It takes more than great code
to be a great engineer.

Soft Skills Engineering is a weekly advice podcast for software developers.

The show's hosts are experienced developers who answer your questions about topics like:

  • pay raises
  • hiring and firing developers
  • technical leadership
  • learning new technologies
  • quitting your job
  • getting promoted
  • code review etiquette
  • and much more...

Soft Skills Engineering is made possible through generous donations from listeners. A heart with a striped shadowSupport us on Patreon

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Recent Episodes

Latest Episode

Episode 30: Reaching Consensus and Code Editing Etiquette

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In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:

  1. How should you reach consensus on a team? Should you always have consensus?
  2. What is the etiquette around editing code in a shared repository?
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Episode 29: What Should I Do When Starting A New Job?

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Literally the only episode that the advice “quit your job and get a better one” doesn’t apply.

Dave and Jamison answer the question:

What should I do when starting a new job?

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Episode 28: How Long Should I Stay At My Job and How Do I Help Junior Developers Improve

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In episode 28, Jamison and Dave answer these questions:

How long should I stay before I quit my job?

  • Two to three years seems fairly normal.
  • Dave sees people with less than 12 months regularly.
  • Staying at a job means you experience things you wouldn’t if you hopped around a lot.
  • It is much easier to see the hype cycle play out if you stick around.
  • You get to see the outcome of your own decisions.
  • Quitting usually == raise.
  • Chronic job hopping might result in a reputation of not sticking with things.
  • Dave thinks you should quit your first job after 18 months because of the Monty Hall problem

How do you encourage junior developers to improve?

  • We assume that these junior developers really want to improve.
  • Make it clear that people get stuck and struggle, and that is normal.
  • Make it clear that you don’t want them to get too stuck.
  • Make it OK to ask questions.
  • People generally live up or down to your expectations, so help them feel trusted and that you expect they will be great.
  • Make the outcome of their work clear.