The Software Developer's Career Handbook: A Guide to Navigating the Unpredictable

by Michael Lopp

At some point in your career, you'll realize there's more to being a software engineer than dealing with code. Is it time to become a manager? Or join a startup? In this insightful and entertaining book, Michael Lopp recalls his own make-or-break moments with Silicon Valley giants such as Apple, Slack, Pinterest, Palantir, Netscape, and Symantec to help you make better, more mindful career decisions. With more than 40 stand-alone stories, Lopp walks through a complete job lifecycle, starting with the interview and ending with the realization that it might be time to move on. You'll learn how to handle baffling circumstances in your job, understand what you want from your career, and discover how to thrive in your workplace.

Genres: Technology, Software, Leadership, Computer Science

318 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2023

Reviews

[Bugzmanov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between 3 and 4 stars. This is a mixed bag as you would expect from compilation of blog posts.

The book stands on a very solid ground and is very prescriptive when it comes to more junior stuff: how to get through interviews, how to do presentations, how to assess your current position, how to demo to senior people. The part one is really-really good. It's years of experience being reflected an distilled into pretty concise recipes. While reading it I was constantly thinking "wow. this is as good as Elegant Puzzle!"

But then the "handbook" degrades into descriptive world view of the author and aspirational essays. There isn't much of continuity or tight coherency between chapters, so it is more like a buffet. I wish chapters had 2-3 sentence worth of summary up front.
Overall it's a good sample of a world view of the IT veteran. It's a bit raw, a bit edgy and 85% honest.

[Viktor Malyshev · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another book from Rands, not the first one I've read.
Overall, to really enjoy an author's writing, you have to get used to it. Usually, his books are an array of articles from his blog, edited and reviewed so it looks like a book. Stories from life and experience. I've enjoyed 'Managing Humans' books.
This one is a bit too upsetting for me. A few stories were interesting, but the others didn't really apply anyhow to engineering. I'm a software dev and a bunch of advice was not applicable to me like there is for managers and how to understand the nerd, but not how to be a nerd.
Another thing I didn't like is that the format of the stories doesn't really share one common goal or core idea for the book. I don't really say what this book is about. About career? Yeah, a few stories were about that. Conversation with people or inside the company/team? Yeah, got a few of those as well. But I don't see how they are connected, what's the main idea. Therefore, only 2 out of five.

[Livingstone Righa]

I've finally emerged from the trenches after dragging my feet through. This book has been my reluctant companion for longer than I'd care to admit, but Lopp's wit and wisdom eventually won me over. Despite the slow burn, I've picked up valuable insights on navigating the tech industry's twists and turns. Lopp's guidance on everything from communication to career growth has been enlightening, even if it took me a while to absorb it all. If you're willing to put in the time, this handbook offers practical advice and fresh perspectives that'll benefit any developer's career.

[Julian D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of this book really hooks you with ready-made, actionable insights based on practical experience. However, the book's momentum seems to slow down midway, requiring more effort to extract valuable information.
Despite this, I would recommend 'The Software Developer's Career Handbook' for those starting their career or looking to refresh their perspective. The book successfully achieves its purpose as a handbook, offering guidance for navigating the unpredictable world of software development.

[Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it more than the first edition.