Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual is a unique guide, offering techniques and practices for a more satisfying life as a professional software developer. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez addresses a wide range of important "soft" topics, from career and productivity to personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships, all from a developer-centric viewpoint.

Forewords by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob) and Scott Hanselman.

Table of Contents

Section 1 Career

2 Getting started with a "BANG!": Don't do what everyone else does

3 Thinking about the future: What are your goals?

4 People skills: You need them more than you think

5 Hacking the interview

6 Employment options: Enumerate your choices

7 What kind of software developer are you?

8 Not all companies are equal

9 Climbing the corporate ladder

10 Being a professional

11 Freedom: How to quit your job

12 Freelancing: Going out on your own

13 Creating your first product

14 Do you want to start a startup?

15 Working remotely survival strategies

16 Fake it till you make it

17 Resumes are BORING- Let's fix that

18 Don't get religious about technology

Section 2 Marketing yourself

19 Marketing basics for code monkeys

20 Building a brand that gets you noticed

21 Creating a wildly successful blog

22 Your primary goal: Add value to others

23 #UsingSocialNetworks

24 Speaking, presenting, and training: Speak geek

25 Writing books and articles that attract a following

26 Don't be afraid to look like an idiot

Section 3 learning

27 learning how to learn: How to teach yourself

28 My 10-step process

29 Steps 1- 6: Do these once

30 Steps 7-10: Repeat these

31 looking for mentors: Finding your Yoda

32 Taking on an apprentice: Being Yoda

33 Teaching: learn you want? Teach you must.

34 Do you need a degree or can you "wing it?"

35 Finding gaps in your knowledge

Section 4 Productivity

36 It all starts with focus

37 My personal productivity plan

38 Pomodoro Technique

39 My quota system: How I get way more done than I should

40 Holding yourself accountable

41 Multitasking dos and don'ts

42 Burnout: I've got the cure!

43 How you're wasting your time

44 The importance of having a routine

45 Developing habits: Brushing your code

46 Breaking down things: How to eat an elephant

47 The value of hard work and why you keep avoiding it

48 Any action is better than no action

Section 5 Financial

49 What are you going to do with your paycheck?

50 How to negotiate your salary

51 Options: Where all the fun is

52 Bits and bytes of real estate investing

53 Do you really understand your retirement plan?

54 The danger of debt: SSDs are expensive

55 Bonus: How I retired at 33

Section 6 Fitness

56 Why you need to hack your health

57 Setting your fitness criteria

58 Thermodynamics, calories, and you

59 Motivation: Getting your butt out of the chair

60 How to gain muscle: Nerds can have bulging biceps

61 How to get hash-table abs

62 Starting RunningProgram.exe

63 Standing desks and other hacks

64 Tech gear for fitness: Geeking out

Section 7 Spirit

65 How the mind influences the body

66 Having the right mental attitude: Rebooting

67 Building a positive self-image: Programming your brain

68 Love and relationships: Computers can't hold your hand

69 My personal success book list

70 Facing failure head-on

71 Parting words

About the Book

For most software developers, coding is the fun part. The hard bits are dealing with clients, peers, and managers, staying productive, achieving financial security, keeping yourself in shape, and finding true love. This book is here to help.

Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual is a guide to a well-rounded, satisfying life as a technology professional. In it, developer and life coach John Sonmez offers advice to developers on important "soft" subjects like career and productivity, personal finance and investing, and even fitness and relationships. Arranged as a collection of 71 short chapters, this fun-to-read book invites you to dip in wherever you like. A Taking Action section at the end of each chapter shows you how to get quick results. Soft Skills will help make you a better programmer, a more valuable employee, and a happier, healthier person.

What's Inside

•  Boost your career by building a personal brand

•  John's secret ten-step process for learning quickly

•  Fitness advice to turn your geekiness to your advantage

•  Unique strategies for investment and early retirement

About the Author

John Sonmez is a developer, teacher, and life coach who helps technical professionals boost their careers and live a more fulfilled life.