Make sure to put office hours questions in the comments. You can find Rahul Pandey's channel here th-cam.com/users/RahulPandeyrkp FYI, projected retirement numbers assume a 9% YoY growth, the average since 2006.
I just got into amazon as an sde Steve. My question is, why not do your own thing? Smart and experienced folk like you create the real value in any org. Why not use that value for yourself?
tech lead is weird, he was only good in old times but now completely ridiculous, not forgetting he and joma tech ripped off clement's AlgoExpert hard work, horrible.
1. Getting your money right: This includes saving. You could also put those savings in the market, and sticking it through up or down and seeing what it amounts to later. (Time passes really quickly) 2. Preferring output over impact: Finding task that differentiate yourself. Finding a meaningful refactor that prevents future bugs is better than routinely integrating package updates. Great to have a nose for outsized impact. 3. Not thinking clearly about staying or leaving your team: Sure, that hop could increase your compensation but you could be leaving a good team and moving to something worse. If you're in a bad environment, don't believe promises but watch the management's actions to see if they're actually dealing with the root problem. Ultimately, if you're in a good spot, don't throw it all away. You'll only recognize your golden ages from hindsight.
@@slippinchillin EDIT: Nevermind, the commenter just made a typo while summarizing the video I think he meant you should prefer impact over output; his *mistake* was spending too much time maximizing output instead of impact
My biggest mistake in my career is never letting my manager know I wanted a promotion. Don't wait years to "get ready" just ask your manager what you need to do early to get the next position.
Just a short story to address your last point. I worked for a company that shall remain nameless. They were failing. The CEO skipped the country because it had been discovered he was embezzling. They laid off half the company. We got written up in the press, and one writer said, and I quote "clearly the only workers remaining there are stupid and cannot find other work". I was one of the few people actually working there. Others were playing board games on the whiteboards. This was after the 2008 downturn, so jobs were not easy to find. So I left to take a contract. I would not say my career tanked, but those were some bad years and some stretches of unemployment. The company? They got bought by a very good company, and people I know there went on to work for years there productively. The moral of the story is that what seems to be black and white, sometimes isn't.
@@nicksrub I'm 65, I have been an engineer since 19, technician before that, and repaired TVs in my parents garage for money when I was 15. I guess what other folks think of as career markers just strike me as a phase. The story above was 2009 if I recall, just after the "great recession" of 2008. I didn't escape that, but not for the obvious reasons. My wife of 13 years decided that was the time to get a divorce. About the only good thing that resulted from that is that our house's value was depressed, and so I could buy her out. Things have changed since then. During the time I described, I got very good at making spreadsheets, and what I found in those days was that I was going to lose the house shortly. I rented out two rooms for a while and got past that. I think by 2010-2011 things took off again, and they really haven't slowed down since then. I did full time up to 62 years of age, and preferred that. After 60, I got lots of interviews, but no interest. Since then it appears more companies are interested in having me as a contractor. I can't say if it is because of my age, or the times we live in. I can't say it is not possible to get full time now, when there seems to be a lot of demand. It just seems far easier to get contracts, and those have been good. My last contract was Apple. My current one is Google. Not exactly poor companies :-)
@@scottfranco1962 wow that's fascinating! Glad you're still in the industry after all these years! What would you have done career-wise if you had to start over now?
@@nicksrub Invest heavily in Microsoft? Kidding. Probably get a PHD. My career never really got to the levels of tech that I wanted. Other than that, I don't think there was a perfect path. The guys I knew who really took off in the valley just retired early or became managers. I never wanted to shorten my career, just work on better quality stuff.
really love the mature way of looking at things. a consistent thing I've read on Reddit is the need for software engineers to understand relationships, office politics, etc. Soft skills. The way you present the case for making yourself a priority in a positive way shows experience in the industry. Looking forward to future content
I'm not even in software engineering but this was just so useful in general! Thanks for your honest and upfront thoughts from your own personal experience - will bear this in mind for the future when I'm thinking about switching jobs 🤗
Point 2 is spot on! Couldn’t agree more! I’m no Software Engineer. I worked with them. A few years back, there was a “golden” opportunity to demonstrate a full-system demo to SVP and CEO. But I needed helps from SWE. To my surprise, I literally walked to each and every SWE desk my buildings, asked for help, promised that this would be super high impact if succeeding. “Nah man, I gotta do code review, bug fix, commit, etc etc” I sent email to different SWE groups, tried my best to sell the high impact opportunity. No response.
