Why Most Programmers DON'T Last

Summary

The video script offers eight laws for a lasting career in software development, emphasizing the importance of embracing impostor syndrome, simplifying technology for others, buffering estimates, delaying commitments, avoiding the leveling grind, picking battles wisely, networking consistently, recognizing when to be a 'code monkey', and knowing when to transition out of coding roles. With over 27 years of industry experience, the speaker provides insights on career progression, work-life balance, and maintaining health in the tech industry, urging developers to adapt and evolve to succeed long-term.

Takeaways

• 😌 Embrace the feeling of not knowing everything as a natural part of being a programmer and a key to a long career.
• 🛠️ Simplify technology for others by making complex concepts easy to understand, which is a valuable skill in software development.
• 🕒 Learn to buffer and delay commitments to maintain a good reputation and deliver on promises in an industry with unreliable estimates.
• 🏃‍♂️ Skip the leveling grind by focusing on demonstrating your work at a senior level rather than getting stuck in company-specific title tiers.
• 🤝 Network consistently to prepare for potential job changes and to build a strong professional community around you.
• 🛡️ Pick your battles wisely and conserve your energy for key issues rather than fighting every disagreement.
• 🔍 Recognize when you're seen as a 'code monkey' and either accept the role or seek opportunities that value your broader contributions.
• 👴 Understand that as you gain experience, you should also develop skills like leadership and communication to increase your value proposition.
• 📚 Continuous learning and adapting to new technologies is crucial for career progression and staying relevant in software development.
• 🚪 Know when to get out of the industry while you still have value to offer, as companies often struggle to assess the worth of extensive experience.
• 💼 Maintain a healthy work-life balance and avoid burnout by not constantly fighting battles and focusing on what truly matters in your career.

Q & A

What is the first law to having a long and healthy career in software development according to the speaker?

The first law is to embrace your impossibility. This means accepting that you won't know everything on a project and becoming comfortable with that uncertainty, which is a part of the job.

What does the speaker suggest as the second law for a lasting career in software development?

The second law is to make technology just stupid simple. This involves being able to simplify complex technical concepts, patterns, and code so that they can be easily understood by others, even those who are not as technically proficient.

What is buffering and delaying commitments, and why is it important according to the third law?

Buffering and delaying commitments means adding extra time to your estimates to account for uncertainties and complexities that may arise in software development. It is important to maintain a good reputation and deliver on commitments, especially in an industry where estimating tasks can be unreliable.

What does the speaker mean by 'skip the leveling grind' in the fourth law?

The fourth law suggests that developers should not get caught up in the hierarchical levels of job titles in tech companies. Instead, they should focus on acquiring skills and demonstrating their ability to work at a senior level across the industry, rather than staying at one company and advancing through a fixed set of titles.

What is the fifth law for a long-lasting career in software development?

The fifth law is to pick your battles wisely. This means not fighting every disagreement or trying to convince others on every technical decision, but rather focusing your energy on key issues that are important to the project and can make a significant impact.

Why is always networking important according to the sixth law?

Always networking is important because it prepares you for potential job changes or layoffs. By building and maintaining relationships, you ensure that you have a support network and opportunities available to you when you need them, reducing stress and increasing career flexibility.

What does the speaker suggest about knowing when you are the 'Code Monkey' in the seventh law?

The seventh law advises recognizing when your role in a company is primarily to write code, without much input into product direction or business strategy. It's important to accept this situation or consider moving on to a position where your broader skills and experience are valued.

What is the eighth law for having a long and lasting career as a developer?

The eighth law is to get out while you can. This means recognizing the limitations of being an individual contributor as you gain more experience and considering moving into roles that value your broader skills, such as leadership or consulting, rather than just coding abilities.

What is the speaker's perspective on the value of experience in the tech industry?

The speaker believes that most companies do not know how to value experience. They tend to focus on current tech knowledge and seniority level rather than the breadth of experience and skills that a developer may have acquired over the years.

What advice does the speaker give to new developers or those worried about their career longevity?

The speaker advises new developers to understand the realities of the job, accept the nature of the work, and focus on developing skills that increase their value proposition over time. They also suggest not fighting against the industry norms and instead adapting to them to ensure a lasting and successful career.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Embracing Imposter Syndrome and Career Progression

The speaker emphasizes the importance of enduring the feeling of being an imposter in the software development field, suggesting that it's a natural part of learning new frameworks and business aspects. They share their 27 years of industry experience and stress the value of focusing energy on key project issues rather than complaining about unimportant details. The speaker introduces eight laws for a lasting career in programming, aiming to help developers advance faster and maintain their health.

