In this talk with Michael Kill, he shares his perspective on why the high-priority P0 scenarios are some of the best to learn from... despite being high pressure and high stress! Everyone has something to bring to the table, and everyone has something they can learn -- regardless of your title or your seniority. Thanks for this awesome discussion, …

He's worked at Amazon, Meta, and Google... But that's not what I found most interesting about Lee McKeeman! While Lee has lots of awesome experiences (in AND outside of work), one of them that really got me interested was becoming an engineering manager and transitioning back to a software engineer. It's not that this is unheard of, but it's not a …

This is a very special episode for me because I really look up to and admire today's guest. Hassan Habib does an incredible job of combining technical insight with philosophy -- something that I don't see done so elegantly by many others. But one thing that REALLY sets Hassan apart is his focus on putting people first in software engineering. It's …

Mike Akins made the move from flying helicopters in the military to tech -- an AWESOME career switcher story! He has attended Oregon State and walks us through the challenges of searching for jobs as a student, from internships to applying for those first jobs. We discuss imposter syndrome and working alongside a different generation of developers …

Brian has one of my favorite career-switcher stories, and I'm glad that he sat down with me again to share it. In our conversation, we get to see what it was like for him to go from a low place to crushing it as a software developer. But we're not done there, because Brian and I get into our AI tool usage. Is it safe to vibe code? Let's find out...…

Josh Hicks of Jumpmind knows a thing or two about just how complicated data replication can get. On the surface, it's a simple problem. Data in one spot needs to get to another spot. Add a new location in? No problem. ... But it gets complicated FAST, and that's a problem they solve at Jumpmind. Big thanks to Josh for sharing his career journey, fe…

If you think leadership topics only apply to managers and above, think again! In this video interview, I was joined by Adrian Stanek. We got chatting about leadership principles, and they're all applicable to different roles and levels. I really like how Adrian framed his four pillars. The concepts rang very true for me, and I think there's a lot o…

My podcast guest went from engineer to manager to career coach -- and what a journey it's been! In this video interview, Michael Greenspan joins me to share his career journey and shed some light on what engineering management looks like to him. We bridged into topics of burnout as well as the importance of finding purpose in the work we do. Thanks…

What does it take to be a Tech Lead in software engineering? I sat down with Anemari Fiser to discuss! We dug into: - What is a tech lead? - How to move into the role? - How do soft skills fit into the picture? Thanks so much for the perspective, Anemari! ---- You can find Anemari at: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anemari-fiser/ - O’Reill…

He's BACK! I felt very fortunate to have Alex Lau, author of Keep Calm and Code On, back on the channel for an interview... But with a twist! We did a bit more of a grab-bag style where we jumped between some different topics AND I was on the receiving end of the interview for some of them! Thanks so much for your time, Alex! Always a great convers…

Sometimes our original plans don't work out -- but what a masterpiece when our different paths come together for something awesome! I was happy to sit down with Amer Tadayon and discuss his journey leading up to the creation of Lucihub. One of the most important parts of this story I found was that not every path we pick will be perfect -- and that…

One of my favorite things about interviewing developers is hearing their stories! And Sofia had a great story to share about her career switch into software development! I really enjoyed this conversation and the focus on just how valuable soft skills are. You'll hear about Sofia's experiences and how communication plays a big role! Thanks for taki…

This is a special interview for me -- and I'm really excited to be able to share it with you. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dan Patrascu-Baba, also known as Codewrinkles, in this video chat. Especially if you're a DotNet developer, you probably know Dan! He's got a ton of amazing content that he puts out regularly, and I'm always very app…

Software engineers are no strangers to tech debt and the power of refactoring. But what if you could refactor your brain? I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dagna Bieda to go over just that! We discussed some awesome passages from her new book, Brain Refactor! From burnout to imposter syndrome to all things software engineering, hear about how…

What's one sure-fire recipe for disaster when it comes to coaching? Not being coachable. This could come from a lack of self-awareness or not being willing to be coached -- but if you're not ready for it, it's going to feel like friction. In my conversation with Noah Cantor, we walked through the various considerations that come into play when it c…

There are product teams, platform teams... But what about... Developing APIs for other developers to use? In this interview with Sophia Willows, we got to chat about how she's focused on that very thing! It turns out that when you're building a system when you own the calling and serving side of an API you can get away with a few more luxuries. How…