1. Start investing early (time in market > timing market) 2. Look for impact, not productivity = find teams that can be impactful, where other people can see you 3. Know when to leave a team
I don't agree... I sadly invested in the highest point in November 2021 and now my pirtfolio is -30%. I really regret investing. Luckly I just put 10% of my money in the stock market.
I don't know if you covered this topic yet, but I think something I struggle with is words. To form clear and concise words in speaking. Coding is half the battle. Being able to communicate your thoughts to the targeted audience is just, if not, more important I feel like. Thank you!
I'm starting as an SDE I at Amazon in a month and I just found your channel while looking for advice and I love the content. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Steve!
Man I don't know why TH-cam algorithms recommend you only now? Your content is pure gold, keep doing. Nowadays it is very hard to find an open opinion on all questions of Tech Industry from mature and experienced senior persona. There too much junior and newbie opinions around. Just want to give you motivation to keep doing, maybe small one, but still :D
Excellent information. We realized late that we were in a excellent team. You are in a good team when you are making impact otherwise you need to go. Why? Because if you are not making a impact that means that you are losing your previous knowldge, your are not getting new knowledge or challenge. I had a co-worker that mentioned to me that he felt like a robot pressing a button. I understant what he meant. Thats means you are wasting your professional career.
I need to watch this entire channel multiple times to educate myself on how to evaluate life as an engineer. It will help with the behaviour interview chats. 👍
After having my first real job at a big-name, on a mission-critical service with a 23-yo Perl code base, having embarked on (and failed at) two full-scale gradual rewrites, I got kinda hooked on that, so most subsequent "ships" I got on were also sinking: organisationally, socially, professionally, technically, or all of the above. The "words vs actions" advice is spot on! A sinking ship that's being actively (and competently) salvaged can be greatly beneficial career-wise, especially if you live to see the success of it. You'll have the opportunity to make a lot of highly-impactful decisions and do stuff that's usually already done ages before you. A sinking ship can do just that, though - sink; leaving you with a short and unattractive resume section. It's quite hard to tell one from the other at the interview stage unless you've had experience with both, but one thing you can do is, "describe one serious problem with your ", then "so what's the plan about it?" It is a hard set up for most interviewers, so make sure not to come off as too aggressive or critical
Thank you for these videos. You're like a non-toxic, positive, wise tech veteran I can actually look up to. I'm taking it as a sign from the universe that one of your favorite books "so good they can't ignore" is also my favorite self help/ career book ha. Hope your time off from full time employment is off to a good start and looking forward to more of your videos :D
This is stuff that could benefit a LOT of careers, not just software. Well done! Also, I should add, don't invest ALL your money into a 401k, I typically only invest up to how much the company fully matches. The rest I put into an index fund or etf. The reason is if you end up retiring early OR need to take some time in between jobs like if you end up moving and don't have a job for a while, money wrapped up into a 401k cannot be withdrawn before a certain age without penalty, whereas money in an Index fund could be pulled out fairly quickly. If you have a million or two in an index fund you could live fairly comfortably off of the interest alone in a normal, non-recession environment.
I want to be honest I find this channel very valuable and so helpful. As software engineer now on my first year , I consistently sacrificed my evening to get things done but no one really noticed this things. Thanks a lot for this amazing clear organized argument.
For me the hard part is to go for it when you feel like you have stopped growing. You value the security of the income to pay mortage, maybe you have a kids to think about. So you want to keep growing by moving to another job, but you don't know beforehand if it will be better. I've heard stories of people getting it even worse after leaving. I've been 3 years at my current job, I work with decent team, good manager and a nice product. But I'm not very challenged and I also feel like the one taking most technical decisions, I miss someone "better" than me that I can learn from.
I also heard from many online that you should always try leaving a company after 2 years to get the most income changes. Do you feel like this is something you would have done in the past? Like going from Amazon to Facebook or Netflix? Great video. Subscribed!
It's like what Steve said it doesn't have to be every 2 years only until you feel like you are being undervalued at your current company should you move on to greener pastures.
Discovered this channel today and your videos are a breath of fresh air in the youtube SW career space for someone like me. I am relatively early in my career and shooting for the stars, and your advice is pragmatic and genuine. Thank you for all that you do, you make a bigger difference than you think.
Extremely good video. The only critique is the tile should not be specific to software engineers, but to almost all jobs, which even is not a real criticism at all. You're just one of the best tech youtuber out there no doubt.
Wow, just wow. What fantastic, actionable advice given in such a humble manner. I hope I get to work with more people like you as I progress. Gonna take your advice and run with it. See you in the field!
