Grow From Senior To Staff Engineer [Part 5] - Finding The Right Team

As a senior engineer, you can work hard and do everything right and still not have a real case to get promoted to staff engineer. This lesson teaches you:

- Why certain teams are far better for a staff engineer promotion than others
- What you need on a team from a seniority perspective to get to staff
- Why it's important for a team to have engineers more junior than you to grow to staff

[Case Study] Maximizing SWE Growth: Ownership and Specialization At Startups

**Huge** thanks to [Henry Prior](https://www.linkedin.com/in/henryprior/) for joining us and sharing his perspective and insights!

This was a *massive* session, so here are just some of the highlights:
- **Henry's core learning**: Bias towards action. You aren't really going to truly understand what is and what isn't fruitful to you until you just start trying things.
- **Story #1** - At his first startup job, Henry found a project to upgrade from Tensorflow 1 to 2. This ended up moving the metric he cared about, but he found out later that the business impact wasn't great. The company's clients were non-technical and didn't really care about the company's model being ultra-accurate.
- **Story #2** - Found a reinforcement learning project at his next company where he did all the modeling on his own and worked closely with an infra engineer to ship. The work was very complex and had huge impact, saving ~25 hours per week in Data Scientist cycles. He got massive recognition from the company, and this project was a big part of his move to senior.
- You have a lot of autonomy in early stage startups. Take advantage of this and actively look for large problems to solve, doing so as early as the interview process. It's not like Big Tech where you are generally given a good amount of direction on what to do (at least until you get to staff).
- *It's in your best interest to be completely authentic when interviewing with a startup.* It's not like Big Tech where you're putting on a facade to meet their interview requirements. A startup might not be the right for you due to a lack of work in your interest area: Big Tech in contrast has a little bit of everything.
- *If you're going to get into machine learning, you should understand the underlying math first.* This puts you in a much better position to work on the modeling part of ML vs. the more tertiary tasks like data wrangling. The math is a combination of probability/statistics, linear algebra, and calculus.
- **You can't study your way to being good at system design.** Resources like books and blog posts help, but system design is something you very much have to get good at by doing. Instead of just leaping into the code, start planning out your tasks and doing technical writing. From there, share your material with your team and get feedback.

Related resources:
- ["What's the difference between Big Tech and startups in terms of learning and growth?"](https://link.jointaro.com/yzWgzTF4WFzfXjS29)
- ["Does it make sense for me to choose a specialization like ML? If so, what's the impact?"](https://link.jointaro.com/jV34Jz7cJqQv2MpD8)

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 20] - Just Jump In

If there's one thing software engineers love to do, it's prepare. They'll read and watch and listen to countless resources in order to get "ready" to tackle their meaty technical challenges. This lesson teaches you:

- Why "preparing" to do a task is basically the same as doing nothing
- The right mentality you must have to tackle any software engineering task efficiently, going away from the mindset that got you through school
- How to effectively dive into a task and get it done fast

Becoming A Legendary Meta Coder: The Story of the First E7 Code Machine

There are many complex ways [**to get to staff and beyond**](https://www.jointaro.com/course/grow-from-senior-to-staff-engineer-l5-to-l6/why-have-archetypes/), but one of them is actually quite straightforward (at least at Meta): *Just write more code than everyone else by a **staggering** amount.*

That's exactly what [**Michael Novati**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelnovati/) did to get to Staff \[E6\] at Meta and eventually Senior Staff \[E7\]. Since Michael was early Facebook, there actually wasn't a Staff Engineer archetype at the time to capture the way he was adding immense value to the company. So they added it! Thanks to Michael, there is now a formal "Code Machine" archetype in the official Meta internal wiki.

Michael will be breaking down:

- His story about how he became Meta's first incredibly senior "Code Machine" engineer
- The most impactful projects he worked on
- How he managed his time effectively to write so many diffs.

At the end, we'll have time for Q&A where you can ask Michael questions about topics like:

- How he grew so quickly and crafted such an extraordinary career
- What the early days at Meta were like
- Different ways to create a unique brand for yourself, your work, and your career

If you need extra help breaking into top tech companies like FAANG, [**Formation.dev**](http://Formation.dev) is here to provide you hands-on, personalized support. Join Michael and the rest of the awesome team at Formation here: [**https://formation.dev/partners/taro**](https://formation.dev/partners/taro)

David Pan's Career Journey - Becoming An Engineering Manager

In this lesson we talk about David Pan's unexpected transition from Product Manager to Engineering Manager at Amazon and the career insights that came from embracing an unplanned opportunity.

- **Sometimes crisis creates opportunity** — when David's engineering manager partner on the Kindle Fire project had to step back for health reasons just months before launch, David stepped up to do double duty as both PM and EM, which ultimately led to his manager offering him the permanent engineering leadership role.
- **The best opportunities often don't look like your plan** — despite his doubts about technical credibility, introversion, and fear of derailing his PM career path, David took the risk and discovered a fulfilling 10+ year engineering leadership trajectory spanning Amazon, Twitter, and Mixpanel (eventually becoming VP of Engineering).
- **Don't think too rigidly about career progression** — the most valuable opportunities often emerge from what the company needs right now rather than your predetermined roadmap; embracing these unplanned moments leads to growth and earns you the support of those around you.

Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech [Part 21] - Go Deeper: Follow Through

Related courses:

- [Effective Communication For Engineers](https://www.jointaro.com/course/effective-communication-for-engineers/)
- [Ask Great Questions That Get Great Answers Quickly](https://www.jointaro.com/course/ask-great-questions-that-get-great-answers-quickly/)

One Of The Biggest Tech Career Killers: Not Being Truly Great With Feedback

Feedback is the primary fuel for you to improve. Despite this, most engineers (and most people in general) are far worse at taking feedback than they think they are.

Here are the core points from the video:
- **Be very appreciative of your manager's feedback** - Your manager is the main source of feedback for you (it's literally their job). Your goal is to create a virtuous cycle where your manager wants to keep giving you feedback as you make the experience smooth.
- **Be accepting of non-perfect feedback** - It is very rare for feedback to be 100% accurate. Search hard for a kernel of truth in the feedback, and if you can find it, you should cherish that overall feedback.
- **Be extremely careful being defensive** - This is a 1-way door. Sharing feedback is awkward. If your response to getting feedback is to make the situation weird and be the slightest bit defensive, that person will likely never give you feedback ever again.
- **Ingesting feedback has a high skill ceiling** - It's way, way, way higher than almost everybody thinks. The most talented engineer Alex ever worked with got promoted from E3 new-grad to E6 (Staff) at Meta in less than 3 years. One of the main reasons behind that stellar growth trajectory is that they were able to process feedback extremely efficiently, almost always implementing it the week after they got it.

Related resources:
- ["Can someone elaborate on "always treating feedback as a gift"?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/4DoEnMIq2ISadfAJuwp9/can-someone-elaborate-on-always-treating-feedback-as-a-gift/)
- [[Taro Top 10] Software Engineer To Engineering Manager (IC -> M Track)](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/oz0mnJvHHgM8NfVF7rgp/)
- [[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/)

20 Years Of Fighting Procrastination [Part 9] - Say FU (Focus Uninterrupted) To Meetings

Sitting through too many meetings can quietly kill productivity. This video offers a framework for reclaiming your time and focusing on deep work. Here are the core points from the lesson:

- One time in Rahul's past, there was very senior Facebook engineer boosted output and morale by declaring “meeting bankruptcy” and skipping all meetings for a month to focus on heads-down coding
- Most meetings aren’t necessary—test their value by asking if they make you more effective and whether the same information could be shared asynchronously
- As you get familiar with your company’s culture, work with your manager to trim or redesign meetings that don’t drive impact, especially recurring ones

[Part 6] Meta Intern Success Series - How Most Interns Fail

Here are the common ways software engineer interns at Meta fail:
- **Misalignment of expectations**: Make sure that you're getting feedback regularly from your intern manager (IM) and ask every 2-3 weeks for a honest, real take on how you're trending. Don't wait until mid-cycle for real feedback!
- **Doesn't take feedback well**: Remember, feedback is a gift. Respond to it gracefully and quickly; treat every piece of feedback with urgency. As a software engineer intern, you barely know anything (which is expected): If you get constructive criticism, there is a 99% chance that it is correct.
- **Writes sloppy code**: Volume is straightforward and not that special - Most interns know how to write a lot of code from school. The point of your internship is mostly to teach you how to write good, clean, production-level code. Make sure your diffs are thoughtful, focused, and atomic with thorough context sections and test plans.
- **Sphere of influence is too small**: Don't only rely on your IM; you need to have 2-3 other peers to vouch for you in final calibrations. It can be comfortable asking your IM for help on everything, but you have to diversify: Make sure that you also ask other peers for help and to review your diffs. Consider having a recurring 1:1 (once every 3-4 weeks) with your non-IM peers.

Become An Open Source Master [Part 6] - The Right Reason To Do Open Source

The video emphasizes that we should approach open source with the right motivations, focusing on the long-term benefits rather than seeking quick career gains.

- **It's not a shortcut to a job:** Open source requires dedication and time; it's not a quick fix for career advancement.
- **Authentic contributions matter:** Open source work is transparent, showcasing your genuine skills and passion to potential employers.
- **Patience is key:** It takes time to learn, contribute meaningfully, and build relationships in the open source community.
- **Focus on the right reasons:** The primary benefits include making an impact, learning and growing, joining a community, and demonstrating your passion for building.
- **Embrace the challenge:** Navigating large, complex projects and overcoming obstacles in open source can develop valuable professional skills applicable to any work environment.

Connect with James: 

- GitHub: <https://github.com/jamesgpearce>
- Twitter (X): <https://twitter.com/jamespearce>

Becoming Senior Staff IC7 at Microsoft

In this lesson, Philip reflects on his rapid career progression at Microsoft and the factors he believes contributed most to his growth as an engineer. He discusses the value of working alongside exceptionally talented colleagues and mentors, deliberately accumulating experience early in your career, and the role that hard work can play in accelerating professional development.

- **Career growth is a combination of luck, talent, and hard work.** While some factors are outside your control, putting yourself in strong environments and learning from exceptional people can accelerate your development.
- **More experience can compress the learning curve.** Taking on a high volume of meaningful work early in your career can expose you to situations and problems that might otherwise take years to encounter.
- **Hard work has diminishing returns—and real trade-offs.** Longer hours may increase total output and experience, but each additional hour can become less productive, and career acceleration can come at the expense of health, relationships, and balance.

Original podcast link: [**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2JxdjTi_1I**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2JxdjTi_1I)

Break Into Tech And Become A Software Engineer [Part 8] - It's All About Time Management

In this lesson, Brian addresses the challenge of finding time to code amidst a busy life, offering practical strategies for better time management.

This lesson covers:

- Identifying time-wasting activities and making sacrifices, like cutting back on social media or entertainment, to create more time for learning
- Planning the most important task of the day the night before and waking up 30-45 minutes earlier to focus on it without distractions
- Working in short, productive sprints to maximize efficiency and avoid burnout

If you need extra help breaking into tech, join Brian's exclusive, cohort-based bootcamp (just 10 students per batch). Use this special link for $800 off: <https://www.parsity.io/taro>

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjenney/>

DSA Prep Is One Of The Highest ROI Activities On Earth

If you do a good job studying for your data structures and algorithms interview, you can set yourself up financially for the next few years.

Related resources:
- [[Taro Top 10] Effective Interview Prep](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/HLBYxJI7D1j8STolrwum/)
- [[Taro Top 10] Finding A Tech Job](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/E6R0wVJ5EyCfVnVrlfno/)

Handling a PIP: The Ultimate Guide To Navigating A PIP

There are two options after a PIP: either the employee will remove all the doubts about the performance concern, or the employee will be terminated.

Your job as an employee is to judge your manager’s intentions. Your manager is the most important person in the PIP, and more generally, in your career. Many managers view the PIP as a formality before termination, and they’ve already given up on you. In that case, **you need to leave.** You don’t win any bonus points by "proving them wrong."

If the manager is responsive to your questions, provides constant feedback, and has a reasonable PIP plan, you may have a chance to succeed.

However, in the vast majority of cases, our recommendation is that you **must start looking for a** **new job.**

The biggest reason a PIP is not worth fighting is because **you want to work for people who believe in you**. This is critical for career success: you need someone who is unfailingly supportive of you, whether that's a friend, mentor, or manager. A PIP does not feel like support. In fact, it feels like the opposite. Your manager felt your performance was weak enough that they literally spent hours documenting how you fell behind, and then informed you in a legal manner.

The joke is that PIP should stand for “Paid Interview Period”, and that is honestly our recommendation for many tech workers who receive a PIP.

