ltowell's review

3.5
informative reflective slow-paced

The information and topic covered in the book was good, I feel like the best chapters were the first 3 and the last 3. The middle felt like it dragged a little or was potentially a little too verbose. 
naida_'s profile picture

naida_'s review

4.75
informative
courte_'s profile picture

courte_'s review

DID NOT FINISH: 28%

I was reading it for work in fits and starts, but never got around to finishing and have since moved on to a di ferent role.

What I read was the start of a very informative breakdown of the responsibilities and required skills of a Staff Engineer, including tools for work in general within your specific company's needs. I'll likely return to this book at some later point.

rsz's review

4.5
informative medium-paced

tikitechie's review

5.0

As a staff engineer, I wish I had this book years ago. While some of the advice in here may seem like patently obvious statements and generalities about any tech career path, consider that many of the folks who get to a senior Developer/staff engineer role got there via technical expertise and not on the backs of political maneuvering. The “soft skills” of navigating organizations is just as valuable as the guidance on how to act as a role model to expand your team’s skill set.

Throughout this book, two threads run strong: opportunity cost, and mentorship. In regards to the former, the job description of a staff engineer is usually vague, so use the time carefully. It’s too easy to choose easy slam-dunk projects, or “snack” on the constant firefighting tasks that come up day-to-day. Consider that every activity you do means you won’t have time to do something else, which can lead to lost opportunities and a lack of apparent direction. As for the latter, teaching (and training others to teach) has a scalable impact on the individual and the organization. Competent coworkers free the engineer up to take on other projects, and can level up the organization over time.

I found this book well written and well-cited. My only complaint is that the URL shorteners used throughout the book can be awkward to type in (is that a 1, a lowercase L, or a capital I ?).



mmvdv's review

5.0
informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
rberenguel's profile picture

rberenguel's review

5.0
funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

I’d give the book 6 stars. It is well-written, entertaining and useful.

gianouts's review

3.0
informative slow-paced

Lots of good information to assist an individual contributor to grow and follow a staff engineer path, albeit quite verbose at times.

waldr's review

4.75
informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

jennifox's review

4.75
challenging informative reflective medium-paced

Solid career advice for any career stage.