05:01

🛠 Simplifying Technology and Managing Commitments

The speaker discusses the necessity of making technology understandable to non-experts, highlighting the importance of simplifying complex concepts for better team communication. They also address the challenge of estimating in software development, advocating for 'buffering' estimates to account for unpredictability and the need to 'delay commitments' by using research spikes to investigate tasks before providing accurate estimates.

10:02

🔄 Avoiding the Leveling Grind and Picking Battles Wisely

The speaker warns against the trap of company-level hierarchies that can stall career progression, advising to focus on demonstrating senior-level work rather than getting stuck in junior roles. They also discuss the importance of picking battles wisely, suggesting that not every technical disagreement is worth the energy, and that sometimes it's better to compromise for the sake of a healthier work-life balance.

15:03

🤝 Constant Networking and Knowing Your Role

Networking is presented as a crucial activity that should be ongoing, not just when job hunting, to ease transitions and open new opportunities. The speaker also touches on the importance of recognizing one's role within a company, suggesting that if developers are seen only as code writers, they should either accept this or seek opportunities elsewhere.

👨‍💻 Transitioning Beyond Coding and Navigating the Job Market

The speaker advises developers to transition beyond just coding roles as they gain experience, pointing out that companies often undervalue broad technical experience in favor of current tech proficiency. They suggest focusing on developing leadership, management, and communication skills to increase one's value proposition and ease the job search process as developers grow older in their careers.

Keywords

💡Career progression

Career progression refers to the advancement of an individual's professional status and rank within a particular field over time. In the context of the video, it is about moving ahead in the software development industry faster than others and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. The script mentions career progression as one of the four topics the speaker likes to discuss, emphasizing its importance for a lasting career in programming.

💡Impostor syndrome

Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern where individuals doubt their accomplishments and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a 'fraud'. The video script addresses this concept, suggesting that while it is real, it is often misused as an excuse for not knowing everything in software development. The speaker encourages embracing the fact that one does not know everything as part of the job.

💡Frameworks

In software development, frameworks are a set of conventions, libraries, and tools that serve as a foundation for developing applications. The script talks about the necessity of sometimes working with frameworks that one may not love, as part of the professional journey. This is related to the broader theme of adapting to different technologies for career longevity.

💡Architectural problems

Architectural problems refer to the challenges related to the structure and design of a software system. The video emphasizes that a programmer should reserve their passion and energy for tackling these critical issues, which are central to the success of a project, rather than getting caught up in minor disputes or preferences.

💡Buffering estimates

Buffering estimates in project management means adding extra time or resources to account for uncertainties and potential delays. The script advises buffering estimates to protect one's reputation and ensure delivery on commitments, which is crucial for a long-term career in software development.

💡Leveling grind

The leveling grind refers to the process of climbing the corporate ladder through a series of hierarchical levels or titles. The video script criticizes tech companies for creating long ladders of titles that can lead to stagnation. The speaker suggests focusing on demonstrating senior-level work across the industry rather than getting caught in the leveling grind.

💡Job hopping

Job hopping is the practice of frequently changing jobs, often for better pay or position. The script warns against this practice, arguing that it can prevent one from gaining deep business knowledge and understanding, which are essential for a lasting and successful career in software development.

💡Networking

Networking refers to the cultivation of professional relationships and connections. The video emphasizes the importance of continuous networking, not just when job hunting, but as a regular practice to build relationships and stay on the radar of potential employers or collaborators.

💡Code Monkey

The term 'Code Monkey' is often used to describe a programmer who is seen as merely a code writer without significant input into strategic decisions. The script advises recognizing when one is in such a position and either accepting it or moving on to a role where one's broader skills and insights are valued.

💡Leadership

Leadership in the context of the video refers to the ability to guide, influence, and manage a team or project towards achieving its goals. The speaker suggests that as one gains experience, it's important to develop leadership skills to increase one's value proposition and career longevity.

💡Tech interviews

Tech interviews are a common part of the hiring process in the software industry, where candidates are tested on their technical knowledge and problem-solving skills. The script mentions that as developers gain experience, they may find these interviews increasingly challenging and suggests that developing skills beyond just coding can help navigate this challenge.

Highlights

Embrace impostor syndrome as a natural part of software development and accept the constant learning process.

Simplify technology and communicate effectively with team members who may not have the same level of expertise.

Buffer and delay commitments to maintain a good reputation and manage expectations in the unpredictable nature of software development.

Avoid the leveling grind by focusing on demonstrating work at a senior level rather than getting stuck in company-specific titles.

Pick your battles wisely and not fight every technical disagreement to preserve energy for more critical issues.

Network consistently to prepare for potential job changes and maintain professional relationships.

Recognize when you are seen as a 'Code Monkey' and either accept the role or seek opportunities that value your input.

Understand the limitations of selling extensive experience and focus on current relevant skills and leadership abilities.

Consider transitioning out of individual contributor roles as you gain experience to avoid becoming obsolete.

Software development requires resilience and adaptability to thrive in a constantly changing industry.

Learn to manage estimates and commitments in a way that accounts for the unpredictable aspects of software projects.

Job hopping can limit your depth of knowledge and understanding of a business, impacting long-term career success.

It's important to know when to compromise on technical choices for the sake of team harmony and project progress.

Continuous networking is crucial for career progression and should not be limited to times of job seeking.

Accepting the role of a 'Code Monkey' when it aligns with the company's expectations can lead to job satisfaction.

As developers age, it's vital to develop skills beyond coding to increase value and marketability.

The industry often undervalues broad experience, so it's important to highlight current and relevant skills.

Transcripts

from my experience if you want to last

in this career you got to learn to just

bite your lip write codes sometimes

following patterns or using Frameworks

you don't love and save the energy and

save all that passion for the issues on

the project or the architectural

problems or you know whatever it is that

are really key and really important to

the project and use your energy

there

[Music]

YouTube is full of videos promising to

you some secret about how to be the best

programmer or just bitching about why it

sucks well these people may mean well

but honestly many of them do not have

the experience in the industry to advise

you on your career I've been in this

industry for 27 years on over 40

Projects and you you can have a long and

healthy career in software development

but you may have to stop complaining

about some things that other people do

and you may have to just man up and do

some things differently than other

people have told you here at healthy

software developer I like to talk about

four things career progression working

healthy finding purpose and meaning

through your work and escaping the

corporate grind this episode today is

specific typically to help you with

career progression and so I'd like to

share with you eight laws to having a

lasting career as a programmer if you

follow these laws you're going to move

ahead way faster than a lot of other

software developers and you're actually

going to be able to stay healthy while

doing it which is the point of this

whole channel the first law to having a

long and healthy career in software

development is to embrace your imposs

we like to complain in the industry all

the time about impostor syndrome and

it's a real psychological thing that

some people have but I think we often

claim that we're experiencing impostor

syndrome and we're not we're just

programmers let me give you an example

myself again after over 40 software

projects every project I join this

includes the project I worked on last

year for the first three months of that

project I'm swimming in Frameworks I've

never seen patterns that are maybe

somewhat new weird aspects to the

business I've never encountered and yet

everybody on the team wants to pretend

that they're so experienced that they

know exactly what's going on but you

know if you're actually really

intelligent and you have any sense of

self-awareness you're going to know I

don't know everything that's going on on

the project and I think if you can

become comfortable with that and just

accept that that is part of the job

you're going to have a long career in

software now if you don't like that

you're probably in the wrong position

the second law of having a Long and

Lasting career is to make technology

just stupid simple what I mean by this

is most of the people that you're going

to work with over your career are not

going to know the code as well as you

even if it's other devs on your team if

you're working on some feature and let's

say you're the only one who's working on

that aspect of the API or you know using

some third party library of course

you've read all the documentation

hopefully at least applicable to what

you're learning you've gotten in there

you've written the code you know it

better than anyone else well I think

some of the worst programmers I've

worked with and I've run into people who

are 20 years into their career and they

still do this is people who communicate

with others as though they know the same

amount as them and if you want to have a

really long career and enjoy it in

software development a superpower is to

be able to take technology patterns

Concepts practices code and dumb them

down you know no no offense intended but

way simplify them so that the average

anybody can understand what you really

[Music]

mean the third law to having a long and

lasting career in software development

is you have to learn to buffer And Delay

any commitments that you give to people

I would love it if every project that we

get to work on in our career is for some

super agile company that requires no

estimates and there's no deadlines and

there's no commitments but hello that is

not the reality that the vast majority

of developers are experiencing and you

may be surprised to hear that if you're

one of the lucky you who's on a really

great agile you know project where

there's no estimating and you're just

doing things based on customer

feedback but for the rest of us we have

to estimate we have to give out some

sort of idea of how long stuff's going

to take and you know if you watched any

of my other episodes or again listen to

them as a podcast you know that

forecasting in software development is

one of the most unreliable things and so

if you want to have a long career and

keep a good reputation you have to

deliver on your commitments and the only

way to deliver on commitments if you're

in an industry where committing to

things and estimating to things you know

is low reliability is to buffer the

living hell out of your estimates now

this might feel icky to you well why

should I add 20% 40% 60% to an estimate

because if you're dealing with

management who don't understand that and

you come back and tell them that you

discovered some you know unforeseen

complexity and they start to blame you

as though you're not a good programmer

because you couldn't have predicted the

future they don't care that that's an

aspect of of you know software

development That's Unique so if you want

to have a long career in this industry

you got to buffer your estimates the

other thing you got to do is you got to

delay commitments if somebody asks you

to estimate something and let's say it's

in a framework you've never used before

I like to use what are called research

spikes you've probably heard of this

it's basically you tell your client or

the company okay I'm going to spend

let's say6 18 hours over 3 days

investigating this task that you've

given me because there's this one's of

high ambiguity I I don't feel like I

know enough yet to even give you a

reliable estimate and so you tell them

I'm going to spend 16 hours and I'm

going to come back to you and I'm going

to tell you if I know enough yet to give

you an ACC accurate estimate or if I

even may need more time now people don't

love hearing this they just want to

shove you into committing to stuff

you've never done before but I learned

this as a technique as a consultant and

it can really get you out of a jam if

you just try it and you really will

start to set expectations with your

company or your client that hey I don't

just commit to stuff because you want it

if I'm uncomfortable it's going to cost

you something I got to dig into it and

look at it first and I may even find out

we need more time than I estimated just

to estimate what we're going to build

the fourth law of having a long lasting

career in software is to skip the

leveling grind oh my gosh so many of

these tech companies have software

engineer 1 2 3 4 5 6 senior engineer 2 3

4 5 staff engineer one two principal

engineer 1 two 3 if you work for one of

these companies it may feel like you're

progressing in your career but here's

the reality these companies are dangling

you along and keeping you running on a

treadmill for as long as possible to

just get to the level of a title that

you're probably at if you've been at a

company for 3 years four years and

you're still not senior engineer or

maybe let's say

six if that's because they're giving you

you know Junior 1 Junior 2 Junior 3

remember you should not be getting

promoted because there's a specific rung

you have to go through you should be

getting promoted because you're doing

work at the level of seniority across

the industry that that title is

associated with so if you want to

advance in your career and have a

lasting career you want to honestly pick

up skills as quickly as possible where

you can actually demonstrate that you're

operating at a senior or above level and

one of the biggest things that people do

that prevents them from doing this is

job hopping yes you can potentially make

more money if you hop a new job every

two years but here's the thing you're

never really learning enough about the

business you just worked for to really

understand more than just kind of the

bare minimum of a 2-year stay at a

company of how to actually support that

business with technology you're just

kind of a coder for for higher and if

the purpose of your career is to make as

much cash as possible that may work for

the first third to half of your career

but I'm going to talk about in a moment

how it's actually a really destructive

strategy and if you choose to fall into

that uh the longer you stay in this

industry the harder your job is going to

be the fifth law of a really long and

Lasting career is you got to pick your

battles wisely you're going to be on

projects you're probably experiencing

this now where your Tech lead or an

architect or some other senior developer

has a real strong opinion as to why the

pattern that you chose in code or some

you know coding pattern is not the best

one or this Library isn't as good as

this and you know earlier in my career

I'll be honest with you I used to just

fight too tooth and nail just fight

people if I knew you know in my in my

hardest of hearts that this was the

better pattern oh I wasn't going to let

you get away with it I was going to you

know lean in and make sure I provided as

much documentation and really convince

you of it and I tried to do that with

everything that I found that I felt like

somebody wasn't making the best decision

and it was fraking exhausting you know

that's not a way to have a lasting

career so I just want to tell you from

my experience if you want to last in

this career you got to learn to just

bite your lip write codes sometimes

following patterns or using Frameworks

you don't love and save the energy and

save all that passion for the issues on

the project or the architectural

problems or you know whatever it is that

are really key and really important to

the project and use your energy there

not only are you probably going to have

more energy then so you're going to be

willing to you know put together

presentations or write code samples or

you know do whatever it takes to

convince all the other people when you

do have to you know bring them along but

you're going to have more peace because

you're not going to be constantly

fighting people you got to let some of

these preferences that you have for

