Como os engenheiros de software podem demonstrar seu valor para os empregadores?

In my decades of experience in software management and development, the value of an engineer often shines through their approach to problem-solving, strategic foresight, and continuous learning. It's not just about completing tasks, but understanding and addressing the underlying issues. The difference is clear between those who simply finish a ticket and those who anticipate and strategically manage the consequences of their actions, especially with breaking changes. Keeping pace with the rapidly evolving technology landscape is crucial. This blend of deep insight, proactive strategy, and adaptability is what truly sets apart a valuable software engineer.

Instead of just solving the business problem and mentioning that as an accomplishment or completing the task, one should also get the metrics in terms of percentage or cost. It could be a reduction in cost, improvement in terms of running the job etc. This is the best way to showcase the actual ROI.

To grow in your current role within your organization: - Solidify your skills in the technology your team uses - Solidify your Engineering practice according to the team/org standards - Solidify your knowledge around the product which you work and understand from customer’s perspective - Collaborate actively within and outside your team with patience - Be open to give your hand whenever possible - Identify the opportunity to help and mentor younger engineers - Improve your verbal communication skills - Improve your writing skills and communicate over emails - Improve your documentation skills and contribute to other documents - Be open to constructive feedback - Provide proactive updates before being asked

1. Start with the company's vision and understand how your contributions align with it. This may involve the goals of various departments and teams before getting to you. Visualizing the connection between the company's vision and your specific role can provide a clear understanding of your impact. 2. Adhere to best practices for coding standards, build engineering, release readiness, and other areas that contribute to engineering excellence. Actively seek opportunities to suggest improvements to these practices. 3. Finally, demonstrate your ability to consistently deliver high-quality work on time. Ensure that your peers and tech lead recognize your contributions and the positive impact you have on the team's success.

Taking time to understand what business problem is being solved, ask questions, adding value to the business by consistently going above and beyond (not by just doing what is being asked) are key.

Every year you need to have learning / growth objectives. Start out with mapping the skills you want to learn as a function of impact versus effort. Choose the ones with high impact, plan according to the effort they take. Search for resources, then make sure you have a schedule to keep yourself accountable.

Three things that will make you great at learning and using that to increase your income: 1. Every time you face a challenge at work, read the documentation. Learn the whole thing, not just the tiny bit you need. 2. Outside your working hours, dedicate 2 hours per day, every day, to studying a lengthy path with books and courses for a program you want to achieve, such as a master's or a post-grad, or obtaining a certification. 3. Share your knowledge with the community, whether it's through a blog, GitHub, YouTube, LinkedIn, or any platform. Write and share your interesting findings.

Learning and updating your skills is one of the most important way to continue to show value to your organization or customer. While you’re paid to do your job, this shows you’re not only doing your job but invested in it to bring value. Updated skills will only help you do your job better and potentially faster. In addition it will generate new ideas of doing the same work better than you’re doing.

Each year, you should have goals for learning and growth. Start by mapping the skills you want to learn as a function of impact and effort. Choose the ones with high impact and plan according to the effort they require. Seek resources, then ensure you have a schedule to hold yourself accountable.

This skill is probably one of the most important to have, especially as a software engineer. Changes are so fast that engineers have to keep up with it and it is sometimes a full time job. If not you’ll not only become obsolete, you’ll continue to earn lesser than your peers. Learning skills is not just reading an article or a book. When I learn something new, I’ll get my hands dirty by actually creating something new with the software.

Just be open and honest about the situation. Talk through the logic of your solution, if not the technical specifics. Let them know what step you're on, how it's going, and when you think you'll progress to the next. It doesn't have to be daily, but it makes sense to inform them of significant progress or challenges when you're aware of them. Think about how you'll address your next contact with them before it happens. Meetings can be ad hoc, but your responses and knowledge of the project shouldn't be. If it's easier to write, then write. You can even do it during the meeting. Write in a blank text file, then read it if that makes it easier.

From my years of experience, working in number of companies, I can say, that a good and effective communication between employees working on same project or same task laverages the success of the mission, increase collaboration and results with much more effective process (reduce misunderstandings, gain a better coverage, increase involvement, etc.). A good and effective communication means transparency, sharing data, sharing concerns, keep on a respectful discourse, being open minded and professional.

A comunicação é um dos pilares fundamentais no desenvolvimento de software. É crucial consolidar as necessidades e especificidades da funcionalidade ou do software. Tanto líderes quanto desenvolvedores devem sempre buscar aprimorar essa habilidade, pois compreender e gerar ideias precisa estar no mesmo nível para garantir uma colaboração pontual e enriquecedora.

One's ability to advocate for themselves is crucial, highlighting the importance of strong communication skills for both articulating and defending their own ideas and for grasping the perspectives of others. Effective communication and patience play a valuable role in maintaining harmonious relationships with colleagues, without necessitating excessive agreeability or the avoidance of meaningful technology discussions. Active participation in discussions by voicing one's thoughts politely and constructively is generally encouraged and appreciated, and such involvement can have a positive impact on an engineer's professional reputation.

In fact, a very large component of being able to work well in an organization or just general collaborative space is communication. It is vital for success. Find and join social networks/groups geared towards specific interests and engage with folks with similar interests. It can be a great way to practice communication skills outside of the workplace, especially when discussing things with others who share passions and interests.

Software engineers demonstrate their value to employers by consistently delivering quality and value in their work. This means creating software that not only meets requirements but also exceeds expectations in terms of functionality, reliability, and user satisfaction. By prioritizing quality, engineers contribute to the overall success of projects and showcase their commitment to producing valuable outcomes for the organization.

Besides delivering product value also look into delivering people value. This means growing the knowledge of the team, reinforcing collaborative behaviors and creating a safe inclusive environment. If you deliver high value at the cost of the rest of your team (low morale, being swamped, stressed) then your contribution is net negative.

Don't build things in a silo. Make sure to fully understand the problem space as well as possible. Ensure that what you are building always provides value. Ask yourself, what problems is this solving? For how many people? It's important to handle edge cases, but if your happy path isn't well put together or enjoyable, then that is where the greatest impact can happen and where work should occur first.

Balance efficiency with added value, theres seldom enough time to have the absolute best solution, but the final design can't sacrifice the end user. As a customer, would you rather have 1 perfect feature, 5 perfectly acceptable features, or 25 frustrating features that may or may not achieve what you actually want?

My father used to say that only those who have your best interest will criticize you. So getting some criticism isn’t bad at all. In fact, it should be welcome, and better yet, ask for it. If someone doesn’t have your best interest, they won’t give the feedback to you. At least you know where you stand. This character trait also shows integrity which will again go a long way.

Software engineers demonstrate their value to employers by actively seeking feedback and continuously improving themselves. This involves being open to constructive criticism, learning from experiences, and consistently enhancing skills. By embracing feedback, engineers show a commitment to personal and professional growth, which ultimately benefits the team and the organization.

Absolutely! Embracing a continuous feedback loop is not just pivotal; it's the heartbeat of a thriving software engineering career. Actively seeking input from diverse sources—be it managers, peers, mentors, or clients—illuminates the path to personal and professional growth. Constructive criticism becomes a catalyst for refining skills, while praise fuels motivation. Transforming feedback into actionable steps, setting well-defined goals, and meticulously tracking progress transforms you into a dynamic engineer. Celebrating achievements not only solidifies your journey but also inspires and connects you with the broader community. It's not just a process; it's a journey of perpetual improvement and shared success.

One can't possibly improve without understanding the impact and value of their work. Feedback is vital to ensure alignment with overall business needs and goals and professional/personal development. If the organization does not provide such feedback or isn't open to bi-directional communication, that is a giant red flag. Your efforts will not be valued.

Even if you love what you're doing or what you've done, look for ways to improve it. This can be a more efficient algorithm, a more elegant code block, or a whole new language/architecture which greatly improves performance, ease of development, or reduces costs. You never know what improvements can be made or are needed if you don't ask the critical questions. Don't just "ask for feedback," have ideas about what might improve and ask based on those perceptions. Research the tools/languages you're using to see if there's a better way (or tool/lang) to accomplish the same thing. Always learning or stagnation are your choices. Choose wisely.

Engineers add value by understanding the "why". Value can only be added when engineers understand the business processes they are charged with implementing and why it matters to the enterprise. Blind obedience to requirements, agile or not, does not serve the business functions and usually results in additional unnecessary iterations. The reality is that most customers and product owners are NOT engineers, so engineers should work to understand functional needs and advice on solutions. They should deliver what the customer needs, not what customer wants.

Make sure you deliver upon promises. That is fastest and most effective way to build trust and become someone considered reliable.

When I hire a software engineer, I look for the soft skills more than their technical expertise. You can learn the software. You can’t learn software skills. You either have it or you don’t. So consider integrity, patience, leadership among others.

Coisas que aprendi nesses anos de Engenharia de Software, são: - reveja processos e ferramentas; - automatize tudo o que for possível, mesmo que em fases; - procure sempre entregar valor trabalhando bem o conceito de MVP; - cuidado com métricas e indicadores, eles moldam comportamentos e isso pode não ser bom; - esteja sempre próximo dos seus clientes, peça feedacks; - foque sempre na qualidade.

The expectation from you as you grow in your career is to become a multiplier. Early on, it's expected that you focus on yourself and building up your skillset. Later in your career, the most value you can demonstrate comes from the mentoring, coaching, tooling, training, and architecture you establish to make the team around you as effective as possible.