Engineer Your Ideal Tech Career [Part 16] - Specialization

Now, depending on which specialization you’ve landed on, your near-term next steps and interview expectations also vary.

In your current role, the advice may be to start shipping easter eggs, optimizing for teams with grand scale, or rapidly learning new technologies.

Should you be thinking about a change soon, there are also actionable interview prep tips, particularly around system design, (and mistakes to avoid!) in this section.

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)

Asking Great Questions [Part 10] - Put Yourself On The Line

When you ask a question, you are asking some human(s) out there to spend some time providing you with an answer. To make this process go better, you must do everything you can to prevent the interaction from being one-sided in the wrong direction. This lesson teaches you:

- How to swap the time dynamics behind a question in your favor
- What it looks like to offer your time within a question, explained with an in-depth example
- When and how to take the more extreme route of offering synchronous time, explained with an in-depth example

DSA Crash Course [Part 72] - Sum Possible Walkthrough

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

Code along and test your work in the following editor workspace: <https://structy.net/problems/sum-possible?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/)

Break Into Tech And Become A Software Engineer [Part 9] - Working In Sprints

In this lesson, Brian explains the value of working in sprints to manage large projects and goals, breaking them down into manageable tasks to maintain focus and track progress.

This lesson covers:

- The concept of sprints in software development, how to decompose large goals into smaller tasks, and making incremental progress toward them
- Using tools like Trello or notebooks to organize tasks, set deadlines, and track success with clear deliverables and realistic time estimates
- The importance of having a clear goal for each task and recalibrating your approach when necessary to stay on track

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/>

Negotiation Course: Help Us Help You

Congratulations, you made it to the end of the course, **The Insider's Guide To Negotiating Your Tech Salary And Compensation**! Here are the major takeaways we covered: 

- Negotiation is extremely high leverage
- Negotiate the whole compensation package
- Don’t share information that can hurt you (e.g. salary)
- Negotiate when you have an offer

If you're isolated, you're much more likely to be taken advantage of. The antidote is to engage with the community. Then we can anonymously share your feedback and result to benefit everyone. Together, we'll all succeed 😇

If you netted a meaningful compensation delta from this course ($10K), I'd love to hear from you! Email me at [rahul@jointaro.com](mailto:rahul@jointaro.com). 

Next steps:

- Share + get support: [**joinTaro.com/questions/create/**](http://joinTaro.com/questions/create/)
  - 🧠 Get 10x better advice than anything on Blind or Reddit
- Find community: [**joinTaro.com/events/**](http://joinTaro.com/events/)
  - 🧑‍🏫 Join me for Group Office Hours!

Send me feedback at [**team+negotiation@jointaro.com**](mailto:team+negotiation@jointaro.com)

Come Up With 500k+ User Project Ideas [Part 10] - Keep The Stakes Low

Every piece of software inevitably breaks. This is incredibly important to remember when it comes to side projects. This lesson teaches you:

- Why side projects are especially vulnerable to production issues
- Why you want the stakes for your side project to be low
- What it means to have high stakes vs. low stakes with a product, explained with a concrete example

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 10] - Be An Excellent Communicator

One way to envision your role as a tech lead is that you're the "glue" that holds the team together. The core way that glue manifests is through your communication. This lesson teaches you:

- Why excellent communication is vital towards "conducting the orchestra"
- How to communicate empathetically
- How to communicate clearly
- The right amount to communicate (it's often higher than you think)

Turn yourself into a communication master with our course: [\[Course\] Effective Communication For Engineers](https://www.jointaro.com/course/effective-communication-for-engineers/)

DSA Crash Course [Part 60] - Largest Component Walkthrough

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

Code along and test your work in the following editor workspace: <https://structy.net/problems/largest-component?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/)

DSA Crash Course [Part 66] - Minimum Island Walkthrough

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

Code along and test your work in the following editor workspace: <https://structy.net/problems/minimum-island?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/)

DSA Crash Course [Part 64] - Island Count Walkthrough

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

Code along and test your work in the following editor workspace: <https://structy.net/problems/island-count?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/)

Why IN PERSON Meetings Are Important for Building Culture


  How can you build relationships and team culture in a hybrid or remote team? 

