Soft Skills: The software developer’s life manual

Summary

Soft Skills: The software developer’s life manual is a unique guide, offering techniques and practices for a more satisfying life as a professional software developer. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez addresses a wide range of important “soft” topics, from career and productivity to personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships, all from a developer-centric viewpoint.

Forewords by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) and Scott Hanselman.

Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.

About the Book

For most software developers, coding is the fun part. The hard bits are dealing with clients, peers, and managers, staying productive, achieving financial security, keeping yourself in shape, and finding true love. This book is here to help.

Soft Skills: The software developer’s life manual is a guide to a well-rounded, satisfying life as a technology professional. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez offers advice to developers on important “soft” subjects like career and productivity, personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships. Arranged as a collection of 71 short chapters, this fun-to-read book invites you to dip in wherever you like. A Taking Action section at the end of each chapter shows you how to get quick results. Soft Skills will help make you a better programmer, a more valuable employee, and a happier, healthier person.

What’s Inside

• Boost your career by building a personal brand
• John’s secret ten-step process for learning quickly
• Fitness advice to turn your geekiness to your advantage
• Unique strategies for investment and early retirement

About the Author

John Sonmez is a developer, teacher, and life coach who helps technical professionals boost their careers and live a more fulfilled life.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Why this book is unlike any book you’ve ever read

Section 1 Career
Chapter 2 Getting started with a “BANG!”: Don’t do what everyone else does
Chapter 3 Thinking about the future: What are your goals?
Chapter 4 People skills: You need them more than you think
Chapter 5 Hacking the interview
Chapter 6 Employment options: Enumerate your choices
Chapter 7 What kind of software developer are you?
Chapter 8 Not all companies are equal
Chapter 9 Climbing the corporate ladder
Chapter 10 Being a professional
Chapter 11 Freedom: How to quit your job
Chapter 12 Freelancing: Going out on your own
Chapter 13 Creating your first product
Chapter 14 Do you want to start a startup?
Chapter 15 Working remotely survival strategies
Chapter 16 Fake it till you make it
Chapter 17 Resumes are BORING— Let’s fix that
Chapter 18 Don’t get religious about technology

Section 2 Marketing yourself
Chapter 19 Marketing basics for code monkeys
Chapter 20 Building a brand that gets you noticed
Chapter 21 Creating a wildly successful blog
Chapter 22 Your primary goal: Add value to others
Chapter 23 #UsingSocialNetworks
Chapter 24 Speaking, presenting, and training: Speak geek
Chapter 25 Writing books and articles that attract a following
Chapter 26 Don’t be afraid to look like an idiot

Section 3 Learning
Chapter 27 Learning how to learn: How to teach yourself
Chapter 28 My 10-step process
Chapter 29 Steps 1–6: Do these once
Chapter 30 Steps 7–10: Repeat these
Chapter 31 Looking for mentors: Finding your Yoda
Chapter 32 Taking on an apprentice: Being Yoda
Chapter 33 Teaching: Learn you want? Teach you must.
Chapter 34 Do you need a degree or can you “wing it?”
Chapter 35 Finding gaps in your knowledge

Section 4 Productivity
Chapter 36 It all starts with focus
Chapter 37 My personal productivity plan
Chapter 38 Pomodoro Technique
Chapter 39 My quota system: How I get way more done than I should
Chapter 40 Holding yourself accountable
Chapter 41 Multitasking dos and don’ts
Chapter 42 Burnout: I’ve got the cure!
Chapter 43 How you’re wasting your time
Chapter 44 The importance of having a routine
Chapter 45 Developing habits: Brushing your code
Chapter 46 Breaking down things: How to eat an elephant
Chapter 47 The value of hard work and why you keep avoiding it
Chapter 48 Any action is better than no action

Section 5 Financial
Chapter 49 What are you going to do with your paycheck?
Chapter 50 How to negotiate your salary
Chapter 51 Options: Where all the fun is
Chapter 52 Bits and bytes of real estate investing
Chapter 53 Do you really understand your retirement plan?
Chapter 54 The danger of debt: SSDs are expensive
Chapter 55 Bonus: How I retired at 33

Section 6 Fitness
Chapter 56 Why you need to hack your health
Chapter 57 Setting your fitness criteria
Chapter 58 Thermodynamics, calories, and you
Chapter 59 Motivation: Getting your butt out of the chair
Chapter 60 How to gain muscle: Nerds can have bulging biceps
Chapter 61 How to get hash-table abs
Chapter 62 Starting RunningProgram.exe
Chapter 63 Standing desks and other hacks
Chapter 64 Tech gear for fitness: Geeking out

Section 7 Spirit
Chapter 65 How the mind influences the body
Chapter 66 Having the right mental attitude: Rebooting
Chapter 67 Building a positive self-image: Programming your brain
Chapter 68 Love and relationships: Computers can’t hold your hand
Chapter 69 My personal success book list
Chapter 70 Facing failure head-on
Chapter 71 Parting words

Appendix A: If you can write code, you can understand finances
Appendix B: How the stock market works: Rules of the system
Appendix C: Garbage in, garbage out: Diet and nutrition basics
Appendix D: How to eat healthy: Pizza is not a food group