What do theater, improv, and acting have to do with software engineering? I'll be honest: I thought not a whole heck of a lot. But when I sat down to talk to Rita Iglesias, I couldn't help but realize how her curiosity, problem-solving, and previous experiences truly enabled her to kick butt at being a software engineer. This conversation was AWESO…

What does it look like to go from managing engineers at startups to a rocketship ride to VP level at Amazon? Let Ethan Evans tell you all about it! Ethan has led global teams of over 800 engineers at Amazon and helped invent Prime Video, Amazon Video, Amazon Appstore, Merch by Amazon. Let's hear what Ethan had to say about what VPs and senior leade…

It's the people that make the workplace a fun place to go to. These are words from Dan Silivestru in our interview that we did together -- and I couldn't agree more. Software engineers are incredible at solving complex problems and innovating in difficult domains. But at the end of the day, we're all still human. We all have things that motivate us…

Look, we know it's challenging. Many people are going through tough times with it. Landing your first job as a software developer is no simple task. I sat down to chat with Erik Andersen about his advice for helping folks navigate getting into the industry. Erik had lots of actionable tips for aspiring and junior software developers, and I think yo…

Have you worked in feature teams developing products for end users? What about working on a platform team where your customers are the ones building on top of your infrastructure? In this interview, Gaurav Rohatgi discussed these topics in depth with me. We went over his career journey with an EXCITING pivotal moment and then got right into what it…

You're not a real developer unless you do TDD. Gui Ferreira is a TDD expert -- but no, not even he would tell you this. In our chat together, we covered a lot of ground. It was great to sit down with a fellow Dometrain course author to go over: - His career journey - Developer advocacy - Test-driven development - And MUCH more! Huge thanks to Gui f…

You know it's right when it fits like a glove. At least that's the case for Amichai Mantinband when he stumbled upon computer science! He knew right away that he had found the right career path. I had a great discussion with Amichai, and we even went into the weeds on AI taking all of our software engineering jobs! ... Well, not quite. But you'll e…

You've surely seen his system design and software architecture content, right? You know the man -- Raul Junco! I really enjoyed our chat, and navigating how software architecture looks whether you're at big or small companies. When you're trying to move fast, there's not as much time for these things -- so how do you balance it with your team? Huge…

It's all about delivering value to the customer. But do they even know what they want?! I was fortunate to sit down and chat with Emily Jowers where we talked about her career journey up to staff software engineer. We chatted through her core values that she aims to embody and promote in software engineering teams -- and life in general. We also go…

Woodworking, building a side-SaaS, having a full-time job, helping educate others, and supporting a happy family... This is a full plate. Not only full in terms of time allocation, but also a sense of fulfillment. How could your heart not also be full from focusing on the things you're passionate about? In this video interview, I sat down with Andr…

Arguably the coolest thing I've been able to do in my content creation journey for software engineers to date: I got to sit down and chat with Scott Hanselman. I bet that the overwhelming majority of my audience knows Scott. It's almost impossible to be in this area of tech and not know him! If you've seen a 3d printer online you definitely know Sc…

I laughed FAR more than I have in any interview so far. But I also managed to pocket more lessons along the way. In this interview with Bond, James B... wait. Wait no. That's the infamous Taha Hussain! Taha was an absolute pleasure to talk with for this interview. Truly, I spent so much time laughing and being engaged by his amazing story-telling. …

There's one thing for sure that I know about Eric Roby. This guy knows how to do remote work. He also: - Understands how to navigate customer interactions - Knows the benefits of soft skills for developers - Has success with digital courses - Is an awesome content creator - Has my next haircut Eric was an absolute pleasure to talk to in this interv…

Fuel that brain with interesting topics to stay on top of! And that's exactly what Alex Zajac does with his approach for Hungry Minds! I had the pleasure to sit down with Alex and hear his story about how he found an interest for coding. He was able to take that interest and transform it into starting his career at Amazon with some of his close fri…

You fear Friday Deployments. We live for them. We are not the same. I had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with Vasilii Oleinic about his career journey, his focus on software architecture, and how he approaches testing. He had many interesting perspectives that I really enjoyed hearing about, including how to frame up a proof-of-concept vs sof…

I've said it a million times and I'll say it a million more: Communication is a critical skill for software engineers. And if you don't want to listen to me, listen to Maria Glazunova who I had the pleasure of interviewing in this video! Maria coaches many software engineers and tech professionals on how to improve their communication skills. Many …

