Become A Debugging Master [Part 9] - Understand The End-To-End Flow

Most engineers waste time guessing at random fixes instead of methodically understanding the flow of what’s actually happening. Here are the core points from the lesson:

- Before you fix a bug, deeply understand the end-to-end flow, the intended behavior, and where reality deviates
- Avoid “blind fixes”—randomly adding things like null checks without fully identifying the root cause leads to fragile software
- Break down the system into smaller steps, narrow down the problem area through a process of elimination, and ask better questions based on where things fail
- Understand which components are involved, how they communicate, and what data formats they expect to quickly spot mismatches or errors
- Strong debuggers act like detectives: they map out the flow precisely, isolate the problem, and only fix after gaining clarity on why things broke

Grow From Junior To Mid-Level Engineer [Part 16] - Show Your Work

It's not enough to do the work - You also need to do the work to get full credit for it. This lesson teaches you:

- The 2 big components behind showing your work properly
- The differences between junior engineers and mid-level engineers when it comes to showing their work
- How mid-level engineers give far more effective status updates compared to junior engineers, explained with an in-depth example

Learn how to write an excellent project update post here: ["How to get more visibility on work?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/XA0X51AypDLCeVeleJv4/how-to-get-more-visibility-on-work/)

Tech Lead Blueprint 7/17 - Team Productivity

Connect with Lalit on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalitkundu/>

Clear Communication For SWEs [Part 5] - Structuring Your Thoughts Logically

In this video, I delve into the significance of logical structuring in communication. I discuss how organizing thoughts logically enhances clarity, persuasiveness, and aids in memory retention. Crafting a clear outline before communication and using different speaking frameworks are highlighted as key techniques. No action requested, just valuable insights shared.

Connect with me on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-wiens/>

Grow From Senior To Staff Engineer [Part 16] - Specialist

When you grow your junior to senior, it's best to [pick something, focus on it, and go deep](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/wUl3hc2wr1ms493bd23b/this-is-how-software-engineers-should-initially-learn/?playlistId=iBKHYpkjd0BRWWLKQG2j). You can actually continue this trajectory all the way to staff. This lesson teaches you:

- What the specialist staff engineer archetype is
- What it takes for a technical domain to be worthy of staff scope
- Examples of staff-level specialist domains

DSA Crash Course [Part 75] - Count Paths Approach

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

> Write a function, *count_paths*, that takes in a grid as an argument. In the grid, 'X' represents walls and 'O' represents open spaces. You may only move down or to the right and cannot pass through walls. The function should return the number of ways possible to travel from the top-left corner of the grid to the bottom-right corner.

```
grid = [
["O", "O"],
["O", "O"],
]

count_paths(grid) # -> 2
```

```
grid = [
["O", "O", "X"],
["O", "O", "O"],
["O", "O", "O"],
]

count_paths(grid) # -> 5
```

```
grid = [
["O", "O", "O"],
["O", "O", "X"],
["O", "O", "O"],
]

count_paths(grid) # -> 3
```

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/)

DSA Crash Course [Part 61] - Shortest Path Approach

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

> Write a function, *shortest_path*, that takes in a list of edges for an undirected graph and two nodes (\*node_A\*, *node_B*). The function should return the length of the shortest path between *A* and *B*. Consider the length as the number of edges in the path, not the number of nodes. If there is no path between *A* and *B*, then return -1. You can assume that *A* and *B* exist as nodes in the graph.

```
edges = [
['w', 'x'],
['x', 'y'],
['z', 'y'],
['z', 'v'],
['w', 'v']
]

shortest_path(edges, 'w', 'z') # -> 2
```

```
edges = [
['w', 'x'],
['x', 'y'],
['z', 'y'],
['z', 'v'],
['w', 'v']
]

shortest_path(edges, 'y', 'x') # -> 1
```

```
edges = [
['a', 'c'],
['a', 'b'],
['c', 'b'],
['c', 'd'],
['b', 'd'],
['e', 'd'],
['g', 'f']
]

shortest_path(edges, 'a', 'e') # -> 3
```

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/)

Become An Open Source Master [Part 16] - Understand The Basics

We need to learn the codebase of a new open source project to contribute effectively. It's important to understand the bigger picture instead of focusing on every single line of code. Some questions worth asking when approaching a new codebase are: what is the purpose of the code, what are the opinions of the developers, and how is the code structured?

