Getting into IT with Grant

I have, unfortunately, dealt with plenty of narcissists in the workplace throughout my career.  Although these encounters are rare, they do happen, they are dangerous people, and when you confront them you need to be prepared for what you're getting into.  Narcissists are not like other people, so you must enter their world (temporarily) if you are going to come out of the engagement intact.

In this episode, we discuss narcissism, the two types of narcissist, patterns of abuse (including the DARVO pattern of manipulation and gaslighting), as well as a real life story of me having to manage one of these types of individual.  Yes, bad managers need to be (and sometimes get!) removed from positions of authority.

Please join me on this weird journey through personality disorders in the corporate world!

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I am launching a Patreon as well!  I want to continue producing the content you care about, help you network with one another, and even have guests from the industry on the podcast to discuss their own experience.  By supporting the podcast, you will help it expand and do more good in the world.

When you sign up, you will be able to join my discord server, get some swag, AND through the end of May Gold Patrons will get a 30 minute 1-on-1 video or phone call with me to discuss career coaching or any topic of their choice.

https://grantdryden.com/patreon

Someone wrote to me recently about working very hard and finally getting their dream job, only to discover that they hated it!  That sucks and I know many of us have been there before in our own careers.  It would be a tragedy to throw away a high paying, promising career if the reason why we hated it was something that we could control. 

In this episode, I read their message and then respond with what I think is really going on.  I don't think this person hated their job, but I do think they hated the environment that they were doing their job in.  Once you hear their predicament, tell me: what do you think they should do?

If you’ve ever wanted to do game dev, hear the story of how I published my first video game, Bonsai.  We’ll review the core concept of the game, the process of building it and the choices of technology, and the distribution of it on Steam.  It was fun, but wasn’t all rose colored!

Here is a link to Bonsai on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/444160/Bonsai/

As you write software, you are going to make mistakes.  These mistakes, or bugs and defects, have to be fixed while you continue to make your product better and build new features.  So how can you make sure you're making enough progress on your product while addressing all the of the bugs that are bound to pop up?

First, we'll begin by classifying bugs, features, and technical debt.  Then, we'll be able to talk about how much time should be devoted to these types of work, and finally top it off with some tips and tricks on how to prioritize these things relative to one another.

You don't have to be Agile to follow along, but I'd highly recommend it!  Having a backlog of work defined will make the prioritization much easier.

Before we can talk about how to lead a software development team, we have to talk about leadership as a discipline.  We'll look to George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Captain David Marquet, and General Stanley McChrystal for good examples of how to organize groups of people to achieve a goal in a rapidly changing landscape.

We will then extend these examples into business and finally into information technology and engineering.  By the end of this episode, we will have talked about the value of decentralized command and how to lead a modern software development team to achieve goals and become high performing.

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Our Sponsor:

Electronic Specifier Insights Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/electronic-specifier-insights/id1508314202

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Additional Resources:

David Marquet, Turn the Ship Around!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqmdLcyES_Q

Team of Teams
https://www.amazon.com/Team-Teams-Rules-Engagement-Complex/dp/1591847486

Jocko Willink's Extreme Ownership Muster
https://echelonfront.com/muster/

Did you know that Southwest Airlines can fly internationally?  I was the technical lead on their international flights program, and in this episode I share a little bit about the behind-the-scenes technical issues associated with that new business offering. 

I dig into one problem in particular: how to modify a 20-year-old flight dispatch system to accurately identify new mission types based on an aircraft's equipment.

And, a big thank you to our sponsors:

https://simpletranscribe.com

One of the more common questions I get is "what's the difference between software engineer and software developer?"  Well, here's the answer!  We'll discuss what engineering is first, then dive into the specifics that set apart a software engineer from a developer, and we'll even discuss how software architecture fits into the mix.  For good measure, we'll have to touch on Agile and DevOps, but we'll mostly stick to software engineering as defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and how the software development lifecycle relates to all of this.  We've got lots to cover to explain the difference!

What makes a resume effective?  No, not what font or layout to use, but HOW to convey WHAT information so that you get an interview!  The goal of the resume is to get a call back after all, that's where its purpose ends.  The best resume in the world won't get you the job, but it can give you an opportunity to shine in front of the hiring manager.

So, hear some perspective on what a job requisition is and what the purpose of a resume is.  Then, top it all off with a real review of a resume from a Cybersecurity applicant for an entry-level position.  By the end of this episode, you should have a clear goal and method for producing a killer resume to land your next job!

Everybody feels undercompensated at some point in their career, but asking for a raise isn't as simple as busting into your manager's office and telling them you deserve more money!  In this episode, I explain how to do market research and put together a solid strategy for winning over your manager and showing the other stakeholders in your career what value you bring to the table.  You heard that right, your manager isn't the only person you need to consider, so let's discuss how to be successful at handling this conversation as well as what to do if you tried hard but your raise is still denied.

Hear first hand what it's like to work on Top Secret, classified programs as an engineer.  Is this work as interesting as it sounds, or is it surprisingly boring!?  I'll share my experience and tell what I'm authorized to tell so you can gain an insight into what it is actually like to work on a Top Secret program.  Maybe you'll decide this is the life for you and go apply! 

Most of the episode focuses on the BAMS program and my work on the Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) systems of the Global Hawk.  If you have no idea what it's like to work for a defense company on embedded systems and secret programs, then here's your chance to learn!