Career with swyx // Metamuse podcast episode 53

16:45 - Intro to Shawn's book “The Coding Career Handbook.” Definition of Career by Mark McGranaghan: “The course and consequences of your professional endeavors.” And that it is more non-linear than in the past. Definition of Career by Shawn Wang: “Career is the story that you retroactively tell after we do the things that we’ve done. It becomes a... See more

9:04 - Reflecting on the difference between a finance career and tech career. In finance everything is zero sum. If you get a trade idea you should try not to leak it before you’ve established your position. And then once you’ve established it, fine to go ahead. Whereas in tech, we share our code. We get up on stage and we share our failures. It’s ... See more

Shawn's tip for when to Specialize vs Generalize: Specialize in peace time and generalize in war time. Having a mastery of a domain is highest reward. Yet when you are on a small team, that's usually when you generalize, because no one else is there to do things.

29:33 - Do the minimum to plug the "leaks in your game" (poker term). Because you won’t be a better player by only plugging leaks, you need to focus on your strengths.

8:05 - Building a public presence. Learning something. And then turning around and sharing that is learning in public. Essentially blogging got Shawn the job he has today… And also helped him transition from a front-end career to back-end. Became known for this essay: https://www.swyx.io/learn-in-public/

Write about the most interesting problem in your domain. Problems are inherently more attractive than solutions. Inherently more timeless.

50:05 - The motivation behind your “luck creation activities” matters. Outcomes are secondary to you loving the process. You'll have a worse product if you are motivated by the benefit first. Things you might love: the process, the act itself, the people you're surrounded by, the tools you’re using, or the mission. Adam's example: he was passionate... See more

38:13 - A point about "intentionality" and "taking agency" in your career path. And how we can square that with the reality of randomness and luck. Expand your "luck surface area" • https://www.codusoperandi.com/posts/increasing-your-luck-surface-area

Career advise from July Evans: Write a “brag” document. It’s useful in negotiation, in annual review & promo conversations, and when you least expect it. Why: you can’t expect your manager to know everything you’ve done. Plus you need to combat your own human cognitive issues (memory, recency bias, self depreciation, etc). What to do: maintain ... See more