

Soft Skills Engineering
Jamison Dance and Dave Smith
It takes more than great code to be a great engineer. Soft Skills Engineering is a weekly advice podcast for software developers about the non-technical stuff that goes into being a great software developer.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 30, 2023 • 38min
Episode 380: Overruled by non-technical manager and describing technical stuff to non-technical people
The podcast discusses the frustration of a non-technical manager making uninformed technical decisions and its impact on motivation. They explore challenges in decision-making and working with non-technical managers. They also highlight the difficulties of explaining technical concepts to non-technical people.

13 snips
Oct 23, 2023 • 36min
Episode 379: Someone fixed my ticket and is tech debt bad for my career
The hosts discuss frustration over undermining and lack of feedback, explore the concept of 'click ops' versus infrastructure as code, address the challenge of convincing teams to invest in preventive measures, praise Red Hat's Compiler podcast, and discuss the impact of solving tech debt on one's career.

Oct 16, 2023 • 30min
Episode 378: Too much leadership and awkward zoom silence
The podcast discusses topics like managing an ML team while wanting to code, the challenges of returning to an individual contributor role, leadership challenges, balancing technical knowledge with managerial responsibilities, transitioning between leadership positions, and strategies for overcoming awkward silences in Zoom meetings.

Oct 9, 2023 • 29min
Episode 377: Short Tenure Promotion and too much free time at work
Advice on securing a promotion despite short tenure and reducing reliance on luck, creating a personal data store and finding impactful problems, factors influencing promotions in big tech companies, challenges of feeling unproductive in a remote job, importance of meeting expectations for job security.

4 snips
Oct 2, 2023 • 36min
Episode 376: Return to office and quitting tech
The hosts discuss the return to the office and quitting tech. They explore the challenges of commute time and paycuts, as well as the uncertainty of layoffs. They also touch on parking allowances and perks in tech companies, burnout in the tech industry, and navigating personal and professional growth.

Sep 25, 2023 • 34min
Episode 375: visa woes and Bob does everything wrong
Visa rejection and its impact on professional competence. Dealing with a co-worker's constant mistakes and opposing mindset. Creating a comprehensive guide to software engineering mistakes. Navigating the Daily WTF blog and addressing the challenges of working with Bob.

Sep 18, 2023 • 30min
Episode 374: Secret burnout and no room for failure
Topics discussed: dealing with burnout and whether to inform your manager, challenges and tensions of joining a new team in a lead engineer role, strategies for success in leadership positions, the importance of humility and collaboration, and team building activities like science fairs.

6 snips
Sep 11, 2023 • 41min
Episode 373: I have no vision and not-so-positive environment
The podcast discusses the importance of having a vision in the tech industry and explores the challenges of predicting the future. It emphasizes the need to gather data and understand customer needs to build a bigger vision. The hosts also provide advice on handling a negative work environment and navigating the tech job market. They share a frustrating meeting experience where a senior colleague disregards previous plans, leading to the speaker leaving the company.

Sep 4, 2023 • 37min
Episode 372: Equity and getting interrupted in Zoom meetings
The podcast discusses challenges of startup equity and valuation, navigating conversations about equity with managers, and the frustration of being interrupted in remote meetings, including solutions like raising hands and using the chat feature in Zoom.

Aug 28, 2023 • 34min
Episode 371: After Mary Poppins and credit denied
Topics discussed include feeling inadequate compared to a predecessor who went above and beyond, interpreting nice things about previous employees as criticism, living up to the reputation of a predecessor, and the frustration of being left off a list of contributors.


