3 Career Killers for Software Engineers (from a Principal at Amazon)

Here are three pieces of advice that would have fast forwarded my career and made me a richer person.
NEWSLETTER - Sign up to my free newsletter: newsletter.alifeengineered.co...
You can find Rahul Pandey's channel here: / rahulpandeyrkp
PATREON - / alifeengineered
My content will always be free of charge but if you'd like to support the channel, I'd be honored if you supported me on Patreon.
BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
So Good They Can't Ignore You - geni.us/SoGood
This book transformed m y life when I read it for the first time nearly 10 years ago. It's still guides the way I think about self-development today.
Deep Work - geni.us/ALE-DeepWork
The most important currency you have is your undivided attention. This book shows you exactly how to spend this currency in a manner that will lead to head-turning accomplishment.
SYSTEM DESIGN
Designing Data-Intensive Applications geni.us/DataIntensive
Currently the best reference contemporary for system design.
System Design Interview (Volume 2) geni.us/SystemDesignIntervie and geni.us/SystemDesignInterview -
For interviews, the best references are System Design Interview and System Design Interview Volume 2 by Alex Xu.
00:00 Intro
00:57 Get Your Money Right
03:13 Preferring Output Over Impact
05:15 Not Thinking Clearly About Staying or Leaving Your Team
08:57 Conclusion
I get a kick-back for the affiliate links above. The opinions expressed in this video are my own. I do not speak for Amazon.

[@ALifeEngineered]

Make sure to put office hours questions in the comments. You can find Rahul Pandey's channel here kzbin.info FYI, projected retirement numbers assume a 9% YoY growth, the average since 2006.

[@johannsebastianbach3411]

I just got into amazon as an sde Steve. My question is, why not do your own thing? Smart and experienced folk like you create the real value in any org. Why not use that value for yourself?

[@TheCodeTinkerer]

I just figured out that I have been solely in output mode and not impact mode. Thx for tip nr. 2 ! BTW: Platform/Systems Engineer.

[@its.juhnny]

Wow you really are like the opposite of tech lead, well done

[@liftingisfun2350]

This is very sickomode truth gang stuff

[@HassaanALal]

tech lead is weird, he was only good in old times but now completely ridiculous, not forgetting he and joma tech ripped off clement's AlgoExpert hard work, horrible.

[@liftingisfun2350]

@@HassaanALal thanks for the knowledge transfer explainer there, youtube subject matter expert

[@MrX-nc8cm]

Tow unstoppable forces 😂😂😂💀

[@the_real_cookiez]

@@HassaanALal True, it's no wonder his own wife took the kids and disappeared lmao. He's an awful person.

[@jeremytan1051]

1. Getting your money right: This includes saving. You could also put those savings in the market, and sticking it through up or down and seeing what it amounts to later. (Time passes really quickly) 2. Preferring output over impact: Finding task that differentiate yourself. Finding a meaningful refactor that prevents future bugs is better than routinely integrating package updates. Great to have a nose for outsized impact. 3. Not thinking clearly about staying or leaving your team: Sure, that hop could increase your compensation but you could be leaving a good team and moving to something worse. If you're in a bad environment, don't believe promises but watch the management's actions to see if they're actually dealing with the root problem. Ultimately, if you're in a good spot, don't throw it all away. You'll only recognize your golden ages from hindsight.

[@recursion.]

Thank you Jeremy!

[@jameskoh3463]

Impact over output?

[@markvincentalviar1547]

@@jameskoh3463 It should've been not getting money right, since the video is about career killers/mistakes 😅

[@Emmap11]

Thanks

[@Neonb88]

@@jameskoh3463 EDIT: Nevermind, the commenter just made a typo while summarizing the video I think he meant you should prefer impact over output; his *mistake* was spending too much time maximizing output instead of impact

[@AsianVideoGamer]

My biggest mistake in my career is never letting my manager know I wanted a promotion. Don't wait years to "get ready" just ask your manager what you need to do early to get the next position.

[@williamseipp9691]

really love the mature way of looking at things. a consistent thing I've read on Reddit is the need for software engineers to understand relationships, office politics, etc. Soft skills. The way you present the case for making yourself a priority in a positive way shows experience in the industry. Looking forward to future content

[@ginalee5308]

I'm not even in software engineering but this was just so useful in general! Thanks for your honest and upfront thoughts from your own personal experience - will bear this in mind for the future when I'm thinking about switching jobs 🤗

[@humansoftech5905]

As a non-engineer I've been really appreciating your videos- they apply to most roles. Cheers!

[@nebula1100]

Wow, just wow. What fantastic, actionable advice given in such a humble manner. I hope I get to work with more people like you as I progress. Gonna take your advice and run with it. See you in the field!

[@michor10]

Thank you for your excellent advice. Best of luck for your channel and I'll be looking forward to your content.

[@scottfranco1962]

Just a short story to address your last point. I worked for a company that shall remain nameless. They were failing. The CEO skipped the country because it had been discovered he was embezzling. They laid off half the company. We got written up in the press, and one writer said, and I quote "clearly the only workers remaining there are stupid and cannot find other work". I was one of the few people actually working there. Others were playing board games on the whiteboards. This was after the 2008 downturn, so jobs were not easy to find. So I left to take a contract. I would not say my career tanked, but those were some bad years and some stretches of unemployment. The company? They got bought by a very good company, and people I know there went on to work for years there productively. The moral of the story is that what seems to be black and white, sometimes isn't.

[@nicksrub]

Thank you for sharing, are you still contracting or doing FTE work now that you've had this experience?

[@scottfranco1962]

@@nicksrub I'm 65, I have been an engineer since 19, technician before that, and repaired TVs in my parents garage for money when I was 15. I guess what other folks think of as career markers just strike me as a phase. The story above was 2009 if I recall, just after the "great recession" of 2008. I didn't escape that, but not for the obvious reasons. My wife of 13 years decided that was the time to get a divorce. About the only good thing that resulted from that is that our house's value was depressed, and so I could buy her out. Things have changed since then. During the time I described, I got very good at making spreadsheets, and what I found in those days was that I was going to lose the house shortly. I rented out two rooms for a while and got past that. I think by 2010-2011 things took off again, and they really haven't slowed down since then. I did full time up to 62 years of age, and preferred that. After 60, I got lots of interviews, but no interest. Since then it appears more companies are interested in having me as a contractor. I can't say if it is because of my age, or the times we live in. I can't say it is not possible to get full time now, when there seems to be a lot of demand. It just seems far easier to get contracts, and those have been good. My last contract was Apple. My current one is Google. Not exactly poor companies :-)

[@nicksrub]

@@scottfranco1962 wow that's fascinating! Glad you're still in the industry after all these years! What would you have done career-wise if you had to start over now?

[@scottfranco1962]

@@nicksrub Invest heavily in Microsoft? Kidding. Probably get a PHD. My career never really got to the levels of tech that I wanted. Other than that, I don't think there was a perfect path. The guys I knew who really took off in the valley just retired early or became managers. I never wanted to shorten my career, just work on better quality stuff.

[@nicksrub]

@@scottfranco1962 Thank you for sharing.

[@joshua-staples]

Your channel just popped up in my feed and I’m loving the content! About to graduate with a CS degree and felt your perspective was honest and refreshing. Keep it up, got yourself another subscriber!

[@matthewschrader2968]

I never comment on KZbin but thank you for bringing your professionalism and knowledge out into the public for others education and growth. I'm sure youre very busy but if somehow you could upload more frequently I and everyone else would eternally appreciate it. I found your channel today and have already gone through every video

[@GlowinginTech]

great advice and very helpful information! it can be so overwhelming to understand the long term perspective when you;'re new to the industry and role. looking forward to more like this!

[@saurabhdeo1196]

Discovered this channel today and your videos are a breath of fresh air in the youtube SW career space for someone like me. I am relatively early in my career and shooting for the stars, and your advice is pragmatic and genuine. Thank you for all that you do, you make a bigger difference than you think.

