Build Your Career on Dirty Work (2022)
Embracing "dirty work" in a career involves tackling challenging tasks others avoid, focusing on high-impact opportunities at growth companies, and solving overlooked problems. Managers' involvement and success stories like Zapier and Stripe are highlighted.
Read original article
The article discusses the concept of building a successful career by embracing "dirty work," which refers to tackling challenging tasks that many people avoid. It emphasizes the importance of working at high-growth companies that truly need your contributions and focusing on solving unpleasant problems that others overlook. The author suggests that by taking on these unglamorous challenges, individuals can find high-impact opportunities and stand out in their careers. Examples of such tasks include on-call responsibilities, product support, QA testing, and addressing technical debt. The article also highlights the value of managers actively participating in these tasks to gain a deeper understanding of their teams and products. Additionally, it mentions that successful companies like Zapier and Stripe have built their businesses by solving mundane yet critical problems effectively. The piece concludes by emphasizing that mastering "dirty work" can be a significant differentiator in one's career, leading to valuable skills and insights that can drive success in the long run.
Related
The 10x developer makes their whole team better
The article challenges the idea of the "10x developer" and promotes community learning and collaboration in teams. It emphasizes creating a culture of continuous learning and sharing knowledge for project success.
Bad habits that stop engineering teams from high-performance
Engineering teams face hindering bad habits affecting performance. Importance of observability in software development stressed, including Elastic's OpenTelemetry role. CI/CD practices, cloud-native tech updates, data management solutions, mobile testing advancements, API tools, DevSecOps, and team culture discussed.
The case against morning yoga, daily routines, and endless meetings
The article challenges rigid routines for success, promoting dynamic, high-impact "10x work" that requires agency and seizing opportunities. It emphasizes risk-taking, seeking valuable tasks, and continuous learning for exceptional career outcomes.
The Programmers' Identity Crisis: how do we use our powers for 'good'?
Reflection on ethical dilemmas faced by programmers, discussing challenges of working for companies with questionable practices. Emphasizes rationalizing involvement with conflicting values in tech industry and suggests navigating dilemmas collectively for positive change.
With Nothing to Do
The author reflects on a pivotal moment in their startup's uncertain future, where engineers faced idle time. This led to a realization of the importance of impactful work over uncertainty.
3 commentsThe problem with the kind of dirty work the article suggests is that, often, it's invisible. The benefits of solving a lot of these problems are just far enough removed the work that you will work your arse off and other teams will be the ones shipping faster and getting the credit. You'll spend your day fighting fires and the guys running around with a can of gas and a pack of matches are the ones who the execs will see "making things happen".
If you get a manager who understands what you do and has your back, and you get satisfaction from a job well done it can be rewarding. But if either of those changes you can also be on a fast track to burnnout and disillusionment.
Related
The 10x developer makes their whole team better
The article challenges the idea of the "10x developer" and promotes community learning and collaboration in teams. It emphasizes creating a culture of continuous learning and sharing knowledge for project success.
Bad habits that stop engineering teams from high-performance
Engineering teams face hindering bad habits affecting performance. Importance of observability in software development stressed, including Elastic's OpenTelemetry role. CI/CD practices, cloud-native tech updates, data management solutions, mobile testing advancements, API tools, DevSecOps, and team culture discussed.
The case against morning yoga, daily routines, and endless meetings
The article challenges rigid routines for success, promoting dynamic, high-impact "10x work" that requires agency and seizing opportunities. It emphasizes risk-taking, seeking valuable tasks, and continuous learning for exceptional career outcomes.
The Programmers' Identity Crisis: how do we use our powers for 'good'?
Reflection on ethical dilemmas faced by programmers, discussing challenges of working for companies with questionable practices. Emphasizes rationalizing involvement with conflicting values in tech industry and suggests navigating dilemmas collectively for positive change.
With Nothing to Do
The author reflects on a pivotal moment in their startup's uncertain future, where engineers faced idle time. This led to a realization of the importance of impactful work over uncertainty.