Customer Reviews

Being Geek: The Software Developer's Career Handbook

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lopp is the well known "Rands" of "Rands in Repose" blog fame. If you read his blog regularly, you will find little new in this book, which is largely a collection of blog entries arranged in an arc covering a typical job life span (from interviewing to moving on). They are well written and entertaining though, and still enjoyable a second time around. I give the book three stars for such readers.

If you have not read his blog, you will find lots of good tips here. However, they are buried in the narrative and must be mined - this is no bullet-point reference work. The book is worth five stars in this case - if you're willing to do the work. Those looking for a quick fix or easy reference guide should look elsewhere.

I've been reading Lopp's blog, Rands in Repose, for some time. Lopp has a pretty good geek resume, with experience at Symantec, Borland, Netscape, and Apple. His blog is one that I always read, since he's got a great gift for distilling lessons out of his experiences. This book is mostly a compilation of his blog posts, with some new essays added to help define the overall arc of a geek's career as defined by starting at a new job to deciding to move on to the next one.

Looking on my own experience in tech companies, I think that his advice is often spot-on. There have been times when I've read one of his blog posts after a difficult situation and found myself understanding it better. He's got a keen eye for detail and for understanding the nuances of geek behaviour, as well as all of the interacting forces that come into play when you're working for a big geek company. I've gone back to read half-remembered posts that I felt were pertinent to a given situation.

I found it amusing that Lopp says in his introduction that he's not writing a book that gives you ten steps for anything, or that will define the five characteristics of a top leader, but most of his essays are structured in just that form: distill a situation into some archetypes, identified by Capital Letters. For an occasional blog post, I don't mind this style; as a book, this structure got rather repetitive. While I love the blog, I found that I couldn't read the book for more than a half-hour without losing interest because the style just didn't work for an actual book.

Honestly, I was hoping for more. The blog is excellent. I hoped that a book would use the blog as a starting point and give more consideration, more depth. But it's not there. If, like me, you've been reading his blog for some time, I can't really recommend this book. You've read most of it before, albeit in a different order. The new pieces don't really add that much. If you're not a reader of his blog, this book is a good look at moving through your geek career. I'd recommend adding his blog to your reading list while you're at it.

I had the pleasure of reviewing the manuscript of Being Geek: The Software Developer's Career Handbook by Michael Lopp when it was still in the development stage. To put it simply, I was really impressed. I'm not a regular reader of Rands In Repose, so I hadn't seen most of the material before. It didn't take long before I saw the value in what he wrote, and started thinking of names of people who needed to read this when it was published.

Contents:
Section 1 - A Career Playbook: How To Win; A List of Three; The Itch; The Sanity Check; The Nerves; The Button; The Business
Section 2 - Deconstructing Management: The Culture Chart; Managing Managers; The Issue with the Doof; The Leaper; The Enemy; The Impossible; Knee Jerks; A Deep Breath; Gaming the System; Managing Werewolves; BAB; Your People; Wanted; The Toxic Paradox; The Pond
Section 3 - Your Daily Toolkit: The Nerd Handbook; The Taste of the Day; The Trickle List; The Crisis and the Creative; The Foamy Rules for Rabid Tools; Up to Nothing; How to Not Throw Up; Out Loud; Bits, Features, and Truth; The Reveal
Section 4 - Your Next Gig: The Screw-Me Scenario; No Surprises; A Deliberate Career; The Curse of the Silicon Valley; A Disclosure; Mind the Gap; The Exodus; Bad News About Your Bright Future; Hurry; The Rules of Back Alley Bridge
Index

The author sets out to help the technologist, one who wonders why the world of people doesn't run with the same rules and precision as computers, navigate through the real world of how life works in an organization. Rather than approach the subject with a slick methodology meant to be understood by business people, he cuts to the core of the topics using language and stories that any geek would understand. And that's the value here... the techie will say "YES! I struggle/deal with that exact same problem" as the author has been there, done that, and thinks the same way they do. It's written in a no-nonsense, no-bs style which is just what most techies want.

It seems like too many books on managing and surviving in a corporate environment assume a certain type of personality that is closer to the average office worker than the hard-core technologist. Or books that *do* focus on organizational skills for technology workers seem to take a process approach or methodology, thinking that a set of rules to follow will work all the time. The author here assumes that the real world is messy, nothing fits into neat boxes, and the techno-geek is a different animal. As such, his advice is much more realistic than most other books that attempt to cover this topic in some way, shape, or form.

This is targeted squarely at the person for whom technology is a passion, not just a job that is 9 to 5. These people are comfortable with other geeks or on their own digging into a problem, but they don't easily or readily grasp the intricacies and realities of social interaction or corporate politics and gamesmanship. They need someone to explain what's going on, why things work that way, and how they can figure out the rules so they have some shot at surviving long enough to do what they love to do... build things.

I also appreciate that he tries to cover the entire scope of a person's stay with a company or organization. From being hired to leaving for the next gig, from trying to relate to management to standing in front of a group making an important presentation, this book gives you three to six pages on various topics, easily digested when you need to get a reality check in a given situation.

I've seen too many people who were technically brilliant, but that you didn't want to let out of a locked room because you knew they'd get eaten alive in the real world. Being Geek gives them a fighting chance to adapt if they care to do so.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free

This is a well written and entertaining memoir of a silicon Valley engineer turned engineering manager. While there are lessons one can learn from, this is a far cry from "the software developer's career handbook".

In many ways, the author takes his specific experiences and incorrectly generalizes them. Perhaps they are commonplace in Silicon Valley, but not in technology in general.

