Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer [Part 11] - Case Study: Signup Form Edge Cases

So how exactly do you figure out the edge cases with a piece of software? Well, it's hard work, especially as the volume of edge cases scales up exponentially with the complexity of the underlying feature. This video will teach you:

- A process to think through edge cases step-by-step through the stack with an *incredibly* in-depth example covering one of the most classic features virtual every tech company ever has: The email and password signup flow
- Why Big Tech companies hire so many software engineers to build out seemingly basic CRUD applications (hint: They're not basic, not at all, and the signup form case study will prove that to you)

Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer [Part 6] - Embrace The Pain

A defining characteristic of mediocre software engineers is that they run away from problems in their code and avoid confronting hard problems in general. This lesson will teach you:

- Why (and how) you should embrace the pain if you truly want to write better code as a software engineer
- The process to follow to go from writing bad code to good code
- What it means to actually learn system design
- How to level up your technical understanding with an in-depth example from Alex's past about how he truly mastered a deep Android concept and applied that mastery to learn iOS development almost instantly

[Masterclass] How To Choose A Good Company And Team As A Software Engineer

Choosing the right company (or team) is one of the highest leverage decisions you'll make in your career, so it's worth doing some reflection!

It’s all about your priorities

- Figure out what’s important to you and what’s not. Create a stack-ranked list of all of these and work backwards from the top 2-3 to figure out the best opportunities for you
- People don’t realize how many angles there are to this. Here’s all the ones from the presentation: *Compensation, work-life balance, company prestige, supportiveness of team, growth opportunities, stability, maximum outcome (risk), remote work, product space, company ethics, technical space, level/title, benefits, location*

Supportiveness and overall quality of the team are often underrated

- It’s really hard to grow and have a healthy work life without this
- If you like your manager/teammates and you feel like you’re regularly learning/being challenged by them, deeply cherish that. People underestimate how hard it is to find an environment like this. Even in a prestigious company like Big Tech, this is difficult to find.

Big Tech vs. Startups

- At the end of the day, it’s all about your risk tolerance - Startups can have insane monetary/promotion outcomes, but they also might collapse the next year.
- In a vacuum: Start off at a Big Tech company to build a good foundation and then switch into smaller companies to have more scope/ownership

Some things you should NOT spend time on:

❌ Don't focus on how much you liked (or did not like) the people in the interview process. The recruiter/interviewer is NOT representative of your life at the company. Instead, focus on trends of the people joining the company, rather than individual data points.

❌ Don't spend time looking at the financials of the company. Even if you do decide to dig into the numbers, there's a good chance you'll screw up the interpretation -- humans have a really hard time with exponential growth.

Learning the quality of a team

- Talk to engineers/ICs if you can - The manager will inherently be biased towards their own team as they are often goaled on hiring
- Make sure that the team has a healthy oncall process and fast code review iteration

Related resources:

- [\[Masterclass\] What Software Engineers Should Look For In Their Engineering Manager](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/oeY7ncZhzJ5NO6dij5e7/masterclass-what-software-engineers-should-look-for-in-their-engineering-manager/)
- [“How can you tell if a large public company is going in the right direction?”](https://www.jointaro.com/question/TrlweQQ7DveTnYBP9VUH/how-can-you-tell-if-a-large-public-company-is-going-in-the-right-direction/)
- [“What does it mean to not have enough scope to be promoted?”](https://www.jointaro.com/question/bJuagPwOEEy5vkcXKkqh/what-does-it-mean-to-not-have-enough-scope-to-be-promoted/)
- [“What should I look for in a new team in terms of growth?”](https://www.jointaro.com/question/i2bOMPrqaRc0NUZ7918F/what-should-i-look-for-in-a-new-team-in-terms-of-growth/)
- [Presentation Slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1S_kULq5zzVLkcoKy0bKJ2IHSrjL3s2VbOLe8p1TQJ7s/edit?usp=sharing)

[Masterclass] How To Ace Your Big Tech Interview - System Design

System design is a crucial software engineer interview skill, especially for FAANG and Big Tech in general. It is effectively a requirement to be leveled at a senior software engineer or higher and will show up in mid-level engineer interviews as well (with the occasional appearance in even junior engineer interviews). The cool thing about system design (unlike data structures and algorithms) is that it's something you actually need to do on the job.

Here are our Top 5 points from the session (in no particular order):
- **Leverage engineering blogs of top companies** - And if you're applying to one of these companies, definitely read their blog. This will help you understand their high-level design and gives you a real-world example to anchor off of, as opposed to something more abstract and high-level that you would get from a traditional book.
- **Do NOT write code** - System design is a *high-level* exercise meant to gauge seniority. Writing raw code is the mark of a more junior software engineer, which is why you should never be writing code in a system design interview. Instead, draw boxes with arrows where the boxes represent components and the arrows represent how they interact.
- **There is no right answer** - One of the main reasons software is hard is because of how open it is. For any complex technical problem, there will be several good solutions, each with varying tradeoffs. System design is not like school or DSA where there is a singular right answer.
- **Understand the problem requirements** - System design problems are, by design, very open-ended. For example, if you get "Build the Twitter feed", there are so many features that make it up: There is no way you can design the entire thing in 1 interview round. Work with your interviewer to understand the scope of the problem and which parts should be prioritized.
- **Follow mature software principles** - The 5 covered in this presentation are robustness, scalability, performance, extensibility, and resiliency. Don't just get the happy flow working - Think about how your system will react when edge cases are hit and things go wrong.

Related resources:
- [How To Ace Your Big Tech Interview [Data Structures & Algorithms]](https://link.jointaro.com/iTNxPCvkdGite4wT9)
- [System Design Series: Taro Playlists [Part 1] - What REAL System Design Looks Like](https://link.jointaro.com/4obaFizTZAdAcStY6)
- [Presentation slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1z4yX5LiiSxbHiNrBOTPIiDfhBL5qmwRUrDojT71OROY/edit)

Master The DSA Interview [Part 4] - DSA Prep Is Insanely High ROI

It's easy to look at data structures and algorithms and see them as an annoying waste of time. However, there's more to them than you think. This lesson teaches you:

- A healthy perspective to have when it comes to studying data structures and algorithms
- Why data structures and algorithms are uniquely positioned when it comes to career return on investment for your time
- How to transform your mindset to actually be excited when grinding LeetCode

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 4] - Don't Memorize: Be Nimble

Too many software engineers keep thinking as if they're still in school, and this applies to how they study for interviews. Unfortunately, memorization is a terrible strategy with behavioral interviews. This lesson teaches you:

- The mindset you need to have to be a successful behavioral interviewer
- Why memorization doesn't work with behavioral interviews
- How to properly train your brain when it comes to behavioral interviews
- What good vs. bad looks like when it comes to what to remember with behavioral interviews

[Case Study] Revamping Oncall For 20 Instagram Engineers - Senior to Staff Project

Oncall is a critical process for any good engineering team, especially larger ones. However, a lot of software engineers aren't truly exposed to oncall until several years into their career. This detailed case study covers what a healthy oncall looks like and how ex-Instagram tech lead Alex led his organization towards that.

This session covered a *lot* of ground, so we'll focus more on the learnings instead of the historical story:
- **Good oncall ingredients**
  - Very strong sense of ownership expected from the current oncall - The buck should stop with them
  - A detailed runbook and thorough documentation in general around SLAs, SEV criteria, and ownership
  - 7 to 12 engineers on the rotation so you're only oncall <15% of the time
  - A retrospective process that brings together the team to share knowledge and figure out how to improve their systems as a whole
- **Pain = Opportunity** - Never say *"That's just the way it is"*: Every problem is solvable. If you want to level up fast, strive to alleviate pain at scale for your team instead of running away from it. Here's a great discussion covering this concept in more detail: ["Ways to add value when asked “What do you think would be biggest challenges for next quarter?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/zYbkS5Bn00H9RGKiiL4F/ways-to-add-value-when-asked-what-do-you-think-would-be-biggest-challenges-for-next-quarter/)
- **It's All About Relationships** - This is especially important at senior and staff engineering levels. In order to change process and push big projects, you need to get many people to agree with you. Understand that these relationships take time to grow and you need to start as early as possible. Check out this masterclass to deep-dive into this: [[Masterclass] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/masterclass-how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech/)
- **Understand Everyone's Incentives** - They will be very different for people who aren't on your team or aren't engineers. As a tech lead, you are expected to work across XFN boundaries regularly, and succeeding at this requires understanding what drives everyone and finding mutual interests.
- **Lead By Example** - Put yourself on the line and practice what you preach. A disconnect between what you're recommending and your own actions is one of the easiest ways to sabotage your own influence.
- **Stand On The Shoulders Of Giants** - At Big Tech companies in particular, there will always be hundreds of other engineers in the company who have already solved the problem you are currently working on. There is no need to reinvent the wheel - Seek out those people and learn from them.

Related resources:
- ["How to form a healthy on-call rotation?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/8OuTidxuVaeuQCV28IhD/how-to-form-a-healthy-on-call-rotation/)
- ["How can I improve the unstructured, chaotic oncall rotation I'm on?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/ScxFpybXXC90qmnLEU7A/how-can-i-improve-the-unstructured-chaotic-oncall-rotation-im-on/)
- ["How can I maintain work-life balance with a hectic oncall?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/WLqDVZQa8rAEmFEl15oA/how-can-i-maintain-work-life-balance-with-a-hectic-oncall/)
- [Presentation slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19PpKY5VoRAP8OMhu2shwhLthKiodw5cUruk6Lycelho/edit?usp=sharing)

Rachel's Career Story: Waterloo, Yelp, Airbnb

To check out Rachel's excellent tech career advice, you can find the [full playlist here](https://link.jointaro.com/EFUYvmLHzenKQLRp6).

Rachel moved to Canada in high school, and then attended the University of Waterloo where she picked up programming for the first time. 
- She did various internships as part of the co-op program, and her first job out of college was at Yelp. 
- After 9 years at Yelp, Rachel had become a Director of Engineering there.
- Since 2020, Rachel has been an Engineering Lead at Airbnb, heading up the search product there.

**Rachel's core learning**: The times where you're uncomfortable and struggle are the times you learn the most. Stay calm and embrace the more difficult times in your career - When you view these situations as a growth opportunity, that's how you come out of them stronger than you were before.

What A Test Plan Is And Why Every Code Review Needs One

In this video, we explore the value of including a **clear test plan or demo** with every code review. This simple but often overlooked practice builds trust, improves collaboration, and turns code reviews into lasting pieces of product and engineering history.

### Key Takeaways:

- **We always include a test plan or demo**: Whether it's a video, GIF, image, or command-line instruction, we attach an artifact that shows what our code does—especially when it impacts visual or user-facing components.
- **We demonstrate the *actual* behavior of our code**: A video showing the happy-path functionality proves the feature works and saves reviewers from guessing or manually testing our changes.
- **We create long-term product context**: Test plans turn code reviews into searchable, durable documentation. They help future engineers (including ourselves) understand *why* a piece of code was written and what it was supposed to do.
- **We reduce risk when extending legacy code**: When we need to modify or build on old code, a past test plan often reveals how that code works, what features it powers, and how to avoid breaking it.
- **We invest a few minutes now to save hours later**: Including a test plan takes only 5–10 minutes but dramatically improves team empathy, speeds up reviews, and enhances the maintainability of the entire codebase.

This practice is one of the easiest and most impactful ways we show care for our teammates—and for the long-term health of the code we ship.

Learning A New Codebase? Here's How To Figure Out What Matters

In this video, we explore how a strong **test plan** benefits not just the immediate code review process but also long-term codebase understanding and team efficiency. As engineers join new teams or revisit legacy code, test plans become invaluable guides for understanding and validating past changes.

### Key Takeaways:

- **We use test plans to unlock team knowledge**: In large codebases, no one fully understands every part of the system. A clear test plan helps future engineers (and our future selves) grasp what a change does and why it was made.

- **We prioritize hotspots over ancient code**: When onboarding to a team, we focus on recent changes in active areas of the codebase—not the 1,000 untouched lines at the top. Test plans tied to recent diffs help us make sense of these hotspots quickly.

- **We support testability with repeatable artifacts**: Whether it’s a video, screenshot, or command-line script, we include a way to replicate and verify our changes. This ensures others can validate functionality easily and efficiently.

- **We aim for speed and clarity**: For front-end work, visual demos (videos or GIFs) help reviewers instantly see the impact. For backend or logic-heavy changes, unit tests and integration scripts are more scalable and maintainable.

- **We build infrastructure for long-term velocity**: Investing early in test infrastructure—like command-line test runners—makes it easier to validate changes quickly and helps teams move faster as the codebase grows.

Ultimately, we think of test plans not just as review aids, but as **living documentation** and a **key onboarding tool** for future engineers working in our code.

Don't Learn Code In This Way - How Software Engineers Waste Time

So many software engineers mess up when they're trying to learn code by bringing over a bad habit from school: Studying. This is simply not how software works, and this video's here to explain why.

Here are the core points:
- **Reading code and documentation is ineffective** - You can't purely read your way towards a good understanding of a codebase; it will get you 10-15% of the way tops. Software is fundamentally about doing - The actual learning begins when you jump in and start playing with the code. On top of all this, it's much better to get a high-level understanding of the codebase by asking your teammates for it instead of trying to infer it yourself from raw reading.
- **Documentation gets worse the better the company is** - Good software companies are fast-moving. This is a big reason why FAANG is successful: They are able to still move quickly despite their immense size. Because of this, documentation is rarely kept up to date due to how fast the codebase evolves. In fact, excessive reading of documentation may actively harm you if it contains legacy patterns that aren't accepted at your company anymore.

This clip is from our masterclass on how to succeed at a new team or company as a software engineer. You can watch it here: [[Masterclass] How To Succeed At A New Team Or Company As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/n384HdJuDgulSHbHQLnf/masterclass-how-to-succeed-at-a-new-team-or-company-as-a-software-engineer/)

So now that you know how NOT to learn a codebase, here's some resources on how to actually learn a codebase:
- [How To Learn A New Codebase Fast](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/DX27hiXPJ4G7Czk2mwLL/how-to-learn-a-new-codebase-fast/)
- [Learning A New Codebase? Here's How To Figure Out What Matters](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/dQXKZNqivtoByEHV9V17/learning-a-new-codebase-heres-how-to-figure-out-what-matters/)
- ["How can I learn a large codebase fast as an intern?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/F2rJZgdUBxdGZilFTR6k/how-can-i-learn-a-large-codebase-fast-as-an-intern/)

Why You Should Start Your Career At A Big Tech Company

- **There's no universal right answer to which company works best for you** - At the end of the day, you should figure out what you care about and what your goals are and work backwards from there. It's entirely possible that Big Tech isn't a good fit for you.
- However, in a vacuum, you should start your career at a Big Tech company if you can. The main reason is that Big Tech is generally quite good at adding a layer of consistency to your career.
- You will probably learn a lot about writing good, scalable code as these companies know how to build massive systems and hire smart people.
- Your compensation will be very competitive, making it easier to negotiate proper pay and level at future jobs.
- You will probably develop a decent suite of fundamental soft skills as you need to learn how to work with many stakeholders to succeed at Big Tech.

Course Introduction

In this opening session, Gilad Noor introduces the Essence of Management course, outlining what we’ll learn, how it’s structured, and what to expect. The focus is on practical, actionable lessons that help us become better managers.

- We’ll explore one core management lesson across **four modules**, combining theory with hands-on exercises to build real-world skills.
- The course begins with a look at the **individual contributor role** to set the foundation, then shifts to the core question: *What is a manager’s job—really?*
- Later modules help us **practice and apply** what we learn, and then explore how to take our management capabilities even further.
- Gilad brings his experience as an engineering manager at Meta, Amazon, and a clean tech startup, along with his work coaching over 100 managers.
- The course is designed to be **accessible, practical, and growth-oriented**, helping us avoid common mistakes and accelerate our impact as managers.

If you want to learn more from Gilad, he shares free leadership advice daily on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/giladnaor/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta) and weekly on the[ δeltas newsletter](https://posts.managementdeltas.com/?utm_source=taro&utm_medium=course&utm_campaign=cta)

Grow From Mid-Level To Senior Engineer [Part 4] - Structuring Your Growth

There are a **lot** of new skills you need to develop to go from mid-level engineer to senior engineer, far more than most people realize. So how does one process of all this? This lesson teaches you:

- The 4 Meta engineering axes and what they mean (we'll be using these to organize the teachings from the course).
- How to view the overall learning from this course
- Why the senior promotion is different when it comes to these 4 engineering axes
- The strategy you should follow to structure your growth journey, using this course's material as the basis

How To Figure Out If An Engineering Manager Is Good

This segment emphasizes how to make informed decisions when evaluating a potential team or engineering manager, especially in scenarios like internal transfers or team matching at large companies. Rather than relying solely on the perspectives of hiring managers, it's essential to dig deeper and gather honest insights.

- **Recognize incentive misalignment**: Engineering managers are incentivized to grow their team, so their portrayals may be overly positive. Rarely will a manager openly admit that a team has significant issues.
- **Talk to individual engineers**: Engineers, especially those who’ve been on the team for a while, tend to be more honest about both the strengths and challenges of the team. Speaking with two to three engineers—including the tech lead—can offer a well-rounded perspective.
- **Attend a team meeting if possible**: Observing how a team interacts in real-time reveals power dynamics. Red flags include a manager dominating the conversation or cutting off team members, indicating possible micromanagement.
- **Tap into your network**: For a broader view of the company or org, talk to trusted contacts about engineering culture and how managers are evaluated. These insights are rarely available through public sources.
- **Build long-term relationships for deeper intel**: Sensitive, nuanced feedback usually only surfaces when mutual trust exists. Superficial networking isn’t enough—invest in meaningful relationships to access the full truth about potential teams.

Asking Great Questions [Part 2] - There Are No Stupid Questions

All questions start off from a positive place: An intent to learn more about the world. What matters is how you move forward with that positive energy when executing your question. This lesson teaches you:

- Why there's no such thing as a stupid or dumb question
- Why software engineers need to ask a *ton* of questions in order to succeed
- How bad questions corrupt their initially positive core can weaken the reputation of the asker
- How good questions follow through on their initially positive core to maintain that positive energy and strengthen the reputation of the asker

Grow From Junior To Mid-Level Engineer [Part 2] - At A Glance: Junior Vs. Mid-Level

What exactly does it mean to be a junior engineer vs. a mid-level engineer? What's the gap? This lesson teaches you:

- What it means at a high-level to be a junior vs. a mid-level engineer
- The difference in execution between a junior engineer and a mid-level engineer
- The types of tasks junior engineers work on vs. a mid-level engineer
- The ownership and scope difference between a junior vs. a mid-level engineer
- The difference in organizational complexity between junior engineers and mid-level engineers

What's Changing With AI-Assisted Coding Interviews?

In this lesson we talk about the rise of AI-assisted coding interviews and how they are changing the technical interview landscape.

- **Understand the new AI-assisted coding interview format:** Learn how modern interviews place you in a lightweight codebase (not a blank file) with existing helper functions, tests, and to-dos—plus an integrated AI chat panel that can access and assist with your code.
- **Navigate increased problem complexity:** Explore how today’s interviews include more substantial starter code, realistic product requirements (e.g., time zones), and sometimes more advanced algorithms and data structures—reflecting real engineering work.
- **Collaborate effectively with AI while staying in control:** Discover best practices for using the built-in AI strategically, communicating your thinking clearly, and maintaining ownership of the solution in a rapidly evolving interview landscape.

How It Started with CosmicSoft

In this lesson, **Adam Ernst**, a software engineer at **Meta**, shares the remarkable story of how his journey into software development began long before his professional career. He reflects on founding **CosmicSoft**, a software company he started while still in middle school, where he built and sold an online testing application for teachers. Adam explains how beginner-friendly programming tools enabled him to create real software, how he sold his products online before modern payment platforms like Stripe existed, and the entrepreneurial lessons he learned from launching a business at such a young age.

- **A Passion for Programming Began Early:** Adam Ernst discovered his love for software development in middle school, using the programming language **Real Basic** to build an online testing application inspired by his mother's work as a teacher.
- **Launching CosmicSoft:** Adam successfully sold his software to customers around the world using early e-commerce tools, accepting both online credit card payments and mailed checks—an impressive entrepreneurial achievement for a middle school student.
- **Foundations of a Software Career:** Adam's experience highlights how curiosity, accessible development tools, and a willingness to solve real problems laid the foundation for the engineering career that eventually led him to Meta.

Original podcast link: [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA_OYJF3Mmw**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA_OYJF3Mmw)

3 Mistakes Too Many Software Engineers Make (from a Director at Airbnb)

As Head of Search Engineering at Airbnb, [Rachel Zhao](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelzhao/) has coached + mentored many engineers as they climb the ladder. She calls out 3 things NOT to do for software engineers: 

1. **Don't work too hard (for an extended period)** - This leads to burnout, which hampers both your health and your growth. Rachel regularly spends time reflecting and figure out what new skill/project she can take on. You can learn more about the importance of reflection when it comes to productivity in [our video here](https://link.jointaro.com/dXkvKXs4FfbK5V6h7).
2. **Don't say "I'm not learning enough"** - At the end of the day, the company hired you to do a job - Growth is more of a 2nd order priority for many companies. This means that you need to be proactive about owning your growth - Don't just expect your manager to hand you the perfect curriculum of projects to get to the next level. For in-depth advice on how to create that scope for yourself to get to the next level, check out [this in-depth Q&A advice](https://link.jointaro.com/bah6v7RFpnywVYyv9).
3. **Don't focus on the score, focus on the game** - In particular, don't focus too much on level and viewing others as competitors. Think about how your org functions and how you can add the most impact. Check out our in-depth advice on [how to view levels when it comes to your career](https://link.jointaro.com/JJBA5KSCLdoK9Sc39).

Tech Career Growth Videos

Our instructional videos provide software engineers with insights needed for career growth. Masterclasses go incredibly in-depth on a specific tech topic while case studies are real examples from established engineering leaders.