My journey through software engineering was pretty traditional: go to college/university directly after high school to study... then go into the workforce. But it's important that we keep an open mind about the different paths that aspiring software engineers can take to get into the industry. In this video, I was joined by Brooke Sweedar who share…

I was joined by Jade Wilson in this video interview! Jade is not only a senior software engineer at Microsoft, but a successful content creator. When we got to talking, it was really cool to hear that we have very different experiences with how our teams approach building software: - My teams go through a pseudo-agile / waterfall hybrid (i.e. we tr…

Imposter syndrome is something that affects many people -- especially software engineers! But imposter syndrome is not just limited to aspiring programmers or junior software engineers... In fact, the more success you have, often the more imposter syndrome that you encounter. In this video, I was joined by a previous intern of mine (Woohoo Magnet F…

In this interview, Bhavana Hindupur enlightened me with some different perspectives about the challenges going through tech. She explained how cultural background and expectations from society can create additional barriers when navigating how to progress in the workplace. One of the great points that Bhavana brought up was about her turning point …

Don't worry though -- the aliens won't hurt you. I confirmed this with Mohamad Dbouk when we sat down to discuss his journey in software engineering and he surprised me with an awesome little demo of a Blazor game! Not only was this the very first show-and-tell code we got to see from a guest on the channel, but Mohamad had other very insightful th…

Yeah, you read it right on the thumbnail. A freakin' PhD! I was fortunate to sit down with John Vandivier of Ladderly.io to talk about his approach to helping guide software engineers to employment. This conversation was awesome because you're going to hear some cool perspectives from John (many of which I strongly align with) but... He can back th…

I bet you never thought as a software engineer you were going to hear that branding was important, right?! After all, isn't that what the marketing team is for? Isn't that kind of a "salesy" thing? And you're exactly right -- as a software engineer, your brand and the branding that you create can be immensely valuable for the relationships you form…

In this video, I got to sit down with Alex Lau to discuss his book, his almost-accidental success in public speaking, and how he continues to grow from his failures in software engineering. On failures, most people shy away from them. We keep them secret. Failing is bad. Except... failing is one of the very best ways that we can learn and improve -…

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Bhupinder Singh, popularly known as Dynamic Singh, to discuss his journey in turning his interview problems... into one of his greatest strengths! In our conversation, we discussed that it's not just about copying some steps and hoping you land the job -- truly, you need to become the person that you're aspir…

This is the first EVER software engineering interview done on Dev Leader, and I was excited to be able to have my first awesome guest: Callie Buruchara! Callie knows that communication is a critical skill to have in software engineering, and she's experienced first-hand how big of a difference it can have even in a highly technical field. In fact, …

In this video, I was joined by Richard Donovan who shared his interesting career journey and transition to focusing on mindset! One of the key takeaways that I had from this discussion was that it takes a level of self-awareness and reflection to realize that shifting your mindset can drive positive change. Rich shares some of his ups and downs in …

I had the pleasure to sit down with William Ray and hear about his career journey so far. It's not what you'd expect. And that's what makes it so great to hear about -- because there are so many different avenues to getting into software engineering. Will shares with us his struggles before finding success in healthcare and how that was something t…

You need to code to get better at coding -- That's something you'll hear me say all of the time. But my guest today, John Crickett, has taken this to a WHOLE new level! John is the author of the extremely popular newsletter called Coding Challenges. He's created this to give software developers the focus that many of them need to go practice buildi…

Tune in to today's book review with Dr. Jonathan Lotson.بقلم Jack McDowell SLD

Our Assistant Director Mrs. Pamela Bosworth from the Jack McDowell School for Leadership Development shares an amazing book review from a book entitled- Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer. We hope you enjoy!بقلم Jack McDowell SLD

Tune in as Dr. T. Lynn Smith shares a brief book review from the book "Conversational Intelligence" by Judith E. Glaser. For more information about the School for Leadership Development, please visit us @ sldleadership.comبقلم Jack McDowell SLD

Tune in as Dr. David Jackson shares a brief book review from the book "Kingdom Collaborators: Eight Signature Practices of Leaders Who Turn the World Upside Down" by Reggie McNeil. For more information about the School for Leadership Development, please visit us @ sldleadership.comبقلم Jack McDowell SLD

Tune in as Dr. T. Lynn Smith from the Jack McDowell School for Leadership Development shares her thoughts on the book "Radical Gratitude: Discovering Joy through Everyday Thankfulness" by Ellen Vaughn.بقلم Jack McDowell SLD