In addition to the excellent ones you mention the biggest career mistakes I see young engineers make (some of which I too made in the early days): willful ignorance of office politics. Failure to understand the importance of self-advocacy. Staying for more than 3-6 months after you would have otherwise left to see if you get that promotion. Fear of change in general. The nth time you do something is less scary than the n-1th.
Most of my money is "time in the market", but I use a small portion to time the market as well to keep it interesting. You don't have to go all in to make it interesting, just use play money.
Also worth pointing out re: retirement accounts that there are legal, penalty-free ways to pull money out of your retirement accounts at any age. Roth ladders, Rule 72(t), etc. There's rarely a reason not to contribute to retirement accounts even if you're retiring early.
great advice and very helpful information! it can be so overwhelming to understand the long term perspective when you;'re new to the industry and role. looking forward to more like this!
My only comment here is don't limit your advice. This is on point advice for any role at any job. Software engineering or otherwise. I do wish I had enough paycheck I could afford to max out my investments. Being able to do that is pretty uncommon in most people's lives, doesn't mean it isn't great advice though. Cause it is.
@2:30 - the most valuable lesson I was ever taught - even more valuable when running your own business!!! Also, thanks for the vid! Great tips and you earned my sub by not beating around the bush, plus not doing a 5 minute paid promo half way through the first 5 minutes LOL Thanks again for the career tips
Hello Sir, Can you make a video about 1. Is there really a shortage of senior software engineers as Big Tech claims? 2.What are the traits/skills or expectation that companies are looking for when they hire especially BigTech ? (Also the key skill set that is missing from candidates due to which there is such a shortage )
#1 - Answering from an American perspective - One hundred percent. People who are truly good at software engineering (i.e senior software engineers and above) are in severe short supply, and they will likely be for the foreseeable future because the American education system cannot produce enough good engineers to fill that gap. The US WILL need immigrants to fill it. The rub though, is that beginner/mediocre software engineers are dime a dozen. The question is how do you filter the applicant pool so that American companies remain competitive. Also, just to be sure, this is not the problem with only software engineers. Most engineering fields have this shortage. Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, whatever. The US doesn't produce enough engineers.
@@PristinePerceptions From what I have heard, 1) Companies want people with exact skill set and they don't want to spend money on training them. 2) A lot of software developers in industry have not hit that senior developer level, infact most software developers are junior developers with X years of experience 3)Non CS branches are dead engineering branches that's the reason why most schools have reduced their intake. Non CS branches like mech,civil,electrical are research arenas. Do you agree with this 2 points.??
30 years ago you had to be good in order to make it in the field. Everything is dumbed down nowadays and everyday average idiots are flocking to the profession because of the pay. Many managers can't tell the difference between good work and lousy work either. They are impressed by flashy graphics, useless features and large volumes of code. They just accept things that often run slowly, crash or produce incorrect results. Imagine if they hired such poorly-qualified people to be surgeons or pilots.
@@dennis567 Big tech does not hire for an exact skill set (unless you are going for a very specific research role, but those make up maybe 1% of all open positions). It's actually impossible for them to hire for an exact skill set, because of the amount of in-house technologies. E.g. at Google you can pass your interview in pretty much whatever language, and then be assigned to a team writing in Go, using mostly tools that you can't even access if you are not a Google employee.
working hard and NOT getting noticed for it, is definitely a strong american trait. it's always far better to spend your time socializing and making friends (also called "networking" to seem fancy) being the person everybody likes and doing the bare minimum amount of work. they will fire someone who works hard, they won't fire bob. bob's a great guy, and i really like him!
@@gratkov time spent working, is time wasted. bare minimum is what you need to aim for, otherwise your work load will increase (because you have shown that you can handle more) and then you'll get bullied if you miss those new minimums someday. do absolutely only what is necessary to keep your job, don't make it harder on yourself.
Wow, I was prepared to get outraged again, like I always like to be with my "background chatter". But this was actually a very nice video! I think the only problem with it is, from my observation, that without having had the experiences you had, one is not able to recognize what exactly you are meaning. Saying "if you are the biggest fish in the pond" is different from recognizing that. Or what could be better/different/adding to your experience. It is a tricky subject afterall!
This is a gold mine, 10 videos that really give me frame and perspective. I've seen things, but honestly I didn't know what I've seen. Still I wish you can do more videos. btw calling yourself Meta is obviously very weird, lol.
Your words are golden to me now. Thanks for sharing. Subbed. Looking forward to more content! I'm hoping to be a software engineer manager in the future :)
Hi, thanks a lot for the video. I am an SDE2 in Amazon. I want to work on projects that we can patent. I have not worked in research teams. I am a backend software engineer but always have an ambition to file patents. People say come up with an idea and then we can see if we can file a patent. I see that you have some patents in your LinkedIn profile. 1. What kind of teams do I need to join where I get to work on problems that could be patented? New initiative or teams that closely with research teams (CV/ML). ? 2. How to come up with an idea or a new way to solve a situation that could be patented? 3. How to drive 1-1s with manager and make sure we are getting visibility for what we are doing?
