Ask an Engineering Manager

Today's question: "What are job interviews really like?"

Do you like going on job interviews? Almost nobody does. I will talk about things we do to make things as pleasant as possible for the candidate, but also tell you how to take advantage of the chance to get to know a future employer. And if you're looking forward to your first job interview, after this episode you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Please let us know what you think and answer the quick and easy listener survey

Today's question: How long should my resume be? The answer goes into details like: - how to experience yourself why a resume needs to be short - which information is most crucial to include in your resume - what to do about resume sections like hobbies, objective or certifications

In the answer:

Reasons to go to university - and reasons not to go.

How to successfully graduate with a degree in computer science.

And some personal advice on how to have fun while doing that.

What "running things in the cloud" really means.

Why your dedicated data center is not as cheap as you think it is.

Why it probably makes sense to use a cloud provider - but might not.

What purchasing classifications have to do with servers.

Please let us know what you think and answer the quick and easy listener survey

Today's question: What do you think of people changing jobs very often?"

I will tell you what I think, and also how to avoid a negative impression - and why sometimes job change in quick succession might be perfectly OK.

So which programming language is the most useful to learn?

This episode considers that question from all possible angles, starting with "I want to build a specific kind of application" to "Which languages is best as the first language for someone just starting to program?".

Spoiler: It's not about the features of the language (and not even about your favorite style of syntax).

Extra Spoiler: The results are: Javascript, Java, Python, Erlang - listen to the episode to find out why and for what purpose

A question about what different job titles commonly found in software project teams mean:

What is the difference between a lead developer, an architect, a project manager, and an engineering manager?

The episode contains answers like:

- why the meanings are not always precisely defined

- what a lead developer does

- if a software architect should write code

- the project manager's priorities

- how the role of an engineering varies between different types of companies