The hottest Technical Skills Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

5 Habits Of Highly Effective Data Engineers To Master in 2025

SeattleDataGuy’s Newsletter • 800 implied HN points • 20 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Data Engineering Career growth Technical Skills Project management Professional development
  1. Being proactive means solving problems before they become bigger issues. If you see something that can be improved, go ahead and make that change instead of waiting for someone else to do it.
  2. Make sure your contributions are visible, so people recognize your work. Share your successes and updates with your team and leadership to build a stronger reputation.
  3. Become the go-to person for a specific area in your company. Focus on something valuable that can help others succeed, and make sure to share your knowledge and support with your team.

The 5 Interview Mistakes You're Making Without Realizing

Behavioral OS for Techies • 259 implied HN points • 29 Aug 24
🚌 Education Interview Tips Career development Soft skills Technical Skills
  1. Make sure your answers during an interview are detailed and clear. It helps the interviewer see that you understand the topic well.
  2. Before jumping to solutions, always ask questions to clarify the problem. This shows you're thoughtful and focused on finding the right solution.
  3. Don't forget to showcase your real-world experiences. Sharing relevant stories makes your answers more relatable and authentic.

🔐 TPM Microguide On Interview Preparation - v1.0

Building Rome(s) • 9 implied HN points • 11 Feb 25
💼 Business Program Management Interview Prep Technical Skills Career development Professional Growth
  1. Preparation is key for Technical Program Management (TPM) interviews. You should practice personalizing your answers based on your experiences rather than just memorizing them.
  2. Understanding the types of questions you'll face can help a lot. Interviews often include hypothetical scenarios and technical questions, so being ready for these can make you feel more confident.
  3. Having a strong elevator pitch is important. This is your chance to introduce yourself and explain what you bring to the table in a quick and engaging way.

When, why, and how to stop coding as your day job

It Depends / Nimble Autonomy • 11 HN points • 22 Sep 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Management Career growth Leadership Technical Skills
  1. Stepping away from coding allows you to focus on being a more effective manager. When you stop coding, you can better support and lead your team.
  2. Many technical leaders struggle to balance coding and management, often feeling they must still code to stay relevant. However, shifting your focus to team leadership is essential for growth.
  3. To remain connected to technology, take an interest in your team's work and continue learning. You can still engage with technology without it being the main part of your job.

Career advice: Learn how to debug

Wednesday Wisdom • 85 implied HN points • 13 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Career Advice Problem Solving Technical Skills
  1. Learning to debug helps you solve your own problems, giving you control over your work and allowing you to be more effective.
  2. Debugging teaches you valuable lessons and knowledge that you can apply in future situations, making you more confident as you grow in your career.
  3. When you debug before asking for help, you can ask clearer questions and provide better information, which makes it easier for others to assist you.
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Not Technical Enough

QUALITY BOSS • 159 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Workplace Issues Gender bias Career development Impostor syndrome Technical Skills
  1. Feeling like you're not 'technical enough' often comes from biases and stereotypes, especially in gender. It's important to remember that everyone's skills and roles can vary greatly.
  2. Your worth and skills in tech should be measured by how well you understand your job, not just by coding abilities. Everyone has different strengths that contribute to success.
  3. Confidence in your abilities is key. Feedback can sting, but it's crucial to assess it within context and not let others' opinions define your self-worth.

Exciting Announcement: New Paid Subscription for The Art of Doing Technical Program Management Newsletter

Building Rome(s) • 1 implied HN point • 06 Feb 25
💼 Business Management Professional development Subscription Models Career growth Technical Skills
  1. There's a new paid subscription for a newsletter about Technical Program Management that costs $8 a month or $80 a year. This could help you grow in your career.
  2. Paid subscribers will get special content like focused guides, deep dives from experienced professionals, and tools to boost their skills.
  3. Even if you don't subscribe, free content will still be available, but you'll miss out on the deeper insights and exclusive resources that come with a paid subscription.

Reader Mailbag: Struggling to do it all

Tech and Tea • 246 implied HN points • 09 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Career development Work-life balance Personal Growth Technical Skills
  1. Struggling with work-life balance, technical up-skilling, and finding identity outside of work is common among many engineers and professionals. It's important to prioritize what aligns with personal values and well-being.
  2. Careers in the tech industry can take diverse paths, and it's okay to explore different roles or take breaks to pursue other interests. Embracing change and personal growth is a natural part of a long career.
  3. Building expertise, whether technical or in other areas, is valuable and transferable across different domains. Prioritizing personal growth and balancing work with other life aspects is essential in navigating career challenges.

What Makes a Great Quality Engineer?