Tbh patents are not very interesting in the software field. Really cool stuff is either a) published in the open in research papers and presented at conferences or b) so secret that it is not deemed worth disclosing sufficient details about it to the patent office.
Software engineers should be paid for removing code, not adding it. If you can get the same business outcome with less cruft, fewer micro-services etc etc then you are doing something right.
I am in finance field so you higher paid engineers should do better than me. Based on my 30+ years of working, I agree with your advice: 1. max out on 401K and on other investments in the stock/bond markets and real estate. Start earlier than me (33 yrs old). 2. Take on new projects to build your skills and knowledge. Continue with education and do quality work, 3. Move to a new team or different company if you are not satisfied with your current position. For me, every move improved my career and financial situation. Now, I am in my early 60s and still want to work at least 5 more years. I am very happy with where I am now.
Hey Steve, it would be very interesting to hear about your internal movement within Amazon over the years, and your reasons for switching teams. When is it advisable to apply internally instead of applying elsewhere? Thanks!
Investing is super important. I knew absolutely nothing until I got a dev job. I went from 34K to 75K and was like "what do I do with all this extra money?". I am setting a lot aside for buying a house, but I invest like $1000 a month in stocks and crypto.
I wish I knew Point #2 earlier in my career. I only have 3 years of exp but I’ve worked at a big N company as an SDE and found it difficult to get promoted. I was finishing all my tasks before the estimates and taking up more work than needed. Later realized it was because I couldn’t make an ant look like an elephant.
![[🔴LIVE] งานประกาศรางวัล MAYA TV AWARDS 2024 : มายามหาชน](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nwmWYXXVwBY/mqdefault.jpg)
Make sure to put office hours questions in the comments. You can find Rahul Pandey's channel here th-cam.com/users/RahulPandeyrkp
FYI, projected retirement numbers assume a 9% YoY growth, the average since 2006.
I just got into amazon as an sde Steve. My question is, why not do your own thing? Smart and experienced folk like you create the real value in any org. Why not use that value for yourself?
I just figured out that I have been solely in output mode and not impact mode. Thx for tip nr. 2 !
BTW: Platform/Systems Engineer.
Wow you really are like the opposite of tech lead, well done
This is very sickomode truth gang stuff
tech lead is weird, he was only good in old times but now completely ridiculous, not forgetting he and joma tech ripped off clement's AlgoExpert hard work, horrible.
@@HassaanALal thanks for the knowledge transfer explainer there, youtube subject matter expert
Tow unstoppable forces 😂😂😂💀
@@HassaanALal True, it's no wonder his own wife took the kids and disappeared lmao. He's an awful person.
1. Getting your money right:
This includes saving.
You could also put those savings in the market, and sticking it through up or down and seeing what it amounts to later. (Time passes really quickly)
2. Preferring output over impact:
Finding task that differentiate yourself.
Finding a meaningful refactor that prevents future bugs is better than routinely integrating package updates.
Great to have a nose for outsized impact.
3. Not thinking clearly about staying or leaving your team:
Sure, that hop could increase your compensation but you could be leaving a good team and moving to something worse.
If you're in a bad environment, don't believe promises but watch the management's actions to see if they're actually dealing with the root problem.
Ultimately, if you're in a good spot, don't throw it all away. You'll only recognize your golden ages from hindsight.
Thank you Jeremy!
Impact over output?
@@slippinchillin It should've been not getting money right, since the video is about career killers/mistakes 😅
Thanks
@@slippinchillin
EDIT: Nevermind, the commenter just made a typo while summarizing the video
I think he meant you should prefer impact over output; his *mistake* was spending too much time maximizing output instead of impact
My biggest mistake in my career is never letting my manager know I wanted a promotion. Don't wait years to "get ready" just ask your manager what you need to do early to get the next position.
Just a short story to address your last point. I worked for a company that shall remain nameless. They were failing. The CEO skipped the country because it had been discovered he was embezzling. They laid off half the company. We got written up in the press, and one writer said, and I quote "clearly the only workers remaining there are stupid and cannot find other work". I was one of the few people actually working there. Others were playing board games on the whiteboards. This was after the 2008 downturn, so jobs were not easy to find. So I left to take a contract. I would not say my career tanked, but those were some bad years and some stretches of unemployment.