[@andriidanylov9453]

Wise and smart ideas. You really changed my expectations. Appreciate it

[@dune22]

Great video!! Thank you for the advice.

[@isaacdouglas1119]

I'm starting as an SDE I at Amazon in a month and I just found your channel while looking for advice and I love the content. Thanks for sharing your knowledge Steve!

[@bradleygilmore]

Great video, thanks for being so honest and helpful.

[@emenikedaniel]

My first time discovering your channel. Packed with quality content. Just subbed! Thanks for delivering top notch as always.

[@Matt-lp2bs]

Great vid! Starting as an Amazon intern in a couple weeks so been watching a lot of your channel and rahuls recently. Feel a lot more comfortable about everything and nice to see the perspective of principal and sr engineers

[@joshurlay]

That's huge. Good job and good luck. What internships did you get before Amazon?

[@CloudXIl]

Wow. I’m actually a trainee and my job at the moment was migrating bower to npm. I don’t think that’s a bad position atm as it was a good learning experience. But I’ll make sure to take note for when it becomes my main task later in the future

[@calderwhite2401]

This video was really great. Thank you for sharing your experience!

[@PythonArms]

This speaks volumes. I appreciate the great content.

[@MattSnow]

This video was quite timely for me. Thanks for sharing!

[@thedevguild7525]

Great advices, especially point 2!

[@FadiQua]

This is an eye opener. Thanks Steve

[@tomydurazno6243]

Thanks for the info! Very useful!

[@aaron.protein]

Great advice! Thanks for sharing

[@leonardofaria16]

I love your comments about "Preferring Output Over Impact". Good food for thought, made me think about my career

[@Dodgerific]

I'm a mechanical engineer but I still found your advice useful. Thank you.

[@capitalexnetwork8898]

Thanks for the video. Very insightful.

[@hackerandpainter]

Thank you for these videos. You're like a non-toxic, positive, wise tech veteran I can actually look up to. I'm taking it as a sign from the universe that one of your favorite books "so good they can't ignore" is also my favorite self help/ career book ha. Hope your time off from full time employment is off to a good start and looking forward to more of your videos :D

[@gabrielvrldev]

Great video, Steve 👏 Always great to hear from someone more experienced

[@ogookafor2137]

Wow... my life just flashed before my eyes. Thanks for the advice. Liked and Subscribed!

[@CareerProgramming]

Love your content, happy i found you!

[@jhors7777]

Steve you have a fabulous channel. Thanks so much for all of your well researched and informative videos.

[@Mvrck44]

Great Stuff, thank you!

[@go_better]

Thank you! Very valuable advices. You are awesome!

[@the_real_cookiez]

I don't know if you covered this topic yet, but I think something I struggle with is words. To form clear and concise words in speaking. Coding is half the battle. Being able to communicate your thoughts to the targeted audience is just, if not, more important I feel like. Thank you!

[@clins1994]

just stumbling upon uncle steve and i'm loving the direct and truthful advice ♥

[@FernandoTakeshiSato]

I'm thinking about changing roles and KZbin recommends this video, man the algorithm is nuts! Thanks for the tips 😁

[@chrisle1527]

Randomly came across this as an aspiring coder scouring KZbin. Been a full time club dj for 15 years. The setup in the background caught my eye lol. And then to find out I’m assuming you’re also Vietnamese? Subscribed. Keep up the good content!

[@alexandranesterenko]

I’d love to watch a video with insights on architecture. Thank you very much for your work!

[@Ankit-hs9nb]

Thank you so much for this video!🙏🏼😊

[@FableCountry]

Your words are golden to me now. Thanks for sharing. Subbed. Looking forward to more content! I'm hoping to be a software engineer manager in the future :)

[@JackBauerDev]

This channel is going to explode! Keep it up!

[@randEveScrub]

I do love how what you say sounds simple but is incredibly difficult to self-introspect about lol very good video

[@JeovaneSousa]

Great content! Thank-you!

[@Frankey2310]

After having my first real job at a big-name, on a mission-critical service with a 23-yo Perl code base, having embarked on (and failed at) two full-scale gradual rewrites, I got kinda hooked on that, so most subsequent "ships" I got on were also sinking: organisationally, socially, professionally, technically, or all of the above. The "words vs actions" advice is spot on! A sinking ship that's being actively (and competently) salvaged can be greatly beneficial career-wise, especially if you live to see the success of it. You'll have the opportunity to make a lot of highly-impactful decisions and do stuff that's usually already done ages before you. A sinking ship can do just that, though - sink; leaving you with a short and unattractive resume section. It's quite hard to tell one from the other at the interview stage unless you've had experience with both, but one thing you can do is, "describe one serious problem with your ", then "so what's the plan about it?" It is a hard set up for most interviewers, so make sure not to come off as too aggressive or critical

[@wag6181]

I really agree with the point of view that impact over output is best for our career as well as for our sense of importance about the things we do.

[@nakolenke]

Good job, keep it up!

[@user-lh2cq7yy6b]

Man I don't know why KZbin algorithms recommend you only now? Your content is pure gold, keep doing. Nowadays it is very hard to find an open opinion on all questions of Tech Industry from mature and experienced senior persona. There too much junior and newbie opinions around. Just want to give you motivation to keep doing, maybe small one, but still :D

[@ajumals]

This video is a literal gold mine ❤️

[@mattolivier1835]

Thanks nerd. Love your videos.

[@beefbeefbeef4]

Thanks for the video!

[@PaulTheEldritchCat]

Thanks for the wisdom!

[@ZacharyBetz]

Well said on recognizing Golden Ages. It’s bitter sweet 🙂

[@cherylgao7027]

Very helpful! Thank you.

[@cicd]

great content!

[@theugobosschannel8466]

I’m a 12-year Software Engineer myself and the most important thing you mentioned was the Toxic Environment situation.

[@akimz08]

Thank you so much for your contents. I subscribed by the way. I'm just lost by now in my career and I'm thankful I stumble in your channel.

[@ericknkili]

Great advice!

[@cshivani]

Excellent points.

[@macolulu]

I need to watch this entire channel multiple times to educate myself on how to evaluate life as an engineer. It will help with the behaviour interview chats. 👍

[@siriso213]

Excellent information. We realized late that we were in a excellent team. You are in a good team when you are making impact otherwise you need to go. Why? Because if you are not making a impact that means that you are losing your previous knowldge, your are not getting new knowledge or challenge. I had a co-worker that mentioned to me that he felt like a robot pressing a button. I understant what he meant. Thats means you are wasting your professional career.

[@askingalexandriaaa]

Incredible great advice

[@xskrish]

great advice!!

[@neves69]

I really like your videos. No hype, no "how to do {thing} fast", sub'ed!

[@MrFromminsk]

I am a principal SWE at on of the largest tech companies and I agree on everything, especially impact over the raw output.

[@saurabhjdas786]

Rahul's content is definitely bliss to watch and so is yours. keep going!

[@Sapperbounded]

Man. That was fantastic. Especially 5:15. I've had that thought many times to leave a team to do work I actually wanted to but kept getting bogged down by things like loyalty and how it would be perceived and who it would hurt and just let myself stagnate until (for better or worse), I burnt out and layoffs happened. I've had a lot of time to reflect and honestly, I guess I just should have been a better advocate for myself.

[@axios7776]

Finally, responsible points. Such a rare view on KZbin.

[@53Queijos]

so much thank, im a 21 old trying to find out how to be a good professional, i save your tips directly into my heart

[@gabrielfono844]

I want to be honest I find this channel very valuable and so helpful. As software engineer now on my first year , I consistently sacrificed my evening to get things done but no one really noticed this things. Thanks a lot for this amazing clear organized argument.

[@cristobaljavier]

Great content here 👏👏👏

[@calbears12345]

Great advice

[@BJJJUDO]

Great advice that applies to every industry

[@jatinnandwani6678]

Thanks so much This is quite helpful

[@RobertoMas]

I've just applied for a job in Amazon, it helps me a lot watching your channel, thanks a lot for all the tips!

[@zachpuller]

Totally know what you mean about not knowing when you are in a golden age. That one hits hard...

[@arielguzman2875]

I’m working on all this but specifically making an impact because I’m now a senior engineer and lead. Thanks

[@kaidollarsense]

You gained yourself a new sub!

[@RahulPandeyrkp]

Woot thanks for the shoutout Steve! Would love to hop on a call 😇

[@rippedzac891]

Subscribed!

[@berlinbrown03]

Good advice actually

[@thecloudterminal]

Watched the entire video without skipping a beat. 🙌🏻

[@patrickdee7365]

More of what mistakes to avoid plz. Thanks for this.

[@Spladoinkal]

This is stuff that could benefit a LOT of careers, not just software. Well done! Also, I should add, don't invest ALL your money into a 401k, I typically only invest up to how much the company fully matches. The rest I put into an index fund or etf. The reason is if you end up retiring early OR need to take some time in between jobs like if you end up moving and don't have a job for a while, money wrapped up into a 401k cannot be withdrawn before a certain age without penalty, whereas money in an Index fund could be pulled out fairly quickly. If you have a million or two in an index fund you could live fairly comfortably off of the interest alone in a normal, non-recession environment.

[@yumingzai3441]

1. Start investing early (time in market > timing market) 2. Look for impact, not productivity = find teams that can be impactful, where other people can see you 3. Know when to leave a team

[@Micha-bp5om]

I don't agree... I sadly invested in the highest point in November 2021 and now my pirtfolio is -30%. I really regret investing. Luckly I just put 10% of my money in the stock market.

[@Stella-se1lg]

Well said!

[@tchenette]

Hey Steve, it would be very interesting to hear about your internal movement within Amazon over the years, and your reasons for switching teams. When is it advisable to apply internally instead of applying elsewhere? Thanks!

[@wafercrackerjack880]

Extremely good video. The only critique is the tile should not be specific to software engineers, but to almost all jobs, which even is not a real criticism at all. You're just one of the best tech youtuber out there no doubt.

[@TheHarveySpectre]

Not sure how KZbin algo for me here. This advice is priceless... period.

[@fateriddle14]

This is a gold mine, 10 videos that really give me frame and perspective. I've seen things, but honestly I didn't know what I've seen. Still I wish you can do more videos. btw calling yourself Meta is obviously very weird, lol.

[@ThuNguyen-em1mh]

sir you're saving lives. I hope you know that

[@edetmmekut809]

men u just save my life.God Bless

[@jgdovin1]

Senior engineer laid off last week. Loving your videos as I prepare for a lead roll. Keep up the great work!

[@adrianalter8935]

hi im from europe and lay offs are extremely rare here. why would they lay off a senior engineer in america?

[@jgdovin1]

@@adrianalter8935 unsure, there was a 10% layoff across the board in engineering. I was the newest senior on the team as I had recently changed teams just a couple months prior

[@adrianalter8935]

@@jgdovin1 damn thats unfair

[@ltserge3226]

Useful video

[@travish1853]

@2:30 - the most valuable lesson I was ever taught - even more valuable when running your own business!!! Also, thanks for the vid! Great tips and you earned my sub by not beating around the bush, plus not doing a 5 minute paid promo half way through the first 5 minutes LOL Thanks again for the career tips

[@KS-df1cp]

I, unfortunately, check all the boxes in the current situation. Just committed to leetcode! People like you are true mentors providing directions pro bono. Thank you for putting this together.

[@morenoh149]

Get the yearly subscription to LC

[@mladizivko]

How's the leetcode going, have you worked towards changing jobs?

[@KS-df1cp]

@@mladizivko hey, thank you! Just in the process. Lets see.