High Growth Engineer

High Growth Engineer is a Substack focusing on enhancing the careers of software engineers through practical advice on productivity, leadership, communication, and mentorship. It combines actionable strategies with personal growth insights to navigate career progression, from junior roles to senior leadership, emphasizing the importance of mentorship, effective planning, and continuous learning.

Career Development Productivity Leadership and Management Communication Skills Technical Skills Mentorship Negotiation and Compensation Work-Life Balance

The hottest Substack posts of High Growth Engineer

And their main takeaways

I wish I started doing this on day 0 of my career as an engineer

1574 implied HN points • 18 Feb 24
💼 Business Productivity Career development Software Engineering Time management Planning
  1. Planning is crucial to avoid feeling unproductive and getting pulled in different directions throughout the day.
  2. By planning your day, you focus on what's important and maintain control over your daily tasks.
  3. Even a simple daily plan of one main goal can significantly improve your productivity and time management.

The Making of a Senior Engineer 💡: Guest Post by Addy Osmani

1238 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
💼 Business Leadership Engineering Career development Management Skills Development
  1. To transition into senior engineering roles, you need to shift from hands-on work to systems thinking, focusing on strategic leadership and fostering team autonomy.
  2. Senior engineers lead through influence rather than pure authority, emphasizing building trusted relationships, setting vision, and empowering teams.
  3. Developing critical leadership skills as a senior engineer involves improving empathy, communication, collaboration, systems thinking, and execution orchestration, while overcoming common pitfalls like losing sight of the big picture and excessive control.

Simple tricks to level up your technical design docs in 2024 👌

1108 implied HN points • 28 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Career development Documentation Software Engineering Feedback
  1. Design docs help to reduce risk, document decisions, and align on technical choices.
  2. Make design docs concise with only essential information for decision-making to ensure they get read and progress smoothly.
  3. Get individual feedback first before group sessions to make the review process more efficient and effective.

Engineering Crits at Figma: Interview with Laura Peng

307 implied HN points • 17 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Design Engineering Feedback Collaboration Process
  1. Consider the level of detail in crits based on the feedback needed for effective decision-making.
  2. Structure crit meetings with clear expectations, silent reviewing periods, and follow-up synchronous discussions.
  3. Approach feedback in crits by giving and receiving early, focusing on empowering team confidence, and maintaining a positive, collaborative culture.
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How to be the favorite engineer among your product manager and designer

465 implied HN points • 27 Aug 23
💼 Business Career development Product Management Engineering
  1. Collaboration with product managers and designers can be challenging due to differing priorities and project impacts.
  2. Engineers often face the dilemma of balancing what they can do, what the PM wants, and what the PM thinks they can do.
  3. Maintaining a good relationship and meeting deadlines are key aspects of being a favored engineer among product managers and designers.

Mentorship’s Role in my Staff Promotion

326 implied HN points • 20 Aug 23
  1. Mentorship played a key role in Ryan's staff promotion from junior to staff in 3 years.
  2. Ryan's work at Instagram was publicly recognized by Zuck.
  3. Ryan regularly writes about software engineering at the Developing Dev and focuses on career growth.

Make yourself known at work

316 implied HN points • 26 Mar 23
  1. It's easier to grow and get promoted in your career if you're known for something.
  2. Figure out what you want to be known for and become good at it.
  3. Show, don't tell that you are good at your chosen skill or expertise.

Advice for job seekers in a layoff environment

316 implied HN points • 16 Apr 23
  1. Improve your resume to stand out in job applications
  2. Apply to multiple places and treat each response as an opportunity
  3. Prepare thoroughly for interviews with practice questions and strategies

Everything top software engineering creators wish they knew early on

139 implied HN points • 14 May 23
  1. Special edition with lessons top software engineers wish they knew earlier in their careers.
  2. Over 1,000 subscribers celebrated in the High Growth Engineer community.
  3. Summary of key lessons collected through an engaging LinkedIn post.

5 crucial ways to improve your Slack communication as an engineer

130 implied HN points • 23 Apr 23
  1. Improving Slack communication is crucial for software engineers' career growth.
  2. Mastering asynchronous communication tools like Slack can lead to quick seniority advancements.
  3. Using Slack effectively on a daily basis can significantly impact one's career trajectory.

How to get estimates right 95% of the time ✅

102 implied HN points • 30 Apr 23
  1. Estimating can be stressful and difficult, but with practice, you can improve.
  2. Mistakes in estimating are a part of the learning process.
  3. Getting estimates right most of the time is achievable with time and experience.

9 key lessons learned on my path from Engineer to VP 🔑

2 HN points • 21 Jan 24
  1. Become an expert in your domain to gain visibility and transition to leadership roles.
  2. Learn to handle stress and manage it effectively as you climb the career ladder.
  3. Avoid complacency, seek out challenging projects, and continuously strive for growth to advance in your career journey.

Why, how much, and when you should be taking time off as an engineer

1 HN point • 14 Jan 24
  1. Taking time off helps you grow as an engineer by providing fresh perspectives and avoiding burnout.
  2. It's recommended to take at least 5 days off per quarter and communicate with your team about your time off.
  3. Taking time off also gives you the opportunity to learn outside of work, improving your skills and contributing back to your team.

A Guide to Public Speaking for Software Engineers

2 HN points • 05 Nov 23
  1. Feedback on improving communication skills is crucial for software engineers.
  2. Don't rely solely on technical skills, enhance communication skills for growth.
  3. Public speaking is important for software engineers to reach their full potential.

The Journey to Staff Engineer: Main takeaways

1 HN point • 10 Sep 23
  1. The post discusses key takeaways from a live session with 5 Staff Engineers.
  2. It mentions that a Staff Engineer is one level above a Senior Engineer at Big Tech companies.
  3. The post offers a link to subscribe for a 7-day free trial to access the full archives.