Growing as Makers

Most Recent

Growing as Makers

How Learning Software Is Like Learning Chinese

Programming, like language acquisition, takes time and effort. You can learn better by looking at context, setting goals, and working with a team.

Growing as Makers

Get Caught Up in the Small Victories on Big Projects

It’s the small victories along the way that give us the energy to reach the final goal. They give us renewed motivation, especially during setbacks.

Growing as Makers

Opening Up at Work – Lessons Learned from a Month of Being My Whole Self

There is a lot to be gained from telling people that you care, and little to be lost. So I’ve been testing a new guideline: Don’t hold back the good things.

Growing as Makers

When to Stop Learning New Programming Languages

Knowing which languages to learn is a version of the Multi-Armed Bandit Problem. The answer is an ongoing cycle of exploration and exploitation.

Growing as Makers

You Can’t Always Outwork the Requests! (How to Reduce an Overloaded Queue)

Talented people often have more requests than time to accomplish them. Their natural tendency is to power through, but that definitely has a limit.

Growing as Makers

Collaborating? Frame Your Ideas with Curious Humility

It takes bravery to admit to a peer that you don't know something—especially in a way that works toward alignment rather than competition.

Growing as Makers

Why “Fake It ’til You Make It” Is Bad Advice, and What to Do Instead

None of us feel confident 100% of the time. So instead of lying about it or beating yourself up, be genuine and keep a ravenous appetite for knowledge.

Growing as Makers

A Practical Guide to Breaking into Software Development

A lot of people believe all Computer Science majors have been programming since they were 10. Not true. Here’s how this former musician became a developer.

Growing as Makers

Using Core Consultant Skills to Climb the Learning Curve

When making custom software there's bound to complexity. Rely on these basic consulting best practices to make sense of new and complex information.

Growing as Makers

How Being a Consultant Taught me to Appreciate the Value of Time

After I started tracking time as a consultant, I realized how scarce time really was. It's taught me to question the value of every activity I do.

Growing as Makers

Don’t Go to a Software Conference for the Technical Stuff

It's tempting to think that a software conference is a vehicle for new tech. If that's all you're getting, you aren't getting enough.

Growing as Makers

Finding Inspiration for Conference Talks and Blog Posts

What have you learned or changed recently? If your answer is "nothing," is that a problem? If you don't engage with the community to get ideas—why not?

The Software Life category

Other Categories

Keep up with our latest posts.