Unfortunately, the physical connection you get from being in an office is much harder to emulate online. If you are in a remote environment, having some sort of in-person meetup can create a substantially healthier and bonded team.

Philip also talks about how to best evaluate a company culture: talking to senior individual contributors (ICs). Managers may provide less value since they have something to sell.

More to explore: 
- Our masterclass on [How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://link.jointaro.com/MvHfGDSzxwboGqBB8)
- [Why Slack Sucks for Team Communication](https://link.jointaro.com/JmHCagUPAFPSCtt99)
- Connect with [Philip Su](https://www.linkedin.com/in/suphilip/) 

What Rockstar Engineers Realize About Managers That Others Don't

- Don't view your manager as just a boss. It's true that they have authority over you, but they are *also a resource for you*.
- This means that there's also a burden on you to find out how your manager can best support and empower you.
  - What skills do you want to grow?
  - Which projects are on their top of mind and therefore have the great impact?
- This working model is best for everyone. You are essentially finding out how you can be the most effective and impactful report for your manager as possible. Your manager gets a more empowered and efficient team, and you get career growth.

Grow From Senior To Staff Engineer [Part 17] - Fixer

While many software engineers see bugs as a source of frustration holding back their roadmap work, there is a certain group of staff engineers who view them the opposite way. This lesson teaches you:

- What the fixer staff engineer archetype is
- The "gap filler" style of fixer
- The "discoverer" style of fixer and why it's so impactful and well supported at Big Tech companies
- How to become a fixer staff engineer

Level up your debugging skills with this: [\[Masterclass\] How To Become A Debugging Master And Fix Issues Faster](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/ioR6WzamAIUTpySLAr7o/masterclass-how-to-become-a-debugging-master-and-fix-issues-faster/)

Principal Engineer (L8) Describes Most Important Skill - Pong Eksombatchai

Pong is a Principal Engineer at Pinterest.

- **Most important skill**: technical communication. As a Principal Engineer, you can't have sufficient impact on your own. Effective technical communication enables you to work through others and advise other teams on the recommended technical path. 
- **Advice**: model the behavior and culture you want. A Principal Engineer is, by default, a role model for the team and org, so their actions set the tone.

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:
- [SWE2 --> Principal Eng in 4 years](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/Lvf1TDKt1R4ZJSCr9BVv/rockstar-software-engineer-story-sw2-greater-principal-in-just-4-years/)
- 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/)
- [Pong on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantat-eksombatchai-268142b8/ )

[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/)

Tech Lead Blueprint 9/17 - Tracking Progress

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

Asking Great Questions [Part 8] - Explain The Impact

Every great software engineer faces the perpetual problem of *"Too much to do, not enough time"*. Great software engineers are who you want answering your questions, and you need to make a case as to why they should use some of their time to answer your question. This lesson teaches you:

- How to empathize with helpers when it comes to how they choose who to help
- Why showing the impact of your question is critical, especially at high-performance tech companies like FAANG
- What attaching the business impact to your question looks like, explained with an in-depth example
- A bonus type of impact you can illustrate with your question

Balancing Time Between Your Job And Self Learning

Many engineers hear about personal projects (side projects) as a way to accelerate career growth but are confused about how to allocate time for these projects. This video covers a few strategies to balance time between your day job and self-learning. 

1. **Avoid a Binary Approach:** Don't view your day job and side projects as completely distinct: ideally, the work you do in one is good for the other. This can manifest not only in terms of the skills you're building, but also your enthusiasm for writing code or understanding a domain in more detail. Productivity and fulfillment are often maximized when one can excel at work and pursue personal projects simultaneously.

2. **Learning Integration:** Integrate your learning from both day job and personal projects. The knowledge gained in one domain can be applied to the other, so you become better at both!

3. **Effective Self-Learning:** Passive content consumption, such as watching videos or reading blog posts without active engagement, is ineffective for learning. Instead, explain concepts to others or build something to truly benefit from self-learning.

4. **Company-Career Mismatch:** In larger organizations, the company's objectives may not always align with individual career goals. The responsibility for your personal career growth is yours -- don't delegate this to the company! That's why you need to invest in self-learning and personal projects to build the skills and experiences necessary that are best for you.

