What are some general tips for a Software Engineer who's new to the industry?

Christian McCarrick You must have been good enough since you passed their interviews and exams. If you want to prepare I would find out the technology stack they are using and start learning it.  Find online courses from Udemy, Pluralsight, code academy, etc. and start learning.  Make sure you actually setup a development environment and […]

I only started programming 3 years ago and now I got hired as a associate software engineer. I am scared I won't be able to handle it. Is there any advice to help me?

Christian McCarrick Everyone has to start somewhere. You say you have been programming for three years.  Is that with a job or just doing things for yourself?  Are you a computer science graduate or self-taught? Technology is moving so fast today that I would not worry about not knowing everything; however it is important that […]

What should men do (and not do) to support the growth of women in tech?

Christian McCarrick I think that we can help in two main areas: 1. The early and continual encouragement of women getting into STEM. As the father of three girls I feel I have the opportunity to help provide encouragement to my daughters and their friends at a young age.  It is important to actively encourage […]

Is gender diversity emphasized more when hiring for software engineering roles than other roles? If so, why?

Christian McCarrick I am going to paraphrase the question a bit more directly:  Do companies try to find and hire more women software engineers. There certainly is a gender imbalance in software engineers today as there are a much greater amount of males vs. females.  I am not going to go into why this is the […]

As a software developer, what difference does a company's "culture" make?

Christian McCarrick For most engineers (and people) culture is extremely important.  That being said, each person is attracted to a specific culture.  The type of culture that people like can and often does change over time as well. Culture tends to be set by the founders and the initial team as they tend to hire […]

What does it take to become a product design engineer?

Christian McCarrick I will assume you mean a traditional product design engineer and not a software product designer. Typically a bachelor degree in one of the following fields: product design and manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, and product design engineering technology.  Most product designers have experience with CAD and other specialized design software.  Product design engineers […]

With the high number of students pursuing software engineering, is there going to be sustainable employment in this field?

Christian McCarrick Yes, I believe that it will be a sustainable field.  That is not to say that there will not be some "corrections" in the market from time-to-time. I assume that you are wondering if you should get a software engineer or computer science degree?  If so, I would say yes and go ahead […]