Further, key information is omitted. For example, he states that a good way of getting adversarial coworkers to get along better, is to get them to play Back Alley Bridge during lunch - but that crosses two management challenges - getting employees to do non-work events and getting employees to sacrifice their lunch hours. No advice whatsoever is given on how to deal with either.

Probably the worst oversight is assuming that the career path is limited to either staying a developer or moving into management.

That said, I think this is an enjoyable book that one can learn from, but that it should not be interpreted in any way as a career handbook.

In its unique voice and style, this book contains many short chapters that each deal with some aspects of work life as a software developer. There is little doubt about it, the author has seen and experienced some really crazy and dysfunctional software development environments. From CEO that unable to make a termination decision for incompetent people to managers who have disconnected with developers.

There are times the author has made brilliant categorizations of meetings, events, and people. For example, the interrogator, the raging bull, the randomizer, and the illuminator. Other times I have read some witty comments about salary negotiation, when it is time to move on, etc. Some generalization of geeks (such as "Your Nerds Loves Toys and Puzzles") can be either interpreted as stereotype or author's way of being funny.

After completed the book, I feel I have gained some fresh perspectives on a few things. The author narrated the chapters in such a casual style--as if I have heard the stories from a developer who has been telling me everything during his exit interview.

Astonishing number of typos in this otherwise wise and entertaining work. And the publisher actually printed the names of their editor and proofreader on the copyright page!! Amazing gall. And this from an "educational" publisher.

Three Chapters really stand out here:

Understanding your Geek - for your significant other
Taste of the Day - Excellent Task management approach. Very lightweight but powerful
Trickle List - Approach to create serendipitous opportunities

I had the opportunity to review this book. It's a very good resource for geeks, especially since most people in our industry (IT) haven't given much thought to managing their career. There are a large number of career guides but this book is unique in both the way it's presented and the type of focus it has. You have to guard your professional reputation, no one will do it for you! Being Geek shows you ways to do this in addition to showing your worth to management and managing your manager... All the while moving forward in your career. I'd recommend this book to anyone in IT that hasn't given much thought to the long term. It's written in a humorous and informal manner and most can find some advice that will assist them in "Being Geek".

I'm not a developer or an engineer, but enjoy computers, technology, and other geek-related things. Just reading the cover, I figured this book wouldn't have a whole lot to offer me. I was wrong.

The book is full of useful and helpful information for anyone who's mind is more geek related than other's. I found that I am more of a geek than I ever realized, that I have a more linear concept of things and want to know WHY, which really put me into the geek category. I now understand why staff meetings are so difficult for me, as they're currently run, why I have trouble talking with others in my team, and the best ways for me to counteract those issues between us.

The book itself is a collection of chapters, each of which are useful in and of themselves. You don't have to read the whole book in sequence, you don't even have to read the whole book! I found that each chapter had something I could easily use, information that really made sense to me, and it also helped me to relate better to my other, even more geeky, friends. I've been recommending this book to anyone who is either a geek or knows a geek, those looking for a job or just wanting to progress in their current career. There are a lot of no-nonsense tips in here, which makes it a great tool for anyone.

I've read reviews that were disappointed, because they were familiar with Lopp's blog - Rands in Repose - and are upset that he wasn't more original in the book. Having never read his blog, I don't know how it compares to that information. All I know is that I really enjoyed this book and it's already rewarding me with the tips I learned while reading. Definitely a worthwhile investment.

I guess I've got three criteria for shaping my reading list: Will I learn something from this book? Is it something I want or need to learn? Will I enjoy reading it?

"Being Geek", by Michael Lopp, scores high on all three points. As someone with a background in software development management, "Being Geek" struck home with me. I recognized myself, my staff, and many of my friends in the pages. I also got some good ideas on how to become a better software developer and development manager myself.

The book's genesis is in blog posts from the Rands in Repose blog, but edited, expanded, and organized. There's also some new material. The book is organized into several sections - how to manage your own career and job search process, how to deal with management: managing up, managing down, managing sideways, and managing toxicity, tactics and strategies for dealing with the day-to-day panics and crises of life as a developer, and how to think about how, why, and when to consider your next gig.

The two sections that I found most valuable, and will be returning to, are these: first, prioritization and keeping both a task list and a "trickle list" - strategic items that need a little bit of attention every day, not necessarily a big box of attention and then they're done. Second, the chapter on managing managers - communication styles, meeting schedules, and dealing with surprises - led me to some useful introspection about my own strengths and weaknesses as a manager. The section on "The Nerd Handbook" didn't really resonate for me, but the stereotyping in the chapter certainly has plenty of basis in fact.

Lopp has a clear and conversational style of writing that gives you the feeling of sitting with him at a table (probably on your second glass of good beer each) and a notepad between you for quick diagrams, while he explains his view of how software development teams work. He's opinionated, he doesn't pull punches, and he's occasionally pottymouthed for emphasis, but it all works. The book offers advice and food for thought both on how to get through the day, and how to get to where you want to be in your career.

Several other reviewers commented on bad editing and proofreading in the book. I also found this to be true in the first advance copy I was sent. However, a subsequent drop of the ebook had fixed the dozen or so errors I found in the initial draft, and I think they're also addressed in the print version.

If you're a software developer, you owe it to yourself to read this book. If you're not sure, check out the Rands in Repose blog as a sampler of the material that's here, but also be aware that there's material in the book that's not on the blog - the book is more than a collection of posts. I wish this book had been out 15 years ago when I was contemplating moving into management; I think I'd have gotten better faster.

Disclosure:
O'Reilly offered me a free copy of the ebook in exchange for the review. I'll likely be buying the dead tree version anyway, in order to loan it to some friends who really really really need to read it.