, as well as personality traits and habits in the workplace, this book motivates self improvement and personal success. A must read for anyone in the field.
September 12, 2020
Pretty simple and to the point. This book offers good advice that you probably could’ve figured out yourself after a year or two in the field of software engineering. Nonetheless, it’s got important info that a new grad who’s interested in tech should follow. Overall, easy read and worth it if you’re considering a field as a software engineer.
December 26, 2020
Very good book, especially for someone new in software development. Dave touched up on a wide range of topics related to software development life. The short stories are also very helpful.
I would have wished that some of the chapters were longer, but I also appreciated how he kept things brief. I recommend this book for young developers.
I would have wished that some of the chapters were longer, but I also appreciated how he kept things brief. I recommend this book for young developers.
March 13, 2019
Fun, inspiring and informative. Listened to as audiobook on my commutes to class and work. A lot of good points, ideas and career advice for becoming a robust software engineer.
November 23, 2022
A bit repetitive in places and kind of all over the place. Could use more focus and elaboration at times. Still, definitely worth a listen for anyone working in software at the moment.
January 3, 2023
Excellent book!!
I really recommend it to all developers, beginners t seniors, it has a lot of real life scenarios and experience we all had or are about to have :)
I really recommend it to all developers, beginners t seniors, it has a lot of real life scenarios and experience we all had or are about to have :)
January 29, 2023
Good book to for software engineer on any stage. Many useful tips ansld learning through experience. Thank you
September 8, 2021
If you are a graduate student or studying computer science, you should read this book. You can get better understandings of the real-world problems and the solutions of software developers in hand.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews