Soft Skills Engineering

Jamison Dance and Dave Smith

It takes more than great code to be a great engineer. Soft Skills Engineering is a weekly advice podcast for software developers about the non-technical stuff that goes into being a great software developer.

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33 episodes
weekly
Avg 34 min
English

Episodes 33

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Yesterday · 30 min
Episode 538: toxic manager or low impact project and over-staffed?
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Thank you for this podcast it’s the only tech podcast I listen to these days, I think it’s more relevant than ever, and it has definitely helped me in my career. I am a Staff Software Engin...
November 2 · 34 min
Episode 537: Is my ADHD affecting my work and my startup got acquired
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Middle Management in the Midwest says, I recently accepted a new position at work, bumping up into an Assistant Director role. At our company this means I’ll have at least two teams, ICs di...
October 26 · 31 min
Episode 536: Mentoring and how to help my team not lose their soul to AI?
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Dave and Jamison, long time listener first time caller. I appreciate everything you do, I look forward to my Monday morning commute because of this podcast. I’ve been a software developer f...
October 19 · 34 min
Episode 535: Manager externalities and should I fight stupid processes
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Listener Random Listener asks, You guys talk a lot about externalities, which helped me understand a lot about how my manager works. He wants to do things fast, but he does not follow good ...
October 12 · 34 min
Episode 534: I'm so bad at my job and I've inherited a huge slop pile
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hi Soft Skills Engineering, I’m a senior software engineer with over 20 years of experience. I’m hoping you can help with with a problem where I’m dumb, weird and bad at my job! There is a ...
October 5 · 33 min
Episode 533: I'm drowning in AI slop from lazy coworkers
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hey Dave and Jamison. I don’t know what to do with the amount of the AI slop I have to review and I’m getting close to burnout. I have a lot of context on my project, so my colleagues see m...
September 28 · 31 min
Episode 532: My new company is an absolute mess and should I get an English-speaking job as a Japanese engineer?
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hi Dave and Jamison, I’ve been a Java backend dev for over 10 years. After getting laid off from a job I loved, I spent 3 tough months job hunting. I eventually landed a full-stack role at ...
September 21 · 33 min
Episode 531: Shallow feedback and my coworker is a huge sloperator
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Listener Jame ain’t no dance asks,! Hey Space Therapists, I am a consultant that helps big companies to fix all kind of stuff. It’s ridiculous how many different hats I wear. One day I’m th...
September 14 · 35 min
Episode 530: Product engineering and why does my team never challenge my ideas?
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Listener Myamax myamax says, I just listened to episode 527 and could really use some advice on being good at interviews. I was recently laid off with a decent severance package, so I have ...
September 7 · 34 min
Episode 529: Zoom calls on my open floor plan and laconic staff engineer
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hi Jamison and Dave, jesters of my daily commute. I’m a *mechanical* engineer at a megacorp, and since people are people, I find most of your advice transfers pretty well. I’m the tech lead...
August 31 · 34 min
Episode 528: Sleepy family software business and leaving after an acquisition
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: A listener named “Will angel answer my question?” asks, Hi, I recently joined a new company about 1.5 months ago. It is the technology arm of a family-owned business group that has existed ...
August 24 · 37 min
Episode 527: I lost my job after 10 years and am I too old to switch to a security career?
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hello Dave and Jamison! I’m a longtime listener going back to the early days of the podcast, and I’ve listened to every episode since. When I started listening, I was beginning my career as...
August 17 · 32 min
Episode 526: Why can't I get promoted so quickly after my last promotion and I got hired as a software engineer but ended up doing ops
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hi Dave & Jamison! I’ve been listening for almost a year now and have worked through nearly your entire back catalog in reverse. The podcast has genuinely helped me become a better engi...
August 10 · 28 min
Episode 525: How do I save my company of 500 people and my new company is insane with AI
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hey Dave and Jamison, First, I love your show and it has now been part of my Monday evening routine for many years to listen to your podcast while cooking dinner. I recently joined a mid-si...
August 3 · 32 min
Episode 524: My CTO AI-codes big piles of slop and early mornings, late meetings
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: I work for a small software company on a team of about 7 or 8 engineers. I like working here. I like the people, the autonomy, the pay, my boss, and the stack among other things. I try to r...
July 27 · 33 min
Episode 523: (Rerun of 331) Prickly ticket and title downgrade
This is a rerun of episode 331. In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Listener ninjamonkey says, I am a new grad who is half a year into the role now at a very large company. Recently, a senior engineer on my team asked me to c...
July 20 · 28 min
Episode 522: I stayed too long at my first job and should I get a masters degree
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: I stayed too long at my first company and now my career is ruined? Hi both, long time listener. (Since I graduated university 4 years ago actually and felt I could never find a job but list...
July 13 · 31 min
Episode 521: negotiating . . . now? and doing good work is not enough for promotion?
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Dwill Ainghell asks, During the golden era of software development, it was commonly stated that you should always negotiate job offers. The argument was that the company has invested signif...
July 6 · 40 min
Episode 520: I came back to my former team and was shocked by AI and my team does not care at ALL about the code
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hey Dave & Jamison, Long time listener. Love the podcast. I recently rejoined a remote team that I worked with in the past. I was super stoked to rejoin this team because they were coll...
June 29 · 33 min
Episode 519: Why does my team not have a tech lead and rumors!
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions: Hi D&J! Question from Sweden! I’m a senior dev that have seen a lot of orgs without tech lead and/or staff engineer roles. I know some companies have them, but mostly newer more techy c...

Showing 1–20 of 33 episodes