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Summary

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.

Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications.

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.

Table of Contents

1. Why this book is unlike any book you've ever read

   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 things down: 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