Soft Skills Engineering is a weekly advice podcast for software developers. We answer questions about all the stuff you didn't realize you needed to know about being an engineer:
For answers to these and other questions, our hosts Dave Smith and Jamison Dance are here to help.
Soft Skills Engineering listeners are awesome. Here's what they are saying about the podcast.
Jack says:
Not only did Soft Skills Engineering help me land my first gig, I also used your advice to negotiate a $10,000 raise! I love your podcast and will continue to heartily recommend you to everyone I know!
Hdennen says:
Facing a 9 hour drive, I grabbed a bunch of podcasts to listen to. I don't even know what the other ones are. Seriously, this podcast is full of massively helpful and relevant content from two people who are experienced, funny, and insightful.
Saad says:
Listening to Soft Skills Engineering has completely shifted my thoughts on what it means to be an engineer. It’s probably one of the more useful things I’ve gained during my time at Amazon. It definitely helped me grow, and I’m totally indebted to you for that.
Follow the show on social media for the latest news:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoftSkillsEng/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoftSkillsEng/
In episode 12, Jamison, Dave, and special guest Ann Harter answer these questions:
How do I make friends at work? Should I?
I hear a lot about being a good manager but not much about being managed. How do I do that?
In episode 11, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:
I’m looking for a new job. How do I negotiate to get a better offer?
How do you deal constructively with a boss who is well-intentioned, reasonably nice and intelligent, but incompetent, oblivious, and who has minimal to no oversight on their work performance?
In episode 10, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:
How about an episode about mentoring? Why is it important, how do we do it, and how do we find the right mentor for us?
How do stock options work? How can I tell whether an offer with stock options is any good?
In episode 9, Jamison, Dave, and special guest Layne Mosely answer these questions:
As a software developer, is it better to put an aggressive deadline on myself? Or should I let it be open ended? What are the effects of these two approaches on me and my team?
What do all these titles mean? Technical lead. Senior software engineer. Director of engineering. VP of engineering. CTO.
In episode 8, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:
How do you achieve work life balance? Do you have any strategies that work for you? Any bad examples from your own lives?
How do you on-board new engineers?
In episode 7, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:
How do I quit my job? What’s the process? How do I avoid burning bridges? What will my employer expect from me? How do benefits work?
I’m worried my job is not meaningful? Am I just cranking out code for “the man”? What can I do to get more meaning out of my job?
In episode 6, Jamison and Dave answer this question:
I’d like to do some public speaking. How do I get accepted to speak at conferences? How do I give good talks once I’m there?
In episode 5, Jamison and Dave answer this question:
What are common ways developers are compensated? Do developers usually get a bonus? Stock options?
In episode 4, Jamison and Dave answer this question:
I have heard a lot about “marketing myself” and my “personal brand”. For example, some people say I should be writing a blog post every week or creating lots of YouTube content. They talk about being a “thought leader”. I love building stuff as an engineer, and obviously I want to have a great job, so how important is this stuff?
In episode 3, Jamison and Dave answer two questions:
What should I look for in a dev team?
I don’t get enough done at work. I work on a small team that has aggressive plans for developing its product, but I don’t feel like I get enough work done or move fast enough for the company.