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Show HN: My book for programmers called “Junior to Senior” was published today

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Re: Show HN: My book for programmers called “Junior to Senior” was published today

#21

Post by dglass »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #10

I've read the free preview on the different meanings of what is a senior engineer, and I have to say I'm not convinced. "Years of experience" VS "Technical ability" is at best reductive, at worst completely wrong. I encourage you to look at large companies and how the levels are defined ( https://www.levels.fyi/blog/amazon-leveling-progress.html here for example, for Amazon) and the nuance that there is. The differen…

Thanks for the feedback. Holloway's platform makes it easy to make revisions, and I plan on updating the content periodically based on feedback like this. Comments from readers in the book itself also help as well to adjust the content over time.

I had a feeling this topic would be a bit controversial on HN :) I tried to address this in the book in the first section of "What Makes You a Senior Engineer?" by talking about the different meanings, and how the software industry doesn't have a standard definition of what a senior engineer role entails. Everyone will have a different opinion on what makes a senior engineer, so I'll try to add more info about the nuances involved in the senior title in future revisions.

Re: Show HN: My book for programmers called “Junior to Senior” was published today

#22

Post by benrow »

dglass wrote: post #21
iLoveOncall wrote: post #10

I've read the free preview on the different meanings of what is a senior engineer, and I have to say I'm not convinced. "Years of experience" VS "Technical ability" is at best reductive, at worst completely wrong. I encourage you to look at large companies and how the levels are defined ( https://www.levels.fyi/blog/amazon-leveling-progress.html here for example, for Amazon) and the nuance that there is. The differen…

Thanks for the feedback. Holloway's platform makes it easy to make revisions, and I plan on updating the content periodically based on feedback like this. Comments from readers in the book itself also help as well to adjust the content over time. I had a feeling this topic would be a bit controversial on HN :) I tried to address this in the book in the first section of "What Makes You a Senior Engineer?" by talking a…

If I may suggest some further feedback, I think mentoring is very important at a senior level. Perhaps this could be covered in a chapter in the existing communication section, unless of course I missed something!

I think learning to identify how engineers could improve, and being able to successfully help them, is a big level-up. Departments will want to trust their seniors to do this proactively - rather than say, just when questions come up - as this helps foster a healthy team with everyone growing.

One other point comes to mind on impact - as this is often seen as a key differentiator for senior engineers. It's good to see the section on improving processes in your book, as this is a nice way to add a lot of value. Another way to make an impact is keeping a close eye on product delivery and cycle time, and identifying any problems. For example, is work getting released often, or is it getting stuck in 'nearly done'? Are there frequent blockers to builds or deployments? How is cycle time looking recently, and are there any lurking issues where work is getting blocked frequently? How do we work around this current setback - is there a short term solution to keep things moving while we work on a proper fix? Are we currently on track for delivery?

Managing complexity is another area which can be tough to navigate as a new senior.

Just some thoughts which came to mind, as we all see things from a different perspective.

Overall, I really like the focus of the book. We need more of this stuff and this will help a lot of people, so kudos on the release!

Re: Show HN: My book for programmers called “Junior to Senior” was published today

#23

Post by dglass »

oidar wrote: post #20

How can I read this offline? Doesn't seem to be a way to load it on my kindle or laptop. Is there a PDF?

We're planning to make some revisions to the book based on some of the early feedback we've gotten, so for now the Holloway reader is the best place to read the book. We do plan to offer PDF and ePUB versions in the bundle in the future though.

Re: Show HN: My book for programmers called “Junior to Senior” was published today

#24

Post by dglass »

benrow wrote: post #22
dglass wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the feedback. Holloway's platform makes it easy to make revisions, and I plan on updating the content periodically based on feedback like this. Comments from readers in the book itself also help as well to adjust the content over time. I had a feeling this topic would be a bit controversial on HN :) I tried to address this in the book in the first section of "What Makes You a Senior Engineer?" by talking a…

If I may suggest some further feedback, I think mentoring is very important at a senior level. Perhaps this could be covered in a chapter in the existing communication section, unless of course I missed something! I think learning to identify how engineers could improve, and being able to successfully help them, is a big level-up. Departments will want to trust their seniors to do this proactively - rather than say,…

That's some great feedback, thank you! I'll add these to my notes for the upcoming revisions.

There's a section about having a "team-first approach," but I agree with your comment that mentorship is another trait that could even deserve it's own section.

Re: Show HN: My book for programmers called “Junior to Senior” was published today

#28

Post by mooreds »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #10

I've read the free preview on the different meanings of what is a senior engineer, and I have to say I'm not convinced. "Years of experience" VS "Technical ability" is at best reductive, at worst completely wrong. I encourage you to look at large companies and how the levels are defined ( https://www.levels.fyi/blog/amazon-leveling-progress.html here for example, for Amazon) and the nuance that there is. The differen…

I wrote a blog post in 2018 about the different dimensions of being a senior engineer and have to say it is a complext and deep topic.

I counted 10+ different aspects: https://www.mooreds.com/wordpress/archives/2812

Re: Show HN: My book for programmers called “Junior to Senior” was published today

#30

Post by metabagel »

rmbyrro wrote: post #13
iLoveOncall wrote: post #10

I've read the free preview on the different meanings of what is a senior engineer, and I have to say I'm not convinced. "Years of experience" VS "Technical ability" is at best reductive, at worst completely wrong. I encourage you to look at large companies and how the levels are defined ( https://www.levels.fyi/blog/amazon-leveling-progress.html here for example, for Amazon) and the nuance that there is. The differen…

From his LinkedIn profile, the author doesn't seem to have experience in the likes of Amazon. "Senior" will vary depending on the size of company and the scale of problems it deals with.

I don't think someone should have to work for Amazon in order to write a book about how to become a senior developer.

>> "Senior" will vary depending on the size of company and the scale of problems it deals with.

No matter what company you work for, your role is in a specific context, typically within a group or working on a project. And it's not the scale of problems the company deals with which makes you a senior developer. It's the scope of your assignments and the breadth of knowledge and experience which it takes for you to be able to tackle them.

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