Day as a Dev

SHOW DESCRIPTION Derek Prior is an engineering manager at GitHub. Working to improve developer productivity, he and the team have delivered such hits as: Suggested Changes, Free Private Repos, Community Contributors, and GitHub Sponsors. Prior to that, Derek was a Development Director at thoughtbot, and co-host of The Bike Shed podcast. The Bike Shed has got to be one of my favorite podcasts out there, and I was super excited at the opportunity of catching up with Derek. Our conversation spanned all sorts of topics I've been curious about, and I came away from this session with a whole new perspective on management. On the show, we walk through his experiences learned transitioning from engineer to manager, the unexpected challenges that came along the way, and helpful advice for building a healthy and productive team. TIME JUMPS * 07:47Give away your legos. * 15:55Day as an engineering manager. * 20:04A player-coach doesn't scale. * 24:07Unexpected challenges. * 32:16An onboarding ramp. * 35:28Connecting, when remote. * 42:48Implementing a strong code review culture. * 47:35The ultimate decision on what to do lies with the person deploying the code. * 49:26Purpose, direction, and motivation. For expanded show notes on this episode, head on over to https://www.dayasadev.com/episodes/empathetic-management-with-derek-prior.

SHOW DESCRIPTION This episode features part two of my conversation with Tom McHenry. If you're just joining the show: Tom McHenry didn't begin his career as a software engineer. In fact, after completing post graduate degrees in english literature, and fiction, and working as a journalist and web editor, it wasn't until a life changing event, that Tom entered a bootcamp to pursue a career in tech. Outside of working as an engineer, Tom is an accomplished cartoonist, video game designer, marathon runner, weightlifter, husband, and now guest of the show. In part one of this series [https://www.dayasadev.com/episodes/systemized-creativity-with-tom-mchenry], Tom and I walk through his entrance into tech, the benefits of unconventional approaches to learning, and systematic tactics for breaking down problems, and achieving abstract goals. This episode picks up right where we left off. From strategies for tackling difficult problems, through game design, and cartooning, to thoughts on habits and routines. We fit it all in nicely, and have some fun along the way. TIME JUMPS * 01:02Day as a Tom McHenry. * 06:22Find your frog. * 12:07Respect yourself, and your timebox. * 17:23Horse Master: The Game of Horse Mastery. * 27:00A cartooning cadence. * 33:42Mindfulness, and managing routines. * 39:01Crop rotation. * 42:43Habits as identity. For expanded show notes on this episode, head on over to https://www.dayasadev.com/episodes/systemized-creativity-part-two-with-tom-mchenry.

SHOW DESCRIPTION Tom McHenry didn't begin his career as a software engineer. In fact, after completing post graduate degrees in english literature, and fiction, and working as a journalist and web editor, it wasn't until a life changing event, that Tom entered a bootcamp to pursue a career in tech. Outside of working as an engineer, Tom is an accomplished cartoonist, video game designer, marathon runner, weightlifter, husband, and now guest of the show. We had such a fantastic conversation, that Tom's session has been broken down into two parts. On this episode, Tom and I walk through his entrance into tech, the benefits of unconventional approaches to learning, and systematic tactics for breaking down problems, and achieving abstract goals. TIME JUMPS * 10:51A life changing event. * 19:09On coasting. * 24:25An unconventional approach to teaching. * 30:12Question the magic. * 31:48The benefits of juniors teaching juniors. * 34:35How a bootcamp works; an example. * 44:50Breaking down problems. * 48:50Pen to page. Keep the streak alive. For expanded show notes on this episode, head on over to https://www.dayasadev.com/episodes/systemized-creativity-with-tom-mchenry.

SHOW DESCRIPTION Jessica Kerr is a developer of development systems. She works remotely from St. Louis, for Atomist, and when not engineering automation infrastructure, Jess is a frequent panelist on the Greater Than Code podcast, conference speaker, and writer. Her mission is to find and share new ways to think about code, people, and symmathesies of code-and-people. Symmathesy. That was a new word for me, and in essence, it describes: a learning system made of learning parts. We unpack that idea more in this episode, along with presenting advice on making the most of generativity focused opportunities. On the show, Jess and I step through everything from idea generation exercises, through blueprints for conference talks and writing, to productivity and teamwork. TIME JUMPS * 05:22Day as a Keynote Speaker. * 07:09Advice on overcoming public speaking nerves. * 10:10From idea to conference talk. * 12:45The benefits of documenting things right away. * 15:05Organizing a keynote length talk. * 19:44Making the most of your time when attending a conference. * 22:09On writing. * 25:57Fostering productivity, and a basic compact. * 32:13A seam into content production. * 33:20Coping when overwhelmed and overextended. * 37:01Symmathesy. * 38:23Your todo list should be impossible. For expanded show notes on this episode, head on over to https://www.dayasadev.com/episodes/generativity-with-jessica-kerr.

SHOW DESCRIPTION Jem Hilton is a former philosophy instructor, turned software developer, and offers a story all the way up the stack. From coding bootcamp, through years in the Chicago startup world, to the Pacific Northwest, Jem's made deliberate choices throughout his career, and is now managing a team of engineers at Leafly, the largest cannabis website in the world. On the show, we detail tactics and strategies for forwarding a career. From landing a job in tech, through negotiating an offer letter, to managing up, this episode is packed with takeaways. TIME JUMPS * 03:37Day as a Bootcamper. * 07:07Pivoting towards a career in tech. * 12:30Luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity. * 14:49Capacity, desire, and a laser focused intention. * 18:07Software engineering as a new trade. * 19:02Experience, over education. * 20:54Managing up. * 31:51Negotiating your offer letter. * 36:24The unexpected consequences of going remote. * 40:27Force multiplication, and changing responsibilities. For expanded show notes on this episode, head on over to https://www.dayasadev.com/episodes/up-the-stack-with-jem-hilton.