The company? They got bought by a very good company, and people I know there went on to work for years there productively. The moral of the story is that what seems to be black and white, sometimes isn't.
Thank you for sharing, are you still contracting or doing FTE work now that you've had this experience?
@@nicksrub I'm 65, I have been an engineer since 19, technician before that, and repaired TVs in my parents garage for money when I was 15. I guess what other folks think of as career markers just strike me as a phase.
The story above was 2009 if I recall, just after the "great recession" of 2008. I didn't escape that, but not for the obvious reasons. My wife of 13 years decided that was the time to get a divorce. About the only good thing that resulted from that is that our house's value was depressed, and so I could buy her out. Things have changed since then. During the time I described, I got very good at making spreadsheets, and what I found in those days was that I was going to lose the house shortly. I rented out two rooms for a while and got past that. I think by 2010-2011 things took off again, and they really haven't slowed down since then.
I did full time up to 62 years of age, and preferred that. After 60, I got lots of interviews, but no interest. Since then it appears more companies are interested in having me as a contractor. I can't say if it is because of my age, or the times we live in. I can't say it is not possible to get full time now, when there seems to be a lot of demand. It just seems far easier to get contracts, and those have been good. My last contract was Apple. My current one is Google. Not exactly poor companies :-)
@@scottfranco1962 wow that's fascinating! Glad you're still in the industry after all these years! What would you have done career-wise if you had to start over now?
@@nicksrub Invest heavily in Microsoft? Kidding. Probably get a PHD. My career never really got to the levels of tech that I wanted. Other than that, I don't think there was a perfect path. The guys I knew who really took off in the valley just retired early or became managers. I never wanted to shorten my career, just work on better quality stuff.
@@scottfranco1962 Thank you for sharing.
really love the mature way of looking at things.
a consistent thing I've read on Reddit is the need for software engineers to understand relationships, office politics, etc. Soft skills.
The way you present the case for making yourself a priority in a positive way shows experience in the industry. Looking forward to future content
I'm not even in software engineering but this was just so useful in general! Thanks for your honest and upfront thoughts from your own personal experience - will bear this in mind for the future when I'm thinking about switching jobs 🤗
Woot thanks for the shoutout Steve! Would love to hop on a call 😇
I'm a mechanical engineer but I still found your advice useful. Thank you.
Point 2 is spot on! Couldn’t agree more! I’m no Software Engineer. I worked with them. A few years back, there was a “golden” opportunity to demonstrate a full-system demo to SVP and CEO. But I needed helps from SWE. To my surprise, I literally walked to each and every SWE desk my buildings, asked for help, promised that this would be super high impact if succeeding. “Nah man, I gotta do code review, bug fix, commit, etc etc” I sent email to different SWE groups, tried my best to sell the high impact opportunity. No response.
or its just not that promising
1. Start investing early (time in market > timing market)
2. Look for impact, not productivity = find teams that can be impactful, where other people can see you
3. Know when to leave a team
I don't agree... I sadly invested in the highest point in November 2021 and now my pirtfolio is -30%. I really regret investing. Luckly I just put 10% of my money in the stock market.
I don't know if you covered this topic yet, but I think something I struggle with is words. To form clear and concise words in speaking. Coding is half the battle. Being able to communicate your thoughts to the targeted audience is just, if not, more important I feel like. Thank you!
As a non-engineer I've been really appreciating your videos- they apply to most roles. Cheers!
I'm starting as an SDE I at Amazon in a month and I just found your channel while looking for advice and I love the content. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Steve!
Man I don't know why TH-cam algorithms recommend you only now? Your content is pure gold, keep doing. Nowadays it is very hard to find an open opinion on all questions of Tech Industry from mature and experienced senior persona. There too much junior and newbie opinions around.
Just want to give you motivation to keep doing, maybe small one, but still :D
Excellent information. We realized late that we were in a excellent team.
You are in a good team when you are making impact otherwise you need to go.
Why? Because if you are not making a impact that means that you are losing your previous knowldge, your are not getting new knowledge or challenge. I had a co-worker that mentioned to me that he felt like a robot pressing a button. I understant what he meant. Thats means you are wasting your professional career.
Totally know what you mean about not knowing when you are in a golden age. That one hits hard...
Well said on recognizing Golden Ages. It’s bitter sweet 🙂
just stumbling upon uncle steve and i'm loving the direct and truthful advice ♥
I really agree with the point of view that impact over output is best for our career as well as for our sense of importance about the things we do.
