1
Cognitive load is what matters
There are so many buzzwords and best practices out there, but let's focus on something more fundamental. What matters is the amount of confusion developers feel when going through the code.
Topics /
Career & Management
The most popular blog posts about career & management on Hacker News. 300 posts.
2
Panic at the Job Market
“I have the two qualities you require to see absolute truth: I am brilliant and unloved.”
3
How I ship projects at big tech companies
What I think about when I'm lead engineer on a project
4
5
6
Almost every infrastructure decision I endorse or regret
Assortment of technology startup infrastructure recommendations
7
Use a work journal
You’re working on the most complex problem in computer science: fixing permissions on a deployment pipeline. It’s been 4 days you started on that simple task...
8
MIT abandons requirement of DEI statements for hiring and promotions
DEI statements are affirmations made when you’re applying for college admission, university jobs, or even science-society grants, recounting to the authorities your philosophy of “diver…
9
Intel announces retirement of Pat Gelsinger
David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus named interim Co-CEOs. Holthaus also appointed to the newly created position of CEO of Intel Products. Frank Yeary named interim executive chair.
10
After 10 years, Yelp gave my app 4 days
David Kopec's blog.
11
You are not dumb, you just lack the prerequisites
I always thought I was too dumb to understand math. During my school years, it was evident to me that for some kids math was easy, and for others like myself: painfully difficult.
12
The Art of Finishing
My endless battle with the "Project Hydra": why I can't seem to finish projects, and the strategies I'm exploring to finally complete what I start. A personal journey through productivity's thorniest challenge.
13
Get me out of data hell
It is 9:59 AM in Melbourne, 9th October, 2024. Sunlight filters through my windows, illuminating swirling motes of dust across my living room. There is a cup of tea in my hand. I take a sip and savor it.
14
My second year without a job
Reflecting on two years of unemployment: personal growth, financial lessons, and creative pursuits like music and startups. Here's how I navigated year two without a job.
15
16
Procrastination and the fear of not being good enough
A personal piece about writing, self-doubt, and the quiet ways perfectionism can stall creative work.
17
I automated my job application process
A developer automated job applications, sending 250 in 20 minutes using Python scripts and GPT
18
19
I quit my job to work full time on my open source project
Quitting my job to start a company
20
Stop Acting Like You're Famous
You aren’t famous. Anything you do or create will probably receive little to no attention, so stop optimizing for a non-existent audience and instead focus on what makes you enjoy the activity.
21
Fast Crimes at Lambda School
Two days after his company's downfall, Austen Allred wrote: I wish people could see how ugly it is to be envious, and how obvious it is to those around you when that's what's happening. There's not much uglier than trying to tear someone down because they
22
I keep a WTF notebook (2021)
There's a very specific reputation I want to have on a team: "Nat helps me solve my problems. Nat get things I care about done."
23
24
Signs that it's time to leave a company
When the company stops growing, when the founder moves on, when HR is calling the shots, when the executives care more about real estate…
25
A bunch of programming advice I'd give to myself 15 years ago
I finally have the feeling that I’m a decent programmer, so I thought it would be fun to write some advice with the idea of “what would have gotten me to this point faster?” I’m not claiming this is great advice for everyone, just that it would have been good advice for me. If you (or your team) are shooting…
26
Advantages of incompetent management
What constitutes managerial competence? As a vague starting point for an answer, we could say that competent management sets achievable objectives and then achieves them, by organizing and incentivizing the necessary work.
27
Software engineering salaries come from one of three budgets
Software engineering salaries come from one of 3 budgets. Which budget pays your salary shapes your day-to-day and influences your career trajectory
28
Dropbox announces 20% global workforce reduction
Today, our cofounder and CEO Drew Houston shared the difficult news that we’ll be making reductions to our global workforce. Here's the email he sent to all employees.
29
The Time I Lied to the CTO and Saved the Day
This was several years back. Keep in mind that early in my career, my father had told me that doing a good job often meant doing what needed to be done in spite of your boss. And by that he meant that you can either make your boss successful and happy or you can run every decision by your boss. In which case no one is…
30
Avoid blundering: 80% of a winning strategy
Why do startups typically fail? It turns out that "avoiding those things" is already a plan for success.