Asking Great Questions [Part 4] - Make Questions Your Superpower

Many engineers see asking questions as a sign of weakness, which is why they don't do it. What these engineers don't realize is that if you do it properly, asking questions can actually become your *strength*. This lesson teaches you:

- The different levels of skill when it comes to asking questions
- The *massive* career benefits you can get when your question asking skills are truly top-notch, particularly around mentorship
- How expertly crafted questions build up your trust and reputation

To learn more about how to attract the best tech mentors: ["How does one attract a sponsor who is invested in their growth?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/pRX7I8QC5YPOEDNX5q87/how-does-one-attract-a-sponsor-who-is-invested-in-their-growth/)

Asking Great Questions [Part 3] - The Key Behind Questions That Don't Suck

There are good questions, and there are bad questions. One of the main ways to thrive as a software engineer is quite simple: *Ask **good** questions*. So how do we do that? This lesson teaches you:

- The key concept behind asking a truly good question
- Why empathy is an engineering superpower in general
- The concrete way to identify a bad question
- The concrete way to identify a good question

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

Asking Great Questions [Part 1] - How This Course Works

As a software engineer, you need to learn fast, and in order to do this, you simply have to ask a *ton* of questions. This course is here to teach you how you can ask high quality questions that get you the answers you need while *increasing* your reputation among the team. Here are the core parts of the lesson:

- Your instructor [Alex Chiou](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-chiou/) walks you through his extensive 10+ year Silicon Valley background across top companies like Meta and Robinhood, explaining how he was able to raise new-grad Meta engineers \[E3\] all the way to high-performing tech leads \[E5, Greatly Exceeds Expectations\] in just 3 years

- You'll understand why asking questions is an art with a high skill ceiling, not a binary choice between *"Do I ask"* and *"Do I not ask?"*

- We walk you through the course objectives. By the end of the course, you will:

  - 🧠 Have the right **mentality** behind asking questions

  - 💡 Turn questions into a **strength**, not a weakness

  - ✨ Understand the difference between a **high-quality** question and a **low-quality** question

  - ⚙️ Ask stellar **technical** questions

  - 🙏 Ask for **favors** effectively

If you want to learn how Alex got his mentees promoted so quickly: [\[Case Study\] Mentoring Junior SWEs \[E3\] to Senior \[E5\] In Just 2.5 Years At Meta](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/EX9563YnxcJb62cCmetg/case-study-mentoring-junior-swes-e3-to-senior-e5-in-just-25-years-at-meta/)

Taro Book Club: The Pragmatic Programmer - Session 1

If you don't have a Taro Premium membership, you can get it with a discount with Bikram's special link here: [**https://www.jointaro.com/r/bikramk104/**](https://www.jointaro.com/r/bikramk104/)

In this #taro-bookclub discussion, we'll go over Chapter 1 of [**"The Pragmatic Programmer"**](https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatic-Programmer-Journeyman-Master/dp/020161622X) by Andrew Hund & David Thomas

Here's the agenda:

- It's Your Life
- The Cat Ate My Source Code
- Software Entropy
- Stone Soup and Boiled Frogs
- Good Enough Software
- Your Knowledge Portfolio
- communicate

Please send your questions ahead of time to [**Bikram Kashyap**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kashyapbikram/) in the [**Taro Premium**](https://www.jointaro.com/membership/) Slack, so that they can be included in the discussion. *If you don't have the book or want more details on how this all works, check out the #taro-bookclub channel in the Taro Premium Slack as well!*

Get ready for another engaging and informative session!

[Become A Go-To Person 18/18] More Resources

- A course by [Jordan Cutler](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancutler1/), Senior Software Engineer at Pinterest and Author of the [High Growth Engineer Newsletter](https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/)
- Discover more from Jordan across [videos, articles, and livestreams here](https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/p/resources-and-deals?open=false#%C2%A7find-me-in-other-media).
- Get a discount on Jordan's newsletter here: <https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/taro>

[Become A Go-To Person 17/18] Go Deeper: Follow Through

["Become an expert" template](https://jordancutler.notion.site/Become-an-expert-template-80b8a2dc2c7148bea01d2180adf1c9bb)

- A course by [Jordan Cutler](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancutler1/), Senior Software Engineer at Pinterest and Author of the [High Growth Engineer Newsletter](https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/)
- Get a discount on Jordan's newsletter here: <https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/taro>

[Become A Go-To Person 16/18] Recap

A course by [Jordan Cutler](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancutler1/), Senior Software Engineer at Pinterest and Author of the [High Growth Engineer Newsletter](https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/)

[Become A Go-To Person 15/18] - Other Ways To Build Expertise

[Become A Go-To Person 14/18] Give Presentations To Become An Expert

[Become A Go-To Person 13/18] Answer Questions To Become An Expert

[Become A Go-To Person 12/18] Lead Projects To Become An Expert

[Become A Go-To Person 11/18] Exactly What To Do - Be Visible

[Become A Go-To Person 10/18] Expert Formula Exercise

["Become an expert" template](https://jordancutler.notion.site/Become-an-expert-template-80b8a2dc2c7148bea01d2180adf1c9bb)

A course by [Jordan Cutler](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancutler1/), Senior Software Engineer at Pinterest and Author of the [High Growth Engineer Newsletter](https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/)

[Become A Go-To Person 9/18] The Formula For Expertise

[Become A Go-To Person 8/18] Other Ways To Develop Exptertise

[Become A Go-To Person 7/18] How Expertise Translates To Influence

[Become A Go-To Person 6/18] Become The Product Expert

[Become A Go-To Person 5/18] Become The Technical Expert

[Become A Go-To Person 4/18] The Benefits Of Being The Go-To Person

A course by [Jordan Cutler](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancutler1/), Senior Software Engineer at Pinterest and Author of the [High Growth Engineer Newsletter](https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/)

Get a discount on Jordan's newsletter here: <https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/taro>

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.