Rhonda Kremer

Lately, I'm running into an issue with senior devs not being able to pass coding screens. I'm NOT talking multi-day take home projects or leet code style questions that require dynamic programming. I'm talking the equivalent of fizzbuzz. -- tic tac toe in react -- pulling data from a data store in python -- using types in typescript ... Anyone noticing the same thing? How much prep should a senior dev really need to do these tests?

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SWE Industry: Never manipulate strings in Prod if it can be avoided, and if seen in a PR by a staff/principal engineer would immediately be rejected Job Market: Manipulate these strings in weird ways on this assessment so you can get this job... Wild, if you are interviewing software engineers, give them real world problems to solve, not some arbitrary random string manipulation that we would never do in production. You're likely missing out on a lot of talented people.

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Observation: 9/10 SWE's quit at “reading the docs”. Cut through the BS with this easy trick: Take action and build. Writing code is 100x easier than the docs make it sound. “Reading the docs” gave me crazy imposter syndrome: -Git -WPF -Kafka -OAuth -Angular -GraphQL -RabbitMQ -Kubernetes In ALL cases, I conquered my fears by building. Except for WPF. I gave up on that. And Kafka, that's for another day. Forcing yourself to build/code/deploy melts analysis paralysis. Then you'll say "oh that was pretty easy". Trust me, we aren't building rockets. Practice AND Study build true mastery.

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I have had several people reach out to me lately inquiring about coding bootcamps, from here and my YouTube. Here is how I would decide on which bootcamp you should attend: 1. Think about what technology you want to use. No point in doing a data bootcamp if you want to be a developer. 2. Understand that bootcamps are a hell of a lot to take on. There is a lot of information being thrown at you in a relatively short period. 3. We all learn differently. Reach out to the bootcamp and ask about their teaching styles and ask about any reservations you have. 4. Inquire about their career services. Most are quite lacking here so it is worth digging in and seeing what they offer. 5. Think about how much time you have to dedicate, as most are full-time. IF you have a family or other commitments you may need more support from them. What would you add?

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Attn Software Engineer job seekers: When someone asks you to explain to them what a deadlock is. There is no need to worry about trying to define it. Simply reply with: “It appears you won’t hire me unless I tell you want a deadlock is. However, I will tell you what a deadlock is after you hire me.” Follow me for my more helpful interview tips.

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Hot take of the week. If you're a Spring Boot user and haven't got yourself off 2.x and Java 8 yet, you probably shouldn't even consider taking on the burden of maintaining a k8s cluster. Instead why not use Amazon Q Transformation to get you onto Java 17 and Spring Boot 3.3, migrate your app to Lambda with Serveless Java Container, and crack on and build some features for your customers.

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Hot take : there’s no such thing as a 10x dev or engineer.  There are juniors and seniors. There are people who work faster or slower. If someone on your team is producing 10x what someone else is producing, it’s either poor quality or you have someone massively underproducing. 

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🎢 **Will Working Hard Get Me a Promotion?** 🎢 As a software developer, you might wonder: "If I work hard enough, will I get promoted?" Let's dive into some insights from the book "Staff Engineer" by Will Larson. 1. **Working Hard vs. Working Smart** 🧠:   Sure, working hard is important. But if you’re just sprinting on the treadmill, you’re not going anywhere! Larson emphasizes working smart—focus on impact, not just effort. Remember, it's about delivering value, not just logging hours. 2. **Visibility Matters** 🕵️:   Working hard in a dark corner might make you a legend in your own mind, but that’s not how promotions work. Make your contributions visible! Larson suggests sharing your achievements and being vocal about your successes. Just don’t be that person who narrates their daily stand-up like it’s the State of the Union. 3. **Build Relationships** 🤝:   Promotions often come down to who knows you, not just what you know. Network, mentor, and build alliances. As Larson puts it, "Engineering is a team sport." So, channel your inner social butterfly—just don't spend so much time chatting that you forget to code. 4. **Take on Leadership Roles** 🦸:   Want to move up? Start leading where you are. Volunteer for those gnarly projects no one else wants. Guide junior devs. Propose new ideas. Basically, be the superhero your team didn’t know it needed (cape optional). 5. **Seek Feedback and Adapt** 🔄:   Think of feedback as your GPS—it tells you when you're off course. Ask for it, and be ready to pivot. Larson highlights the importance of being adaptable. So, embrace your inner chameleon and adjust as needed. 6. **Bonus Tip: Be Patient** ⏳:   Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are careers. Promotions take time. Keep at it, and remember to enjoy the journey. No need to keep drinking coffee and work. Please shut down your laptop when your body demands. In conclusion, working hard is part of the puzzle, but it's not the whole picture. Focus on impact, visibility, relationships, leadership, and adaptability. And most importantly, don't forget to have fun along the way! Got any promotion stories or tips? Drop them in the comments below! Let's learn together. #SoftwareDevelopment #CareerGrowth #TechLeadership #Promotion #StaffEngineer #WorkSmart #HumorInTech