Connect with James:

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

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 9] - It's All About The Team

The best tech leads are selfless, not selfish. But what exactly does that mean? This lesson teaches you:

- The proper mindset to have as a tech **lead**
- A simple mental model to understand your overall goal as a tech leader
- How to divide up work as a tech lead
- What sort of tasks you should take on within a project as a tech lead

Reactions After A PIP: The Ultimate Guide To Navigating A PIP

If you received a PIP, be ok with a flood of emotion. Anger, sadness, and humiliation are normal, and you should give yourself at **least half a day** simply to process. Don’t take any action erratically. 

Once you’ve had time to process, confide in a mentor or trusted friend. Online communities like Taro can help you feel less lonely. You should **not** over-share this information with your colleagues. There is a negative bias associated with a PIP, so sharing the news with people who don’t truly care about you may end up backfiring. 

Do ✅:

- Confide in a mentor or trusted friend
- Find a community (like Taro!)

Don't ❌:

- Act from a place of emotional instability
- Over-share with colleagues

A PIP is not entirely your fault, but it's also not entirely your company's fault. Do some honest reflection about what has been working and what has not.

Some recipients of a PIP are (understandably) outraged and want to take take legal action. In theory, you could sue the company, but in practice is almost never recommended. Given that employment is “at-will”, you’ll need ot clear a very high bar to show that you were unlawfully targeted to be let go or put on a PIP. In addition, to collect evidence of unfair treatment which could take dozens of hours, there’s also a high cost associated with finding legal assistance. Ou recommendation is to focus your energy on the next career move, where you can work with people that value you, rather than focusing on an unfortunate job that will soon be in your past.

Asking Great Questions [Part 15] - RFC Pull Requests

As a software engineer, you're inevitably going to have to ask a lot of questions about your code. This lesson teaches you:

- A natural tactic you can use to share code context with engineers you want to help you
- What a quality RFC pull request looks like, shown with an in-depth GitHub example
- Why pull requests are so powerful and organic when it comes to attaching technical context 

Level up your code quality here: [\[Course\] Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/)

DSA Crash Course [Part 56] - Undirected Path Walkthrough

In this lesson, Alvin walks through the python implementation for the *undirected_path* problem.

Code along and test your work in the following editor workspace: <https://structy.net/problems/undirected-path?language=py>

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/)

Did You Just Get Laid Off? This Is How You Should Think About It

Getting laid off is rough and a huge blow to your mental state. This video covers how to have the proper mentality if you are laid off, so you can bounce back.

Here are the core points:
- **Being laid off is not a reflection of who you are** - Who gets cuts in a mass layoff is effectively random, and incredible software engineers will get hit by them all the time. *There is absolutely nothing wrong with you if you get laid off.* Don't let some out-of-touch tech executive's bad decision determine your self-worth.
- **You *will* recover** - This is especially true in the tech industry where severance packages tend to be quite competitive, even generous. Use the time to really process what happened, find peace, and figure out your next move. The silver lining of being laid off is that the door has started opening to your next opportunity: You just need to walk through it.

Related resources:
- ["Aftermath of layoffs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/7Gav09HFuLlGDlM749UY/aftermath-of-layoffs/)
- ["How open should we be to recruiters about employment status?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/Lo8W7fMRFbcwUQ9WyTVF/how-open-should-we-be-to-recruiters-about-employment-status/)

Come Up With 500k+ User Project Ideas [Part 9] - Single Player vs. Multiplayer

The most successful apps are those where users interact with other users - Facebook, Uber, and Airbnb are just a few. However, this model doesn't translate well to side projects. This lesson teaches you:

- The difference between a single-player product and a multi-player product
- Why multi-player products are both insanely hard to get off the ground and a recipe for disaster
- Why your side project really should be a single-player products
- The brutal chicken-and-egg problem multiplayer products must solve initially, shown with a concrete example from Alex's past

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 15] - Unite The Non-Engineers (XFN)

One of the most common traps engineers fall into is only caring about other engineers and engineering work. You cannot make this mistake as a tech lead. This lesson teaches you:

- The core non-engineering relationship you need to maintain in order to effectively lead projects
- Other examples of non-engineering (XFN, cross-functional) relationships to maintain
- Why earning trust across several organizational functions is so important for your role as a tech lead

Asking Great Questions [Part 11] - Avoid Question Ping Pong

If you want better answers faster on your question, the goal is simple: *Make it dead simple to answer your question*. But how do we do that? This lesson teaches you:

- A simple mental framework you can apply to your question to understand if it's good
- What a bad question looks like when it violates that mental framework
- How to use that mental framework to determine the quality of a question

Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer [Part 28] - This Might Not Be Enough

So many software engineers feel unfairly treated when it comes to their promotion, being stuck at the same level forever. And here's the thing - A lot of them are right! This lesson teaches you:

- The right mentality to have when it comes to deciding between doubling down and jumping ship
- The large career cost of switching teams, especially if you are changing companies in the process
- A framework to use when figuring out whether you should give up and change teams or continue plodding on and fighting for that promotion

Staff Engineer (L6) Describes Most Important Skill - Sammy Nguyen

Sammy is a Staff Engineer (E6) at Gusto.

- **Most important skill**: level up and unblock your team. At the Staff level, you need to have multiplicative impact on the team, which means making your teammates better.
- **Advice**: talk to people and learn about the problems. This is how you learn about the organization and land enough impact.

Here's the full playlist asking engineers what the most important skill is for their level: [Asking 7 Levels Of Engineers The Most Important Skill](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/J9Io5lDGaYUpI8vGrUyI/)

Helpful links:
- [The Journey to Staff Engineer In Big Tech (Panel Discussion)](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/SaYyJGLYvrAy4XGrDhy7/the-journey-to-staff-engineer-in-big-tech-panel-discussion/)
- Taro's top 10 to get promoted from [mid-level to senior engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/AUMiBTvYUv0gcOzuu26V/)
- Taro's top 10 to get promoted from [senior to staff engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/YD8LMCSlE71VUGUbNAWM/)
- [David Pan on what makes a great tech lead](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/uHqZZ15SK19MatEvLSO6/what-makes-a-truly-great-tech-lead-a-vp-of-engineerings-perspective/)
- [Sammy on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-nguyen-43519023/)

Signs Of A Bad Engineering Manager: Reactive vs. Proactive

This segment emphasizes the importance of proactive leadership in engineering management and critiques the pitfalls of reactive behavior. It explores how great managers shield their teams from chaos, plan strategically, and take ownership rather than deflecting blame.

- **Proactive management reduces team thrash**: A strong engineering manager provides stability by creating clear plans and resisting frequent directional changes, which reduces mental fatigue and improves execution.
- **Poor planning leads to unrealistic deadlines**: Reactive managers often fail to properly estimate scope, ignore hiring timelines, and overlook time off or unforeseen absences—resulting in last-minute pressure on the team.
- **Deadline stress is often preventable**: Many deadline issues stem from a lack of foresight rather than actual resource scarcity. Better forecasting and preparation can avoid overburdening engineers.
- **Accountability is critical**: Managers who shift blame to upper leadership while ignoring their own responsibility to protect the team demonstrate weak leadership. Managers are expected to advocate for their team’s bandwidth and well-being.
- **Good managers don't just "pass down" orders**: While managers may not control strategic directives from above, they are responsible for how those directives affect their teams—and they should take action to manage that impact effectively.

Engineer Your Ideal Tech Career [Part 8] - What Stage Of Company?

In this video, we walk through common traits among different company sizes and also how they differ vastly. We also talk through a key mistake many engineers make when thinking about company size and stage.

Depending on how you like to work, the idea of which company size you want to shoot for should become more clear.

This video covers three main company types:

- Start-up
- Growth stage
- Large company

Looking for mentorship from tech’s top engineers + personalized job hunt assistance and interview prep? [Formation.dev](http://Formation.dev) can provide you unlimited career coaching, technical mentorship, personalized practice, and mock interviews. Join us here: <https://formation.dev/partners/taro>

Worksheet: [Formation - Coding Your Career](https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/tech-career-growth.appspot.com/o/courses%2Fslides%2FFormation%20Career%20Direction%20Worksheet.pdf?alt=media&token=f6344b78-529a-411e-a449-7a34a8d55fc8)

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.