Hello! I’m Mike Chen, software engineer, father, and recovering big tech company employee. I write about software, business, and crippling self-doubt.
Posts
How to ask questions as a new engineer
3 tips for asking for help that will make mentors love working with you
Apr 19, 2022
A year of parenthood
Mar 12, 2022
From internet lurker to content creator: 3 mindset shifts that helped me overcome my fear of publishing
Oct 24, 2021
10x jobs
Not all jobs are created equal
Oct 17, 2021
The two most lucrative skills in the tech industry
You're in the game already, why not play to win?
Oct 14, 2021
Productivity as fantasy
My learnings about the limits of productivity and time management
Oct 9, 2021
Blameless postmortems and personal problems
How to use the tech industry’s greatest contribution to corporate culture to fix your bad habits
Sep 18, 2021
Starting over
My struggle with perfectionism, i.e. how to publish a blog post once every 3 years.
Aug 31, 2021
Building empathy as a software developer
Tips on mastering one of the most underrated soft skills you need to succeed in your career
Nov 17, 2018
4 tips for increasing your programming productivity
Tips and tricks on how to maximize your productivity and to be as efficient as you can be
Dec 11, 2015
How you can learn to program: web development resources
A small collection of resources and what I think they can teach you if you're just starting out
Dec 5, 2015
How you can learn to program: choosing a language
A non-definitive, totally subjective guide to choosing your first web development language
Nov 30, 2015
How I learned to program - part 3
Learning to love front-end development and finding my way out to Silicon Valley
Mar 25, 2015
How I learned to program - part 2
Learning data structures and algorithms to uncover the fundamentals of my craft
Mar 12, 2015
How I learned to program - part 1
How and why I abandoned my degree and took a job that quartered my salary
Mar 10, 2015