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Ive come to like TDD much more lately. I'm still learning to be better at it. But it becomes a productive game where you are just excited to get that serotonin hit every time you make that test go green. TDD. Test Driven Development made popular by Kent Beck. Consists of making the tests the main driver to writing code effectively. - Red - Write test code that is broken with code you anticipate you'll write. Thinking of writing towards a contract that doesn't exist yet. - Green - Write the min amount of code to make the previous step pass. yay! - Refactor - apply clean code/design principles and make it maintainable. Keep going til your feature is done ✅ #softwareengineering #tdd

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What a read to start of the day with. I strongly agree 💯 with the conclusion. The bull market of the software engineering industry is now settling, but with the growing industry the learning curve has become steepand only those eager to make some change will proper in this industry.

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Wonderful Explanation of Spring and Spring Boot ... #softwaredevelopers #javadevelopers #javadeveloper #recruiterwings #learninganddevelopment #springbootframework #springframework

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It’s official: landing a software engineering job is tougher now than it was just a few years ago. With many startups shutting down and big companies laying off employees, candidates with 0-5 years of experience are feeling the pinch. What can you do? Shift your storytelling from tools and languages to the impact you've made. Highlight who your users were, how you improved their lives, and any recognition you received. Remember, outcomes matter more than just the technologies you used!

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"I don't like leetcode style interviews!" See I wasn't making it up! Kurtis Nusbaum tells us more about why engineers don't like leetcode and the types of interviews that lead to a more enjoyable and effective interviewing experience.

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🔨 You're a senior software engineer. You know your stuff. But you are not being promoted or recognized, and you're not sure why. Being an amazing engineer will get you from entry level roles until senior. But beyond that you might run into snags that aren't as obvious as they should be. As you progress into more senior and principal roles, your leadership skills, including your ability to influence without authority become more and more important. This might include building trusted relationships across the organization, which is required to lead some critical initiatives. As a principal engineer you might be asked to lead an initiative that impacts all engineering teams. How will you get a group of smart and opinionated engineers to progress in the same direction? That requires teams to trust you. You may not always have a gavel. 👉🏾 Building an internal reputation is critical. Not just be known as a great engineer, but also a great collaborator who listens as much as brings opinions. 👉🏾 If this is where you are in your career, I'd love to chat more. Ping me below and/or send me a DM. I'd like to set you up with mentorship and the tools you need to be success--all free. #mentormesh #leadership #engineering

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Engineering Managers/Senior Devs, please help us job seekers out. Aside from the obvious (experience with XYZ technology), what skills do you believe new devs are lacking? Code reviews? Testing? Agile practices? What is it? Rejecting people and making blanket statements of not enough experience doesn't help anyone. There are fleets of people dying to improve and meet your demands, but you are not telling us what to work on.

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🚀 10 Signs You're a 10x Engineer (and don't even know it!) 🧑‍💻 1. You've googled "how to exit vim" more times than you'd like to admit. 2. Your commit messages are works of art. Sometimes they even rhyme. 3. You've fixed a critical bug by adding a single semicolon. 4. Your code comments are a perfect blend of humor and despair. 5. You've mastered the art of looking busy while waiting for your code to compile. 6. Your rubber duck has seen things no duck should ever see. 7. You can explain technical concepts using only memes. 8. Your coffee intake directly correlates with your git commits. 9. You've had heated debates about tabs vs. spaces. 10. You've written "it works on my machine" so many times, you're considering getting it tattooed. Bonus: You're reading this and nodding vigorously! 😄

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Signs to know you are growing in your career: Stage 1 I can't wait till I am important enough to be included in these meetings Stage 2 I feel so important being in these meetings Stage 3 I will do anything legal or illegal to avoid these meetings #softwareengineering

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Signs to know you are growing in your career: Stage 1 I can't wait till I am important enough to be included in these meetings Stage 2 I feel so important being in these meetings Stage 3 I will do anything legal or illegal to avoid these meetings #softwareengineering

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Excellent post. I always have some experienced like this. Focus on your own learning, whatever things coming to you. If you can embrace all the challenges properly you will always be relevant. I believe actual engineers are always focus on problem solvings nothing else. Because there will be lots of technology will be coming to replace you but actual engineering of solving engineering problems will always be relevant.😊

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