The 10X Software Engineer (📙- coming soon!)
It has never been easier to get started as a software developer but never harder to get to the top of your career. Even as the jobs are getting more specialized, someone with top skills commands a top pay. Add the whole Generative AI wave, and we now reached a point in time where being a top developer easily gives you ten to fifteen times more leverage than being mediocre. However, it isn’t at all easy to get there.
Your career as a software engineer can be highly rewarding if only you know the intricacies of navigating it correctly. But, without a solid career plan in place, all you could turn to is incoherent generic advice that doesn’t fetch you the growth you deserve. With such advice, you usually end up being wishful in your thinking that things will turn out the way you want them to; although that rarely ends up being the case.
I started writing my first lines of code when I was 12, and I’ve continued being a developer for over 25 years now. I worked at Microsoft in India and the US for over a decade. Then, I quit, returned to India, and started working on my own startup. Even as I manage various other aspects of the startup, I continue to code, for at least 4-5 hours each day.
Over all these years, becoming one and hiring several of the 10x engineers, I learned what truly differentiates the 10x engineers from the rest of the crowd. I spent time understanding why there are developers who companies fight over, even as there are many others who are waiting to get hired, and I am here to share.
In this detailed guide, disguised as a book, I talk about several behaviors, techniques, and principles along with lots of practical steps that help you stand out, and help you grow faster in your career. In today’s world where the value of money is continuously decreasing due to inflation, and career prospects in tech are becoming very lucrative for the top developers, it pays to learn how you can reach the top of your game.
If you are merely aspiring to get to the top of your game as a developer but are not willing to put in the hard work needed to build a solid career plan and execute it, this guide is not for you. But if you are willing to work, are open to constructive criticism, and are passionate about technology’s role in transforming the world around you, this guide will take you places. The tons of things you will learn about the things you can do, and the things you need to stay away from doing will help you avoid mistakes and make sure you don’t lose out on valuable time that you cannot recover.
Just like my newsletter, this guide is heavily opinionated — I believe it’s a good thing. I believe that people usually tend to play nice (esp. when they are already working for a company) to avoid criticism. Then they end up on the fence with a version of “it depends.” When you have a lot of “it depends,” you will end up with a resource that doesn’t help you make any decisions.
This book is different. I have definite opinions on many things based on my own career experiences and lessons in life that I will vouch for; some will apply in your role, and some won’t. My promise to you though is that each of the lesson will help you fine-tune all the decisions you are making in your career helping you get better at your game.
You are the hero in your career story; I am merely a guide.
To pre-order the book, head on to my Kickstarter page. It should be out in Q4-2023.
In this Substack, I write about growing as a developer and a career in tech and attaining mastery and faster growth in your role. — If you wish to, you can always connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn.