Subject
13 entries
Advice
Bookmarks
Most Advice Is Pretty Bad
Sam's 'All That Is Solid' essay arguing that most advice fails because it's decontextualized — stripped of the specific circumstances under which it was true for the person giving it. A case for skepticism toward advice as a form of knowledge transfer.
Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued
Patrick McKenzie's canonical essay on salary negotiation — arguing that employees systematically underprice themselves and that negotiation is always appropriate, always safe, and leaves large amounts of money on the table when skipped. Probably the most widely-cited piece on this topic in tech.
Don't End The Week With Nothing
Patrick McKenzie's essay on building career capital through artifact creation — every week should produce something permanent: a blog post, open-source contribution, or piece of writing that compounds over time. Companion to his salary negotiation essay.
My Younger Self
My Younger Self is a platform collecting career and life advice that experienced professionals wish they had known earlier — interview-format stories organized by career stage and domain. Structured mentorship-at-scale.
5 Things I've Learned About Data Science
Nicholas Arcolano's reflections on what matters in data science practice — the kind of hard-won lessons about problem framing, communication, and iteration that aren't covered in ML courses.
ABC: Always Be Coding
David Byttow's Medium post arguing that the best way to get a software engineering job at top companies is to code constantly — side projects, open source, and deliberate practice rather than cramming interview prep. The ABC (Always Be Coding) philosophy.
Why 'Do What You Love' Is Terrible Advice
Jeff Haden's Inc.com argument against 'do what you love' as career advice — because passion doesn't precede competence, it follows it. The better advice is to get very good at something, and love tends to develop from mastery.
The Single Most Unfair Advantage a Person Can Get
Ivan Mazour's blog post arguing that public speaking ability is the single most unfair competitive advantage — it multiplies every other capability, yet most people avoid developing it systematically. A sharp take on asymmetric skill investment.
Don't Waste Your Time in Crappy Startup Jobs
Michael O. Church's argument that most startup jobs are bad deals for engineers — low salary, equity that rarely pays out, and false promises of learning opportunities. Counterintuitive at the peak of startup mania in 2012.
You Have to Get Good Before You Get Better
Dan Shipper argues that the painful early phase of learning any skill — when you can see quality but can't produce it yet — is unavoidable and shouldn't be shortcut. Getting good requires accumulating bad reps, not waiting for a breakthrough.
Please Understand Learning to Code
A response to the early-2012 'everyone should learn to code' movement arguing that understanding what coding actually involves — not just advocating for it abstractly — is what matters. Coding literacy and professional programming are different skills with different demands.
Don't Become Anything, Especially Not a Programmer
Zed Shaw's contrarian post arguing that 'learning to code' for career reasons is a trap — programming should be learned because you love it, not as a get-rich-quick path. A direct rebuke of the 'anyone can be a programmer in 12 weeks' message gaining traction at the time.
Founders Beware: Accelerators Offer Upside, But Only If You're Ready
VentureBeat's warning to founders that accelerators like Y Combinator are net-positive only if the startup is already in the right position — not a place to figure out your idea or find your market. The hidden precondition most accelerator marketing omits.