As a software engineer, you recognize at some point that there's much more to your career than dealing with code. Is it time to become a manager? Tell your boss he’s a jerk? Join that startup? Author Michael Lopp recalls his own make-or-break moments with Silicon Valley giants such as Apple, Netscape, and Symantec in Being Geek -- an insightful and entertaining book that will help you make better career decisions.

With more than 40 standalone stories, Lopp walks through a complete job life cycle, starting with the job interview and ending with the realization that it might be time to find another gig. Many books teach you how to interview for a job or how to manage a project successfully, but only this book helps you handle the baffling circumstances you may encounter throughout your career.

• Decide what you're worth with the chapter on "The Business"
• Determine the nature of the miracle your CEO wants with "The Impossible"
• Give effective presentations with "How Not to Throw Up"
• Handle liars and people with devious agendas with "Managing Werewolves"
• Realize when you should be looking for a new gig with "The Itch"

Contents

Section 1: A Career Playbook

Chapter 1: How to Win

Chapter 2: A List of Three

Chapter 3: The Itch

Chapter 4: The Sanity Check

Chapter 5: The Nerves

Chapter 6: The Button

Chapter 7: The Business

Section 2: Deconstructing Management

Chapter 8: The Culture Chart

Chapter 9: Managing Managers

Chapter 10: The Issue with the Doof

Chapter 11: The Leaper

Chapter 12: The Enemy

Chapter 13: The Impossible

Chapter 14: Knee Jerks

Chapter 15: A Deep Breath

Chapter 16: Gaming the System

Chapter 17: Managing Werewolves

Chapter 18: BAB

Chapter 19: Your People

Chapter 20: Wanted

Chapter 21: The Toxic Paradox

Chapter 22: The Pond

Section 3: Your Daily Toolkit

Chapter 23: The Nerd Handbook

Chapter 24: The Taste of the Day

Chapter 25: The Trickle List

Chapter 26: The Crisis and the Creative

Chapter 27:The Foamy Rules for Rabid Tools

Chapter 28: Up to Nothing

Chapter 29: How to Not Throw Up

Chapter 30: Out l oud

Chapter 31: Bits, Features, and Truth

Chapter 32: The Reveal

Section 4: Your Next Gig

Chapter 33: The Screw-Me Scenario

Chapter 34: No Surprises

Chapter 35: A Deliberate Career

Chapter 36: The Curse of the Silicon Valley

Chapter 37: A Disclosure

Chapter 38: Mind the Gap

Chapter 39: The Exodus

Chapter 40: Bad News About Your Bright Future

Epilogue: Hurry

Appendix: The Rules of Back Alley Bridge

About the Author

Michael Lopp is a Silicon Valley-based engineering manager. When he's not worrying about staying relevant, he writes about pens, bridges, people, and werewolves at the popular weblog, Rands in Repose. Michael wrote a book called "Managing Humans" which explains that while you might be rewarded for what you produce, you will only be successful because of your people.