Camille Fournier

My path to software was not traditional. I always did well at mathematics in school, but I liked many things that weren't technical - journalism, religion, poetry, and medicine all pulled my strings at some time. I have ended up producing software used in medical research. As such, I figured that I needed to study the traditional career path in software/technology to try to meld my diverse skill-set with more traditional steps.

Camille Fournier has provided a book that describes that path. show more She moves step-by-step through a typical career in technology - from first job to senior management with all the steps and choices in-between. This "bird's eye view" lets someone see the path behind them, around them, and ahead of them. As such, it can be used as a framework to enhance one's skills relevant for the longer term.

The main situation that Camille does not address at length is the non-traditional one. Those who switched from people-doctor to computer-doctor are not addressed. As technology continues to become increasingly ubiquitous around us, careers in technology will probably be wedded with other interests. It would be interesting to hear her thoughts and experiences on this matter. show less

This book gives a lot of good snippets of advice for where to start when you find yourself in a particular part of your career journey.

However, I struggled with the books focus on prescriptive advice. I would find myself questioning the why behind some practices, but finding a lack of context on where a particular practice would succeed or where it could fall down (some had more context than others).

Never the less, I did get some insights and ideas for things to try, and the book does a good show more job of putting forward the authors opinions on how to succeed in each role. For those nearer the beginning of their journey I can see this book being invaluable, and for others the opinions provide useful food for thought. show less

This is a wonderful book that I'm certain I'll be recommending to colleagues over and over in the coming years. If you're an engineer with no desire to be a full-time people manager, don't be put off by the title — this is a book about leadership, organizations and culture. There's clear, cogent advice here on everything from how to work well with your manager as an individual contributor, to effectively being a mentor to others, all the way up to strategies for working effectively at the show more VP and CTO level. show less

A great read on the engineering side of Management.
It has general guidelines that apply to the people management domain with some practical tips.

The bulk of the book is centered around the technical progression of an engineer, but most of these insights can be extrapolated to other domains and professions as well.

As with any Management book, this was not intended as a comprehensive guide or a definitive walk-through for a newcomer in an executive position, but more as a companion guide and show more framework to help you navigate the new intricacies of leadership and the specifics of technical management.

Brim with relevant references, this book alone will give you plenty of reading material to upgrade your people and communication skills in your current or future career.

Stay curious! ;) show less