QUALITY BOSS • 39 implied HN points • 30 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Software Testing Quality Assurance Technical Skills Product Development User Experience
  1. Great quality engineers need a quality mindset. This means they care about making sure the product is useful and works well for customers, not just ticking off boxes.
  2. Some key traits of top QEs are curiosity, adaptability, and persistence. These qualities help them understand the product better and keep pushing until they get to the bottom of any issues.
  3. Effective communication and problem-solving skills are also important. This ensures they can share findings clearly and work well with other teams to improve the product.

Breaking Into Tech

Jake [Building in NYC] • 19 implied HN points • 03 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Career Advice Technical Skills Soft skills Job Market
  1. To get a job in software engineering, you need to learn key technical skills like React, Typescript, and some backend basics. Focus on building small projects to practice what you've learned.
  2. Having good communication, flexibility, and grit is just as important as technical skills. Being open to learning and asking questions can really help you succeed in your first job.
  3. Networking and finding a mentor can make a big difference in breaking into tech. Building relationships and getting support from experienced people is key to finding job opportunities.

Technical Education vs. Mental Illness

Rounding the Earth Newsletter • 5 implied HN points • 10 Dec 24
🚌 Education Technical Skills Mental health Community Engagement Technology impact
  1. Learning about technology is really important for understanding how to manage our finances, especially with things like Bitcoin. If people don’t educate themselves, they might miss out on important advantages.
  2. Misunderstanding technical subjects can lead to harmful decisions in society, like when someone protests against effective solutions due to fear or misinformation. We need to have informed discussions rather than relying on opinions that lack depth.
  3. It's crucial to recognize the hard work that goes into becoming an expert in technical fields. Just knowing a little isn’t enough; serious commitment and study are necessary to really understand complex topics.

Feeling overwhelmed by information / TPMs are World Builders / The Right Amount of Slack

Building Rome(s) • 11 implied HN points • 18 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Program Management Time management Technical Skills Professional development
  1. Feeling overwhelmed by information is common for Technical Program Managers, so it's important to focus on what truly matters and develop a system for rapid recall.
  2. TPMs are not just program runners; they are world builders who can shape engineering organizations by influencing decision-making processes, strategy, and more.
  3. Adding the right amount of slack in project plans is crucial for TPMs to build flexibility and account for uncertainties, especially in testing phases.

Career Development Framework For Software Engineers

Vasu’s Newsletter • 2 HN points • 20 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Career development Software Engineers Technical Skills
  1. Software engineers are evaluated on technical and behavioral dimensions.
  2. Technical skills include code quality, productivity, design, debugging, and operational skills.
  3. Behavioral skills involve project ownership, unblocking self, cross-team collaborations, influence without authority, mentoring others, and improving team efficiency.

How to hire engineering talent without the BS

The Incrementalist • 2 implied HN points • 02 Mar 23
💼 Business Hiring Interviewing Technical Skills Recruitment
  1. Assessing engineering talent should focus on real-world problem-solving skills rather than memorization or speed.
  2. Conducting effective technical interviews involves being transparent about the process, asking questions that reflect the job's demands, and ensuring consistency among interviewers.
  3. Show empathy during interviews, guide the candidate through the process, and provide timely feedback to create a positive candidate experience.

On hiring - Choosing the right way to assess technical engineering skills in candidates

Joseph Gefroh • 0 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
💼 Business Hiring Technical Skills Interviews Recruitment
  1. Good technical interviews should feel engaging and collaborative, allowing candidates to interact and showcase their problem-solving skills.
  2. Bad interviews leave candidates feeling defeated and hurt a company's reputation, leading to longer hiring processes.
  3. It's important for companies to understand the specific skills they are hiring for and use appropriate technical assessment methods to evaluate candidates accurately.

Programmer For Hire

Synystron Synlogica • 0 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
💼 Business Programming Software Engineering Remote work Technical Skills Hiring
  1. The programmer is available for hire at a special discounted rate of $10k per month as a full-time, remote contractor.
  2. The programmer has expertise in systems programming, software performance & scalability optimization, and concurrency/multi-threading safety.
  3. The programmer prefers projects involving Golang, Linux, backends, CLIs, high performance & massive scale, with a culture focused on productivity & happiness.

[in case you missed it] Data Science Weekly - Issue 339

Data Science Weekly Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 24 May 20
🕹 Technology Data science Machine Learning AI Ethics Product Management Technical Skills
  1. AI Product Managers need both traditional PM skills and a strong understanding of machine learning development. This blend of skills helps them manage AI projects effectively.
  2. Machine learning systems can face risks, including misalignment with problems and unexpected behaviors after deployment. It's important to evaluate these risks to avoid project failures.
  3. Text data augmentation is not as common as image data augmentation, but it can be useful in natural language processing. Exploring new techniques for text augmentation can enhance performance.