coding just go if you want to have a

long and successful and healthy career

the six law of having a really long

career in this industry if you want one

is always be networking if you're only

networking when you get an idea that oh

I think I might need a job soon there's

layoffs by then you're now competing

with everybody who just got laid off the

the job pool is more tough you know

these days you need to be networking all

the time I think LinkedIn is one of the

best platforms for networking a lot of

people don't know how to do this I help

you know my career coaching clients with

this this is just a skill that I think

we all need to have but I think every

week you need to be spending at least a

couple hours you know minimum one you

could spread it across the whole week

finding new people that work in the tech

Stacks the Technologies the industries

that you enjoy they're at the companies

that you'd maybe like to work for and

open a conversation with them interact

with their content on LinkedIn now I'm

not an advocate for wasting time on

LinkedIn in fact I'm pretty antisocial

networking if you if you actually have

talked to me personally let's say and

know me but the reality is if you want

to be in a position where if your job

starts to suck or there gets to be

layoffs or you need to move on you can

do it with the least stress you need to

always be building relationships with

new people and staying on their radar so

that if new doors open you're the first

person they ask the seventh law to

having a really long and successful and

healthy career and software development

is know when you are the Code Monkey if

you're on a project in management looks

at you simply as an engineer I want you

to write code that's the main thing I'm

paying you for for I've seen a lot of op

engineers and I fell into this too where

we will fight management or we will

fight product management or we will just

try to cram ourselves into strategy and

business conversations because we want

to have an influence on the business we

want to maybe have an influence on the

user experience but if we got hired into

a company and we got signs during the

interview that the main reason that they

want us there is just a sling code

that's really all they're looking for

and success from us in the position

so you need to know when you're at a

company you can figure this out once

you've joined or you can ask some really

good questions going into it am I about

to join a company that looks at

developers as people who should have

input on the product Direction the

business the design things like that or

am I not and accept the situation you

know if you're at a company and you're

really frustrated because they don't

want to take your feedback one of the

worst things you can do for your

personal

stress levels and your health is to try

to fight against something that's just

not in the nature of how they're looking

at the position the better thing to do

is you got to either completely accept

it and be okay with like I'm a Code

Monkey here that's how they look at me I

write code or move

[Music]

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on and the eighth law to having a really

long and Lasting career as a developer

is get out while you can I've met people

who are 20 30 years into their career

again around the the the level of

experience I have and they're still

going out on the open market and trying

to sell themselves as an individual

contributor and they have a list you

know 10 15 Frameworks long of all these

different programming languages and

Frameworks they've learned here's the

problem with this

most companies do not know how to Value

experience they don't they look at

people as if you're a developer my main

thing I care about is do you know the

current Tech that I need you to know are

you relatively experienced in just that

Tech and are you at the seniority level

that I feel pretty confident we can pay

you the market rate that's it I've tried

for years to sell myself on all these

years of experience in other languages I

have and it never goes anywhere and this

is partially why when I work with people

on helping them with their LinkedIn

profiles for example I help them just

nuke anything get rid of anything in

your profile that talks about stuff that

you're not going to actually want to do

it doesn't matter to employers anymore

it doesn't matter at all you need to

make it you know brain dead simple that

they're reading that and they just see

you as wow super strong candidate for

what I'm looking for the problem is

though people look at that as well if I

do that now I'm selling myself short

that's right because again companies

don't understand that you need to put

your yourself out there if you're still

wanting to write code is that you have

new skills that your average programmer

doesn't you can build consensus with

people you're a better Communicator

you're okay do you know give

presentations if you still sell yourself

as I want to make top dollar in the

industry you know based on just being a

20y year you know even 10year developer

and you don't have any skills around

leadership management you know again

Consulting something that increases your

value proposition the older you get I

hate to break this to you the harder

it's going to get for you to continue to

make the money that you think you're

worth and also to just pass all these

stupid Tech interviews and all the other

crap that we get thrown at us that

becomes just that much harder the longer

you work in the industry the harder of a

job you have and the less time you have

to actually not not study and just rest

so you can have a life what do you think

about these eight laws do you agree with

them do you disagree what are some of

the things you've done in your career to

help you last longer than other people

and if you're new to the industry are

you worried about some of these things

has what I've told you today hopefully

encourag you a little bit to just see

this is what the job is if you're okay

with this you're going to kick butt I

think you're going to be a great

developer if you fight against this and

you try to pretend this isn't true and

you go out there and you watch other

people's videos or listen to other

people's podcasts that tickle your your

ear and tell you that all you have to do

is be a really great coder I hate to

break it to you it's not true and you're

not going to last very long so leave me

some comments let me know what you think

until next time

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thanks

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[Laughter]

n

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[Laughter]

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