I need to watch this entire channel multiple times to educate myself on how to evaluate life as an engineer. It will help with the behaviour interview chats. 👍
I’m working on all this but specifically making an impact because I’m now a senior engineer and lead. Thanks
After having my first real job at a big-name, on a mission-critical service with a 23-yo Perl code base, having embarked on (and failed at) two full-scale gradual rewrites, I got kinda hooked on that, so most subsequent "ships" I got on were also sinking: organisationally, socially, professionally, technically, or all of the above.
The "words vs actions" advice is spot on! A sinking ship that's being actively (and competently) salvaged can be greatly beneficial career-wise, especially if you live to see the success of it. You'll have the opportunity to make a lot of highly-impactful decisions and do stuff that's usually already done ages before you. A sinking ship can do just that, though - sink; leaving you with a short and unattractive resume section.
It's quite hard to tell one from the other at the interview stage unless you've had experience with both, but one thing you can do is, "describe one serious problem with your ", then "so what's the plan about it?" It is a hard set up for most interviewers, so make sure not to come off as too aggressive or critical
Thank you for these videos. You're like a non-toxic, positive, wise tech veteran I can actually look up to. I'm taking it as a sign from the universe that one of your favorite books "so good they can't ignore" is also my favorite self help/ career book ha. Hope your time off from full time employment is off to a good start and looking forward to more of your videos :D
I am a principal SWE at on of the largest tech companies and I agree on everything, especially impact over the raw output.
I do love how what you say sounds simple but is incredibly difficult to self-introspect about lol very good video
This is stuff that could benefit a LOT of careers, not just software. Well done! Also, I should add, don't invest ALL your money into a 401k, I typically only invest up to how much the company fully matches. The rest I put into an index fund or etf. The reason is if you end up retiring early OR need to take some time in between jobs like if you end up moving and don't have a job for a while, money wrapped up into a 401k cannot be withdrawn before a certain age without penalty, whereas money in an Index fund could be pulled out fairly quickly. If you have a million or two in an index fund you could live fairly comfortably off of the interest alone in a normal, non-recession environment.
Not sure how TH-cam algo for me here. This advice is priceless... period.
I want to be honest
I find this channel very valuable and so helpful.
As software engineer now on my first year , I consistently sacrificed my evening to get things done but no one really noticed this things.
Thanks a lot for this amazing clear organized argument.
The cost of gaining this knowledge firsthand is pretty high. This video is pure gold.
I love your comments about "Preferring Output Over Impact". Good food for thought, made me think about my career
For me the hard part is to go for it when you feel like you have stopped growing. You value the security of the income to pay mortage, maybe you have a kids to think about.
So you want to keep growing by moving to another job, but you don't know beforehand if it will be better. I've heard stories of people getting it even worse after leaving.
I've been 3 years at my current job, I work with decent team, good manager and a nice product. But I'm not very challenged and I also feel like the one taking most technical decisions, I miss someone "better" than me that I can learn from.
I also heard from many online that you should always try leaving a company after 2 years to get the most income changes. Do you feel like this is something you would have done in the past? Like going from Amazon to Facebook or Netflix?
Great video. Subscribed!
It's like what Steve said it doesn't have to be every 2 years only until you feel like you are being undervalued at your current company should you move on to greener pastures.
Depends on the company. If it's one that values you properly, you will be getting the proper yearly raises.
the heck, where do software engineers make 350k and for what workload?
I'm thinking about changing roles and TH-cam recommends this video, man the algorithm is nuts! Thanks for the tips 😁
Discovered this channel today and your videos are a breath of fresh air in the youtube SW career space for someone like me. I am relatively early in my career and shooting for the stars, and your advice is pragmatic and genuine. Thank you for all that you do, you make a bigger difference than you think.
Extremely good video. The only critique is the tile should not be specific to software engineers, but to almost all jobs, which even is not a real criticism at all.
You're just one of the best tech youtuber out there no doubt.
Wow, just wow. What fantastic, actionable advice given in such a humble manner. I hope I get to work with more people like you as I progress. Gonna take your advice and run with it. See you in the field!
Great video, Steve 👏 Always great to hear from someone more experienced
In addition to the excellent ones you mention the biggest career mistakes I see young engineers make (some of which I too made in the early days): willful ignorance of office politics. Failure to understand the importance of self-advocacy. Staying for more than 3-6 months after you would have otherwise left to see if you get that promotion. Fear of change in general. The nth time you do something is less scary than the n-1th.
I think those are some great tips! Thanks
so much thank, im a 21 old trying to find out how to be a good professional, i save your tips directly into my heart
This speaks volumes. I appreciate the great content.
Thank you for your excellent advice. Best of luck for your channel and I'll be looking forward to your content.
