3 Things My Handyman Father in Law Taught Me About the Software Development Career
You are a professional software developer.
But what's next?
Many developers I talk to see themselves going into management, product, even becoming a VP of engineering someday.
It is all good and viable options. But one is very overlooked.
If you already love what you're doing as a developer, going into any of those other roles will completely change what you do on a daily basis. You might like it. You might hate it.
We just bought a house and are in the middle of renovating it - my father in law and I.
My father in law is a handyman. He knows everything from plumbing to electricity, from flooring to air conditioning.
Seeing him work made me realise that his skills are the most valuable exactly where we are. At the construction site, doing the work.
You too, as a software developer can have a great career doing what you already do now, becoming better every day. By following this path you will become more experienced, indispensable for your team and develop a sense of pride in your work. And the money will follow as well. Just the way that a great contractor with a great reputation can make a very good living.
Let's dive in.
1. Have the big picture in mind
We were about to install a drywall. We knew the approximate measurements, but a few centimeters to the left or to the right are also ok.
My father in law thought about it for a minute and came up with a plan:
We're going to move it a bit more to the right, so that on the other side of the new all there will be exactly space for 120cm floor tiles.
Leaving more space means that doing the flooring becomes more cumbersome and less pleasing for the eye.
The opposite of big picture thinking is just doing what it says in my JIRA ticket. Without second thought, agency and additional care.
Where to look for a big picture:
- How does your design impact maintainability?
- What business problem is my feature trying to solve?
- Will this feature need additional user training/documentation?
- Can we slightly change the requirements AND reduce development time by 70%?
2. Do one more thing
We're mostly working in the evenings.
When we're tired after a day of work, it's easy to say "that's it for today, we'll continue tomorrow."
At this point, my father in law makes us do just one more thing.
Over the past 4 weeks it resulted in 15-20 "one more things" that got done. Floor isolation here, garbage cleaning there. Another drywall installed. Another pipe layed.
Skipping one day of "one more thing" is ok. But over the time it compounds. You will end up super productive, reliable and with the reputation of getting things done.
Where to look for one more thing to do:
- Can you answer another slack message?
- Where can you add another test to cover and edge case?
- Where can you refactor your code to make it more readable?
- Is there a small PR you can review now so your colleague is unblocked in the morning?
3. Know and develop your toolbox
I showed up ready for work with my drill, hammer and a screwdriver. My father in winked at me and we started unloading his car:
- Anti rust spray
- All kinds of drill bits
- Cutters, levels and measure tapes
- Demolition hammers in different sizes
Did you know that putting a screw in a drywall using a regular bit will cause you to go all the way through the wall?
You need to use a special bit that will stop you at the right moment.
He also brought tools to repair his tools. At some point, the demolition hammer stopped working because of humidity and needed to be dried up. Here we go.
Using the right tools for the job, caring about your tools and constantly perfecting them makes you efficient and knowledgeable.
What's in your toolbox:
- IDE
- Terminal
- Workflows to quickly prototype
- Knowledge management systems
- Shortcuts and scripts to automate boring things
That's it for today