Summary

Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual is a unique guide, offering techniques and practices for a more satisfying life as a professional software developer. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez addresses a wide range of important "soft" topics, from career and productivity to personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships, all from a developer-centric viewpoint.

Forewords by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) and Scott Hanselman.

Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.

About the Book

For most software developers, coding is the fun part. The hard bits are dealing with clients, peers, and managers, staying productive, achieving financial security, keeping yourself in shape, and finding true love. This book is here to help.

Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual is a guide to a well-rounded, satisfying life as a technology professional. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez offers advice to developers on important "soft" subjects like career and productivity, personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships. Arranged as a collection of 71 short chapters, this fun-to-read book invites you to dip in wherever you like. A Taking Action section at the end of each chapter shows you how to get quick results. Soft Skills will help make you a better programmer, a more valuable employee, and a happier, healthier person.

What's Inside

• Boost your career by building a personal brand
• John's secret ten-step process for learning quickly
• Fitness advice to turn your geekiness to your advantage
• Unique strategies for investment and early retirement

About the Author

John Sonmez is a developer, teacher, and life coach who helps technical professionals boost their careers and live a more fulfilled life.

Table of Contents

1. Why this book is unlike any book you've ever read

2. SECTION 1: CAREER

3. Getting started with a "BANG!": Don't do what everyone else does
4. Thinking about the future: What are your goals?
5. People skills: You need them more than you think
6. Hacking the interview
7. Employment options: Enumerate your choices
8. What kind of software developer are you?
9. Not all companies are equal
10. Climbing the corporate ladder
11. Being a professional
12. Freedom: How to quit your job
13. Freelancing: Going out on your own
14. Creating your first product
15. Do you want to start a startup?
16. Working remotely survival strategies
17. Fake it till you make it
18. Resumes are BORING—Let's fix that
19. Don't get religious about technology

20. SECTION 2: MARKETING YOURSELF

21. Marketing basics for code monkeys
22. Building a brand that gets you noticed
23. Creating a wildly successful blog
24. Your primary goal: Add value to others
25. #UsingSocialNetworks
26. Speaking, presenting, and training: Speak geek
27. Writing books and articles that attract a following
28. Don't be afraid to look like an idiot

29. SECTION 3: LEARNING

30. Learning how to learn: How to teach yourself
31. My 10-step process
32. Steps 1-6: Do these once
33. Steps 7-10: Repeat these
34. Looking for mentors: Finding your Yoda
35. Taking on an apprentice: Being Yoda
36. Teaching: Learn you want? Teach you must.
37. Do you need a degree or can you "wing it?"
38. Finding gaps in your knowledge

39. SECTION 4: PRODUCTIVITY

40. It all starts with focus
41. My personal productivity plan
42. Pomodoro Technique
43. My quota system: How I get way more done than I should
44. Holding yourself accountable
45. Multitasking dos and don'ts
46. Burnout: I've got the cure!
47. How you're wasting your time
48. The importance of having a routine
49. Developing habits: Brushing your code
50. Breaking things down: How to eat an elephant
51. The value of hard work and why you keep avoiding it
52. Any action is better than no action

53. SECTION 5: FINANCIAL

54. What are you going to do with your paycheck?
55. How to negotiate your salary
56. Options: Where all the fun is
57. Bits and bytes of real estate investing
58. Do you really understand your retirement plan?
59. The danger of debt: SSDs are expensive
60. Bonus: How I retired at 33

61. SECTION 6: FITNESS

62. Why you need to hack your health
63. Setting your fitness criteria
64. Thermodynamics, calories, and you
65. Motivation: Getting your butt out of the chair
66. How to gain muscle: Nerds can have bulging biceps
67. How to get hash-table abs
68. Starting RunningProgram.exe
69. Standing desks and other hacks
70. Tech gear for fitness: Geeking out

71. SECTION 7: SPIRIT

72. How the mind influences the body
73. Having the right mental attitude: Rebooting
74. Building a positive self-image: Programming your brain
75. Love and relationships: Computers can't hold your hand
76. My personal success book list
77. Facing failure head-on
78. Parting words