I try not to give a lot of prescriptive advice about working in tech companies. There are many ways to be successful, and every company works differently. If…
Maybe you should do less “work”
Working in tech, I've observed developers who work as hard as possible when they don't need to. I’m here today to tell you that it's a bad idea and you shouldn't do it.
Frustrated at Work? That Might Just Lead to Your Next Breakthrough (Published 2019)
Don’t discount the misfits on your team.
How tech workers are feeling in 2026: a workforce splitting in two
Results from our second annual tech worker sentiment survey
I'm addicted to being useful
When I get together with my friends in the industry, I feel a little guilty about how much I love my job. This is a tough time to be a software engineer. The job was less stressful in the late 2010s than it is now, and I sympathize with anyone who is upset about the change. There are a lot of objective reasons to feel bad about work. But despite all that, I’m still having a blast. I enjoy pulling together projects, figuring out difficult bugs, and writing code in general. I like spending time with computers. But what I really love is being useful.
I'm an American software developer and the "broligarchs" don't speak for me - ratfactor
Here I am, a software developer in the year 2025. I look around at "tech" in the news and in culture and I don’t like what I see. Something has gone very, very wrong with the Big Tech bros. I can no longer keep silent because it pains me to imagine these people representing ME.
Why Is Everyone In Tech So Sad?
A lot of people seem to be realizing that knowledge work is mostly pointless. AI might give us the pleasure of finding out what happens if an entire class of workers loses faith in their careers.
‘Shut up and focus on the mission’: Tech workers are frustrated by their companies’ silence about ICE
“I’ve hit my limit of what I’m willing to tolerate”
Opinion | Congratulations! You’ve Been Fired (Published 2016)
Life in the new tech workplace is suspiciously like life in the old sweatshop.
Richard Geldreich's Blog: Tech company patterns
First off, I'm not finished with this blog post. Don't take it too seriously. This is not about any one company . Some aren't even from me....
A Deceptively Simple Way to Find More Happiness at Work (Published 2019)
You don’t need to change everything about your job to see major benefits. A few changes here and there can be all you need.
You Deserve a Tech Union
There's a resurgent labor movement in the tech industry. Tech workers--designers, engineers, writers, and many others--have learned that when they stand together, they're poised to build a better version of the tech industry. They haven't stopped there: at companies from Kickstarter to Google, workers have formed unions. And you should, too. But what are unions? And why do they matter? Ethan Marcotte answers these questions through extensive research and by interviewing tech workers with real-world union-building experience. Ethan shares these workers' insights and stories, weaving them together to outline the process for forming a union of your very own. Because you--yes, you--deserve a tech union.
The Engineering Manager’s Guide to Emotional Tolerance
Five ways to lead with emotion without losing yourself in the process.
The Biggest Mistake I See Engineers Make
Throughout my career, the biggest mistake I see engineers make is doing too much work on their own before looping in others. I’ve experienced this mistake as both an IC and a manager. As an IC, it’s a mistake I made many, many times early in my ow...