5. **Enjoyable Self-Learning:** Instead of focusing on the balance between work and personal learning, find ways to make self-learning a fun and fulfilling experience. Common ways this manifests: hitting the publish button, seeing the download count on your app go up, or seeing comments on a blog post you wrote.

Like most things career-related, you should take a proactive approach to career development. Self-learning is no different!

Related resources: 

- [\[Masterclass\] How To Build And Grow Tech Products To 500k+ Users For Free](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/OEuX0KMhcnNSTJ50Voee/masterclass-how-to-build-and-grow-tech-products-to-500k-users-for-free/)
- [How should I set time apart for learning new things?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/FjmcvlTJYssSd5wH2pij/how-should-i-set-time-apart-for-learning-new-things/)
- [How Long to Crank Out a Decent Side Project?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/QA6lCGdPpwAd3xRrpjZ7/how-long-to-crank-out-a-decent-side-project/)
-

How To Handle Hints In A Software Engineer Interview Without Failing

The best software engineer interview performances feel like a collaborative experience between the interview candidate and the interviewer. If an interview is going well, you will be supporting them as the interviewer and maybe giving hints. However, both sides need to be careful about how this happens.

Here are the core points from the video:
- Giving hints is tricky. There are some situations where it's good and some where it's bad.
- In general, you should lean towards giving less hints as an interviewer to maximize the signal you get.
- *Don't give hints when the candidate is desperately fishing, and they have no idea how to solve the problem.*
  - **Fishing example**: "Can we use a binary tree for this?" (they didn't explain their thought process at all prior to asking)
- Fishing questions like the one above are tricky as you can't answer them normally:
  - **If you say "Yes":** You reveal the core pattern behind the problem, solving way too much of the problem for the candidate. At this point, they have failed the question.
  - **If you say "No":** The candidate is one step closer to the core solution via process of elimination. This sets them up to keep fishing until you say "Yes".
- When the candidate is fishing, say something like, *"How do you feel about it? If it makes sense, we can try building it out."* Flip the question back to them and push them to think through it more.
- Give hints to bridge small gaps. If the candidate is 90%+ of the way there, just give them the hint so everyone can move on.
  - A common scenario here is that the candidate has almost all of the solution working minus some trivial 1-liner. You are losing signal by having them struggle on this trivial piece and not working on other, larger problems. In this case, just give them the 1-liner.

Related resources:
- [[Taro Top 10] Effective Interview Prep](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/HLBYxJI7D1j8STolrwum/)
- [[Masterclass] How To Ace Your Big Tech Interview - Data Structures And Algorithms](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/V4sTACzfOh22nMVcUV3w/masterclass-how-to-ace-your-big-tech-interview-data-structures-and-algorithms/)
- [[Masterclass] How To Ace Your Big Tech Interview - System Design](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/J3I9fTW9ulr6T9KjxpqY/masterclass-how-to-ace-your-big-tech-interview-system-design/)
- [How Alex Got Into Meta With 0 Prior LeetCode Experience](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/ZYiTbN21FsqFxFdpwt5a/how-alex-got-into-meta-with-0-prior-leetcode-experience/)

DSA Crash Course [Part 79] - Non Adjacent Sum Approach

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

> Write a function, *non_adjacent_sum*, that takes in a list of numbers as an argument. The function should return the maximum sum of non-adjacent items in the list. There is no limit on how many items can be taken into the sum as long as they are not adjacent.
>
> For example, given: \[2, 4, 5, 12, 7\]
>
> The maximum non-adjacent sum is 16, because 4 + 12. 4 and 12 are not adjacent in the list.

```
nums = [2, 4, 5, 12, 7]
non_adjacent_sum(nums) # -> 16
```

```
nums = [7, 5, 5, 12]
non_adjacent_sum(nums) # -> 19
```

```
nums = [7, 5, 5, 12, 17, 29]
non_adjacent_sum(nums) # -> 48
```

```
nums = [
72, 62, 10,  6, 20, 19, 42,
46, 24, 78, 30, 41, 75, 38,
23, 28, 66, 55, 12, 17, 9,
12, 3, 1, 19, 30, 50, 20
]

non_adjacent_sum(nums) # -> 488
```

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.