Soft.Skills.The.software.developers.life.manual

Title: Soft Skills: The software developer’s life manual Author: John Sonmez Length: 504 pages Edition: 1 Language: English Publisher: Manning Publications Publication Date: 2014-12-29 ISBN-10: 1617292397 ISBN-13: 9781617292392 Summary Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual is a unique guide, offering techniques and practices for a more satisfying life as a professional software developer. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez addresses a wide range of important "soft" topics, from career and productivity to personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships, all from a developer-centric viewpoint. Forewords by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) and Scott Hanselman. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Book For most software developers, coding is the fun part. The hard bits are dealing with clients, peers, and managers, staying productive, achieving financial security, keeping yourself in shape, and finding true love. This book is here to help. Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual is a guide to a well-rounded, satisfying life as a technology professional. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez offers advice to developers on important "soft" subjects like career and productivity, personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships. Arranged as a collection of 71 short chapters, this fun-to-read book invites you to dip in wherever you like. A Taking Action section at the end of each chapter shows you how to get quick results. Soft Skills will help make you a better programmer, a more valuable employee, and a happier, healthier person. What's Inside Boost your career by building a personal brand John's secret ten-step process for learning quickly Fitness advice to turn your geekiness to your advantage Unique strategies for investment and early retirement About the Author John Sonmez is a developer, teacher, and life coach who helps technical professionals boost their careers and live a more fulfilled life. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Why this book is unlike any book you’ve ever read Section 1 Career Chapter 2 Getting started with a “BANG!”: Don’t do what everyone else does Chapter 3 Thinking about the future: What are your goals? Chapter 4 People skills: You need them more than you think Chapter 5 Hacking the interview Chapter 6 Employment options: Enumerate your choices Chapter 7 What kind of software developer are you? Chapter 8 Not all companies are equal Chapter 9 Climbing the corporate ladder Chapter 10 Being a professional Chapter 11 Freedom: How to quit your job Chapter 12 Freelancing: Going out on your own Chapter 13 Creating your first product Chapter 14 Do you want to start a startup? Chapter 15 Working remotely survival strategies Chapter 16 Fake it till you make it Chapter 17 Resumes are BORING— Let’s fix that Chapter 18 Don’t get religious about technology Section 2 Marketing yourself Chapter 19 Marketing basics for code monkeys Chapter 20 Building a brand that gets you noticed Chapter 21 Creating a wildly successful blog Chapter 22 Your primary goal: Add value to others Chapter 23 #UsingSocialNetworks Chapter 24 Speaking, presenting, and training: Speak geek Chapter 25 Writing books and articles that attract a following Chapter 26 Don’t be afraid to look like an idiot Section 3 Learning Chapter 27 Learning how to learn: How to teach yourself Chapter 28 My 10-step process Chapter 29 Steps 1–6: Do these once Chapter 30 Steps 7–10: Repeat these Chapter 31 Looking for mentors: Finding your Yoda Chapter 32 Taking on an apprentice: Being Yoda Chapter 33 Teaching: Learn you want? Teach you must. Chapter 34 Do you need a degree or can you “wing it?” Chapter 35 Finding gaps in your knowledge Section 4 Productivity Chapter 36 It all starts with focus Chapter 37 My personal productivity plan Chapter 38 Pomodoro Technique Chapter 39 My quota system: How I get way more done than I should Chapter 40 Holding yourself accountable Chapter 41 Multitasking dos and don’ts Chapter 42 Burnout: I’ve got the cure! Chapter 43 How you’re wasting your time Chapter 44 The importance of having a routine Chapter 45 Developing habits: Brushing your code Chapter 46 Breaking down things: How to eat an elephant Chapter 47 The value of hard work and why you keep avoiding it Chapter 48 Any action is better than no action Section 5 Financial Chapter 49 What are you going to do with your paycheck? Chapter 50 How to negotiate your salary Chapter 51 Options: Where all the fun is Chapter 52 Bits and bytes of real estate investing Chapter 53 Do you really understand your retirement plan? Chapter 54 The danger of debt: SSDs are expensive Chapter 55 Bonus: How I retired at 33 Section 6 Fitness Chapter 56 Why you need to hack your health Chapter 57 Setting your fitness criteria Chapter 58 Thermodynamics, calories, and you Chapter 59 Motivation: Getting your butt out of the chair Chapter 60 How to gain muscle: Nerds can have bulging biceps Chapter 61 How to get hash-table abs Chapter 62 Starting RunningProgram.exe Chapter 63 Standing desks and other hacks Chapter 64 Tech gear for fitness: Geeking out Section 7 Spirit Chapter 65 How the mind influences the body Chapter 66 Having the right mental attitude: Rebooting Chapter 67 Building a positive self-image: Programming your brain Chapter 68 Love and relationships: Computers can’t hold your hand Chapter 69 My personal success book list Chapter 70 Facing failure head-on Chapter 71 Parting words Appendix A: If you can write code, you can understand finances Appendix B: How the stock market works: Rules of the system Appendix C: Garbage in, garbage out: Diet and nutrition basics Appendix D: How to eat healthy: Pizza is not a food group