Category Archives: People

Should I Stay or Should I Go? (Na na na na na na na na)

Should I stay or move to a new company? That is a question that many engineers and individuals working in the technology landscape today ask themselves when figuring out their next career move.

I wouldn’t call myself an expert on developers resigning, but I do have a few thoughts on the resignation versus mobility debate. In my 10.6-year tenure, I’ve resigned twice, retracted a resignation once, moved teams twice, been promoted once, and moved roles several more times within teams. This experience has moulded my viewpoints on tech careers.

In this piece, I’ll cover the reasons people, and more specifically engineers, quit; when a move might be a better option for you; and tips for managers on how to handle resignations with grace based on my own experiences on both sides of the table.

Get Off the Phone

In the world of always connected it’s often difficult to disconnect from work. Especially in the age of bring your own device, where many organisations give employees the ability to have work on personal devices.

After a year of having my personal device work free, I reflect on the benefits this has given me. Here I share the drivers that caused me to refute Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, as a productivity driver, and share tips and tricks to help you decide whether unplugging from the work Matrix will work for you.

The Great Impostor

When we were young, we relished the opportunity to pretend to be someone else. In our current roles, being someone we think we are not feels far more stressful.

Through my own career journey, including breaks from active software development for maternity leave and roles in Scrum Mastery and tech management, and discussing similar experiences with others, I’ve found there are points where the presence of that lurking impostor feels more prominent. Here I discuss the times where impostor syndrome can be particularly hard to manage, using my own and others experiences, and some learning tips to help silence the faker.

Long Distance Call

Where is Our WFH Workspace Empathy? Let’s be honest, we are already getting tired of hearing about COVID-19. It dominates our media headlines. It is leading to the cancellation of many events and conferences. Company policies are invading our mailboxes. The resulting panic is emptying our supermarket shelves. As much as we want to ignoreContinue reading “Long Distance Call”

One Week

The Adventures of a Newly Returning Coder Parent Cue the fanfare. Coder Mummy is back! Following six months of bottles, nappies and home nursery rhyme karaoke, the time has come to return to work. It’s constantly been referred to as my transition. In a way that’s true. Frustratingly, my first week has definitely been more ofContinue reading “One Week”

You Learn

Evaluating The Effectiveness of Different Learning Mediums on Long Term Leave We spend a significant portion of our adult lives working. Eurostat estimates the expected working life duration of EU workers in 2018 to be 36.2 years. Given such a large window, it may come as no surprise that we all need a longer break thanContinue reading “You Learn”

The Mother We Share

Confessions of a Neurotic New Mummy Coder Becoming a parent is hard. It doesn’t matter how many books you read. Or how many warnings you receive from friends and colleagues. Or however many hours of extra sleep you attempt to stockpile in advance. Your new reality swings through like a sledgehammer through a paper wall. AContinue reading “The Mother We Share”

Just the Two of Us

Affects of Work Environment on Pair Programming Productivity Lennon and McCartney. Tom and Jerry. Macaroni and Cheese. Life is filled with famous duos. It is indeed true that two heads are better than one. Collaboration in all forms allows for diversification of thought that more often than not contributes to a better solution. It isContinue reading “Just the Two of Us”