Notes to a Junior Software Engineer
Notes to a Junior Software Engineer
(Available in EPUB and PDF)
This is an ebook written personally by Alex Nguyen. It details his thoughts and experiences working at each of the larger tech companies among Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. The experiences and advices shared are focused for junior software engineers specifically. If you had a 1:1 or a coffee chat with Alex Nguyen, these are the thoughts he would share with you.
About Alexcancode
Alexander Nguyen is currently a Software Engineer at Google. Previously, he has worked at Amazon and Microsoft. He shares career advice, stories, and lessons in the rising tech world at:
FAQ
How does the purchase work?
Once you purchase this product, you'll receive a download link for the ebook from Gumroad that will expire after one use. Please note that this is a digital product. Both EPUB and PDF versions will be available for download after purchase.
Why should I purchase your book?
I've worked at Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. You can see my LinkedIn profile here. Over the years I've had a lot of successes and failures working as a software engineer at large tech companies. I've learned a lot from these experiences and you will too.
This wasn't what I was expecting, can I get a refund?
Absolutely! Just send an email to the address below for a 100% FULL REFUND. Keep the book! All you have to do is share what you were expecting from a product like this.
Who is this ebook for?
This ebook is for new grads, new hires, and experienced hires. Please note this book is catered specifically to junior software engineers.
Who is this ebook not for?
Senior Engineers, Mangers, Business professionals. If you're not a new hire in tech, this book won't be relevant to you.
How do I contact you?
Reach me at hello@alexcancode.io for all questions and concerns
Can I preview a chapter?
Sure, below is a small excerpt from the ebook:
Gaming The System
Getting promoted is a process. If you understand that process then you can take advantage of its flaws or “game the system”. If it sounds unfair that’s because it is but here’s why it works.
At Google, the requirement to get promoted to senior engineer is to “lead and complete a project over multiple quarters”. The minimum of multiple quarters is 2 and it doesn’t matter how small, large, or easy the project has to be. So to game the system, choose an easy project to lead and implement over two quarters. Some may think this is cheating to be a true senior engineer but I’d argue that any promotion committee would recognize this and tell you to do it again. And that’s when you game the system again.
If you can game the system once, you can do it multiple times. If you do it multiple times, you build a track record where you’ve shown you can lead a project over multiple quarters (even if they’re really easy ones). This isn’t to argue against completing a larger project, but it’s to propose a different way to think about your promotion prospects. You can do multiple easy projects or one large project, they’ll both take you where you want to go.
My 10 Chapter Book on Junior Engineering Experiences.