A Selection of Helpful Books and Articles about Tech Careers

The internet is full of career advice, and when you’re facing a challenge at work it can be overwhelming to read all of the advice out there. Here are some of the articles and talks I’ve found useful along the way. I often end up sharing these with people who ask me for advice so hope they are useful to you too.

Communication

Crucial Conversations — a book about how to have those difficult conversations

Never Split the Difference — a book about negotiation from an ex-hostage negotiator.

Do we really need another meeting? — suggestions for running good meetings

How to write with style — Advice on good writing from Kurt Vonnegut

Bad habits we learn in school — how to communicate effectively about deadlines and progress

Public speaking

Demystifying Public Speaking — a talk by Lara Hogan

TED Talks — book by Chris Anderson about how to give good TED talks

People Management

Camille Fournier — The Manager’s Path a book about the technical management ladder that is focused on small- to medium-tech companies, but has relevant advice for many tech managers

The New One Minute Manager — I think people either love or hate this book! Some regard it as too simple, but as a new manager it has the advantage of being quick to read

Peopleware — one of the best books about the socialogical aspects of people management in the tech world. It may be over 30 years old, but it’s full of insight.

Promotions

Software Developer Promotions — how to think about promotions in tech roles

Staff Engineer — an online book with examples and discussion about what it means to be a staff level Engineer

Strategy

Good Strategy Bad Strategy — setting and executing strategy

Effecting Change

Fearless Change — a book with design patterns that help you think about how to best advocate for change

Project Management

Agile project management — advice from Atlassian’s blog

OKRs 101 — what are OKRs

General Career Development

The Leadership Library for Engineers — a large collection of resources, especially useful if you’re looking at moving into Engineering Management

Being Glue — a talk about the ‘busywork’ of Engineering and how that can get in the way of developing your career.

High Agency — Twitter thread about finding a way to get what you want, without waiting for conditions to be perfect