Coderfit contains the career wisdom that I’m looking for. If you’re trying to grow in your career (like me), or considering a career change into tech, I highly recommend it. This is the guide on how to survive and adapt in this fast-paced industry.
A quick background about me: I studied accounting in college and started building my career in tech to work on an accounting software.
Sell your ‘outsider’/non-tech background as strength, not a weakness.
Iwan Gulenko
The author, Iwan, is a true practitioner. He worked some years as a programmer and is now a tech recruiter. I’ve been following his curated commentary on articles about tech, coding, and careers. I always learn something insightful or applicable.
Coderfit introduced me to ideas that are entirely new to me, such as the Lindy programmer things (technology or idea that survived the test of time) and the history of software engineering. Iwan relates theory to practice, and writes in an engaging way, not in a textbook style. It is not overwhelming but fueled my curiosity to dig deeper into algorithms and the Turing machine.
He presents a bull***t detection heuristic on identifying tech trends with a substance:
If it has roots in theory and mathematics, then keep an eye on it. Ask yourself where a trend is coming from. Who pushes it? Does it make sense, or will it be obsolete?
“Hacks” tend to go away, but fundamentals stay.
There are things that resonated with my real-world experience:
- The typical programming career, usual tenure, and salary range
- The T-shaped professional – this is a barbell approach – going deep on the basic principles of your craft while keeping an eye on new tech.
- Good software engineering habits – some of these habits I’m already doing as a result of tinkering, others I need to work on.
I learned about skills that are crucial when applying to jobs but I haven’t practiced, such as salary negotiation, how to talk to recruiters, the most important CV advice, how to be interviewed, and choosing the right team. I didn’t learn most of these skills in school.
I discovered some ideas to break out of employment and make more money. I find this intriguing as I see my tech career as a way to earn f*** you money and be free. It made me consider what are some side projects I can start working on.
The final chapter is about what to do in an economic downturn and the COVID-19 crisis, particularly on frugality and savings, so you can prepare for the worst.
I read the book twice, and I look forward to revisiting the book throughout my career movement.
If you want to be robust, even antifragile in your tech career, check out Coderfit.
Dave Gulimlim 