the ultimate guide to professional development for engineers

Professional Development Guides

How to Be a Better

ENgiNEEr

from

We know you want to

BE AWESOMEat your job!

So, we picked the brains of a team of engineering experts to find out how they've gotten so good.

Yusuf SimonsonVP of Engineering at The Muse

Vanessa HurstTechnical Founder &

CEO of CodeMontage

Zain MemonCTO of Braid

Ana EndersSenior Front-End Engineer at The Muse

And compiled it all into the

ULTiMATE gUiDE TO PrOFESSiONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ENGINEERS.

Are you ready for it?

it'll be a HUgE help to your career.(And only take a little time to flip through.)

Whether you’re just getting started or you’re ready to move to the top,

First, we’ll talk about the skills you need.

And then we’ll give you the resources to make it happen.

LET'S gET STArTED.

So what skills does one need to develop to be a superstar engineer?

Well, there are

THE OBViOUS ONES.

You should know as many

HArD TEcH SkiLLS as possible—and continue

learning them.

If you're interested in becoming a developer (front-end or back-end), you might spend years learning the

fundamentals, but you will never stop having to learn new

technologies. All developers are expected to keep up with the latest

in the tech world.

You should also have plenty of practice

in the art of

PrOBLEM SOLViNg.

Probably the most useful skill I've learned has been to debug. As a front-end developer (as opposed to a seasoned

programmer), I've faced many hurdles with back-end technologies. Instead of despairing or pestering my fellow engineers, I take the time to look things up or dig around, and (often) I will figure it out. It can be painful and time-

consuming, but when you solve a problem on your own, it's the most empowering and satisfying feeling.

But there are other skills that people tend to

OVErLOOk.

It’s important to be able to cOMMUNicATE EFFEcTiVELY in the engineering world.

You must be able to:

Give feedback and instructions to others

on your team

Explain your vision or your work to

non-technical team members

Learning when to provide detail and when to paint a general picture has

been crucial for me. I'm an engineer by training, so I think in extreme detail,

but sometimes too many specifics can hamper an otherwise strong message. You don't have to say everything you

know every time you speak.

You also must be able to

c O L L A B O r A T E with all sorts of people.

After all, you don’t build things in a vacuum—

you build them for and with other people!

The most useful skill I've learned is an appreciation for working with the non-technical staff members at a

company. They're often the ones who know the problems that the company

faces first-hand, and they're also the ones most appreciative when you fix those

problems.

Later on in your career, having good

MANAgEMENT SkiLLS can really help you out.

There’s a good chance you’ll be put in charge of a team of engineers, and you’ll need to be able to keep your people as organized as your code.

The most useful skills for me have been softer skills, especially with respect to management and leadership. I'm not a

natural manager, so this has been really useful for my professional

development.

Similarly, good

PUBLic SPEAkiNg abilities become more

important as your career moves forward.

By presenting your work to others, you can get your name out and become a

THOUgHT LEADEr in your field.

I've spoken at several conferences, which helps me articulate what I believe in and improve how I engage other people in what

I'm building.

But when it comes down to it, the most important thing you can do is continue

growing your

TEcHNicAL AB iL iT iES .

For software development, I think learning functional programming is a great way to improve. Even if you don't end up using it

professionally, it gives you a new perspective. And as an interviewer, seeing functional programming experience in a

resume is a big indicator that the person is passionate about his or her craft.

Now that we're on the same page about what skills you need, let's talk about

HOw TO gET THErE.

We asked our experts what resources have been helpful along the way,

and pulled together an

OFFiciAL rESOUrcE gUiDE for your engineering development.

BOOkS TO rEAD

BLOgS & MAgAZiNES TO rEAD

For organizational setup, GitHub and Valve are both very

inspirational companies.

cONFErENcES TO ATTEND

I'm inspired by Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing and local conferences

focused on specific technologies (mostly PostgreSQL and Ruby for me). I also

recently organized a conference, WriteSpeakCode, and learned a lot from the

experience and the workshop content.

cLASSES TO TAkE

There are a billion tutorials online. It's probably best to consult developers you respect for guidance on what they find to be the most

helpful. I'm a big fan of doing things yourself, so if you're motivated, you should not require

expensive workshops or classes.

Practice on real projects! Talk to people with real technical needs instead of making up a project. Software engineering is not just about building, it's about solving

people's problems.

EXPErTS TO FOLLOw

Now—it's time to go out into the world and get better at rOckiNg YOUr cArEEr!

(We know you can do it.)

And, if you want a little more help along the way?

Keep up with for the advice you need to build the career you've

always dreamed of.

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