Here is the **PIP Evaluation Framework** in order to make the best decision once you’ve received the PIP. If 1+ of the following are true, you should **not** plan to have a long-term future at your current company.

- Your manager is uncommunicative or closed off
- The time horizon for the assigned work on the PIP is unrealistic (e.g. 1 week for a launch)
- The goalposts for the projects keep shifting
- The PIP work and your “normal duties” result in an unmanageable workload
- Your team is unsupportive

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 31] - Scout Online

It's the classic question: What can I expect for the interview for X company? Well, chances are that you aren't doing enough to find information online. This lesson teaches you:

- Why your Big Tech interview should never be a complete surprise
- The various big online sources of interview information, organized by quality
- How you should organize online interview information to extract the best insights and optimize your interview preparation

To build up your network to get insider interview advice, follow our masterclass: [\[Masterclass\] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/nvsMxZ9ZGIjlyaZbWqYS/)

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 32] - Understanding Startup Interviews

A huge portion of software engineers will be unable to get into Big Tech on their first try, and that's completely okay! The good news is that startups are quite awesome and can often lead to better career growth compared to FAANG. This lesson teaches you:

- The general perspective of startups when it comes to hiring software engineers
- Which interview types are more common for startups and why
- Which interview types are less common for startups and why

To dive deeper into acing startup interviews: ["How to prep for interviews at a startup?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/iNwnJg9G2DCXrLFdIwmV/how-to-prep-for-interviews-at-a-startup/)

15 SWE Years In 1.5 Hours [Part 17] - Promotion

Of course, you can switch jobs to progress your career, [but you will eventually hit a wall](https://www.jointaro.com/course/nail-your-promotion-as-a-software-engineer/you-cant-job-hop-to-success/). At the end of the day, you need to get promoted to have a meaningful long-term, professional trajectory. This lesson teaches you:

- Why working harder isn't enough to get you promoted
- The key to understanding how promotion works, particularly at top companies like FAANG
- How you need to evolve your behavior to reach senior levels and beyond

To dive deeper into getting promoted faster as an engineer, take our course here: [Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/nail-your-promotion-as-a-software-engineer/)

Conclusion: The Ultimate Guide To Navigating A PIP

Thanks for being part of this course! Here are the main takeaways:

- A PIP **does not** mean your career is over
- Make it easy to receive feedback
- You should (probably) start looking for a new job
- Don’t over-share information
- Discussions:
  - [I have been put in PIP. What should I do?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/i2RqeCiAQJ04eU1rp0eQ/i-have-been-put-in-pip-what-should-i-do/)

  - [Bouncing back after termination](https://www.jointaro.com/question/iDARmEmqYKlCIhzKIMNh/bouncing-back-after-termination-what-can-i-do-to-move-forward/)

  - [Advice on PIP with unsupportive team?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/93GBTJ73ayNLPY0sLuHz/advice-on-pip-with-unsupportive-team/)

15 SWE Years In 1.5 Hours [Part 6] - Networking

Your network is your net worth. Too many software engineers neglect their social skills as they solely build up their technical skills. This lesson teaches you:

- Why networking isn't just "politics"
- The key to effective networking
- How altruism can produce massive career benefits, explained with a powerful, real-life example

DSA Crash Course [Part 71] - Sum Possible Approach

In this lesson, Alvin explores the strategy to solving the following interview problem:

> Write a function *sum_possible* that takes in an amount and a list of positive numbers. The function should return a boolean indicating whether or not it is possible to create the amount by summing numbers of the list. You may reuse numbers of the list as many times as necessary.
>
> You may assume that the target amount is non-negative.

```
sum_possible(8, [5, 12, 4]) # -> True, 4 + 4
```

```
sum_possible(15, [6, 2, 10, 19]) # -> False
```

```
sum_possible(13, [6, 2, 1]) # -> True
```

```
sum_possible(103, [6, 20, 1]) # -> True
```

If you need additional support taking these DSA skills and actually applying them, take [**Alvin's**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/) *complete* data structures and algorithms course on [**Structy**](https://structy.net/?utm_source=taro). You can try out the concepts yourself in their interactive code editor and learn advanced DSA patterns like stack exhaustive recursion.

Use [**this link to get 20% off**](https://structy.net/purchase?promo_code=taro20) the entire Structy DSA learning experience.

Follow Alvin on LinkedIn: [**https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/)

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.