SoftwareEngineering

In this podcast, Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods, spoke to Thiago Ghisi about building engineering culture through leading by example, advancing careers by embracing "glue work" (non-technical but necessary tasks), taking full ownership of projects, and developing self-awareness to choose between technical and management career paths.

As software engineers grow into senior, Staff+, or principal roles, they take on greater responsibility, complex projects, and influence beyond code, Suhail Patel explained in his talk about growing oneself as a software engineer at QCon London. Growth isn’t linear; it requires mastering communication, strategy, and soft influence. Writing, speaking, and 1:1s can help to expand impact.

Being an Expert Generalist should be treated as a first-class skill, one that can be assessed and taught.