Very good advice.
There are probably a lot of mediocre managers at mediocre companies hoping that their software developers don't hear your advice.
Finally, responsible points. Such a rare view on TH-cam.
"Time in the market is more important than timing the market". man, this is so true.
Most of my money is "time in the market", but I use a small portion to time the market as well to keep it interesting. You don't have to go all in to make it interesting, just use play money.
I've just applied for a job in Amazon, it helps me a lot watching your channel, thanks a lot for all the tips!
Wise and smart ideas. You really changed my expectations. Appreciate it
My first time discovering your channel. Packed with quality content. Just subbed! Thanks for delivering top notch as always.
Also worth pointing out re: retirement accounts that there are legal, penalty-free ways to pull money out of your retirement accounts at any age. Roth ladders, Rule 72(t), etc.
There's rarely a reason not to contribute to retirement accounts even if you're retiring early.
2:13 "Time in the market is so much better than timing the market."
Steve you have a fabulous channel. Thanks so much for all of your well researched and informative videos.
great advice and very helpful information!
it can be so overwhelming to understand the long term perspective when you;'re new to the industry and role.
looking forward to more like this!
Next tip I want from Uncle Steve is how do you manage to stay so young? Share the workout routine.
This channel is going to explode! Keep it up!
Great advices, especially point 2!
Great Stuff, thank you!
Great video!! Thank you for the advice.
My only comment here is don't limit your advice. This is on point advice for any role at any job. Software engineering or otherwise.
I do wish I had enough paycheck I could afford to max out my investments. Being able to do that is pretty uncommon in most people's lives, doesn't mean it isn't great advice though. Cause it is.
Thank you! Very valuable advices. You are awesome!
you're 40?? skincare routine pls
@2:30 - the most valuable lesson I was ever taught - even more valuable when running your own business!!!
Also, thanks for the vid! Great tips and you earned my sub by not beating around the bush, plus not doing a 5 minute paid promo half way through the first 5 minutes LOL
Thanks again for the career tips
This video was quite timely for me. Thanks for sharing!
Hello Sir,
Can you make a video about
1. Is there really a shortage of senior software engineers as Big Tech claims?
2.What are the traits/skills or expectation that companies are looking for when they hire especially BigTech ? (Also the key skill set that is missing from candidates due to which there is such a shortage )
#1 - Answering from an American perspective -
One hundred percent. People who are truly good at software engineering (i.e senior software engineers and above) are in severe short supply, and they will likely be for the foreseeable future because the American education system cannot produce enough good engineers to fill that gap. The US WILL need immigrants to fill it. The rub though, is that beginner/mediocre software engineers are dime a dozen. The question is how do you filter the applicant pool so that American companies remain competitive.
Also, just to be sure, this is not the problem with only software engineers. Most engineering fields have this shortage. Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, whatever. The US doesn't produce enough engineers.
@@PristinePerceptions
From what I have heard,
1) Companies want people with exact skill set and they don't want to spend money on training them.
2) A lot of software developers in industry have not hit that senior developer level, infact most software developers are junior developers with X years of experience
3)Non CS branches are dead engineering branches that's the reason why most schools have reduced their intake. Non CS branches like mech,civil,electrical are research arenas.
Do you agree with this 2 points.??
@@dennis567 you are very true on your 2 points here but 1) exact skillset + adaptability + self-driven
30 years ago you had to be good in order to make it in the field. Everything is dumbed down nowadays and everyday average idiots are flocking to the profession because of the pay. Many managers can't tell the difference between good work and lousy work either. They are impressed by flashy graphics, useless features and large volumes of code. They just accept things that often run slowly, crash or produce incorrect results.
Imagine if they hired such poorly-qualified people to be surgeons or pilots.
@@dennis567 Big tech does not hire for an exact skill set (unless you are going for a very specific research role, but those make up maybe 1% of all open positions).
It's actually impossible for them to hire for an exact skill set, because of the amount of in-house technologies. E.g. at Google you can pass your interview in pretty much whatever language, and then be assigned to a team writing in Go, using mostly tools that you can't even access if you are not a Google employee.
working hard and NOT getting noticed for it, is definitely a strong american trait. it's always far better to spend your time socializing and making friends (also called "networking" to seem fancy) being the person everybody likes and doing the bare minimum amount of work. they will fire someone who works hard, they won't fire bob. bob's a great guy, and i really like him!
I disagree. Bob probably spent time doing impactful work and said no to the rest. He took his extra time to network. Bob was smart
@@gratkov no, if he spent all his time working, then he wouldn't be networking and he wouldn't get noticed as a great guy.
@@AVERYhornyMrDinosaur I said he only spent time doing impactful work, then used the remaining balance of time networking.
@@gratkov time spent working, is time wasted. bare minimum is what you need to aim for, otherwise your work load will increase (because you have shown that you can handle more) and then you'll get bullied if you miss those new minimums someday.
do absolutely only what is necessary to keep your job, don't make it harder on yourself.
@@AVERYhornyMrDinosaur lol ok
Wow, I was prepared to get outraged again, like I always like to be with my "background chatter". But this was actually a very nice video! I think the only problem with it is, from my observation, that without having had the experiences you had, one is not able to recognize what exactly you are meaning. Saying "if you are the biggest fish in the pond" is different from recognizing that. Or what could be better/different/adding to your experience. It is a tricky subject afterall!
This video was really great. Thank you for sharing your experience!
This is a gold mine, 10 videos that really give me frame and perspective. I've seen things, but honestly I didn't know what I've seen. Still I wish you can do more videos. btw calling yourself Meta is obviously very weird, lol.
sir you're saving lives. I hope you know that
Your words are golden to me now. Thanks for sharing. Subbed. Looking forward to more content! I'm hoping to be a software engineer manager in the future :)
Hi, thanks a lot for the video. I am an SDE2 in Amazon. I want to work on projects that we can patent. I have not worked in research teams. I am a backend software engineer but always have an ambition to file patents. People say come up with an idea and then we can see if we can file a patent. I see that you have some patents in your LinkedIn profile.
1. What kind of teams do I need to join where I get to work on problems that could be patented? New initiative or teams that closely with research teams (CV/ML). ?
2. How to come up with an idea or a new way to solve a situation that could be patented?
3. How to drive 1-1s with manager and make sure we are getting visibility for what we are doing?
Tbh patents are not very interesting in the software field. Really cool stuff is either a) published in the open in research papers and presented at conferences or b) so secret that it is not deemed worth disclosing sufficient details about it to the patent office.
I’d love to watch a video with insights on architecture. Thank you very much for your work!
Thank you so much for your contents. I subscribed by the way. I'm just lost by now in my career and I'm thankful I stumble in your channel.
Thanks for the video. Very insightful.
i’m not an engineer of any kind and this is still solid advice, especially the last half.
This is an eye opener. Thanks Steve
men u just save my life.God Bless
Thanks so much
This is quite helpful
Thank you for validating my decision to leave my current job.
Thanks for the info! Very useful!
I would add one, learn as much as you can, always. Focus on the right thing, rather your business or some technical skill.
Great advice
Thanks!
Here before the algorithm. Also, would love to hear about your 15+ year experience at Amazon!
Every starter delivers a lot in the beginning. When actually should deliver few great things.
Software engineers should be paid for removing code, not adding it. If you can get the same business outcome with less cruft, fewer micro-services etc etc then you are doing something right.
Did I misunderstand or did the coolest Steve I know say he was 50? Great advice!
More of what mistakes to avoid plz. Thanks for this.
great content!
I am in finance field so you higher paid engineers should do better than me. Based on my 30+ years of working, I agree with your advice: 1. max out on 401K and on other investments in the stock/bond markets and real estate. Start earlier than me (33 yrs old). 2. Take on new projects to build your skills and knowledge. Continue with education and do quality work, 3. Move to a new team or different company if you are not satisfied with your current position. For me, every move improved my career and financial situation. Now, I am in my early 60s and still want to work at least 5 more years. I am very happy with where I am now.
Hey Steve, it would be very interesting to hear about your internal movement within Amazon over the years, and your reasons for switching teams. When is it advisable to apply internally instead of applying elsewhere? Thanks!
Thanks for the wisdom!
Good advice actually
Investing is super important. I knew absolutely nothing until I got a dev job. I went from 34K to 75K and was like "what do I do with all this extra money?". I am setting a lot aside for buying a house, but I invest like $1000 a month in stocks and crypto.
How's that negative return? Don't worry, i do the same :(
@@yoyoiven I'm patient. Most of it is long term investments anyway.
Good for you that you can retire at 55, in europe it is 65...
You can't invest in both a tax deferred 401k and Roth IRA at the same time. Ideal is to find a way for a mega back door roth enabled account.
You gained yourself a new sub!
Good job, keep it up!
Very helpful! Thank you.
I wish I knew Point #2 earlier in my career. I only have 3 years of exp but I’ve worked at a big N company as an SDE and found it difficult to get promoted. I was finishing all my tasks before the estimates and taking up more work than needed. Later realized it was because I couldn’t make an ant look like an elephant.