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Two Rounds of AI Negotiation: From $480 to $1,320 September 24, 2026 · 10 min read AI Engineering Silicon Valley Life AI Saves Us Time. Why Does It All Turn Into More Work? September 22, 2026 · 12 min read AI Engineering Career Why a Third of Engineering Managers Are Considering a Return to IC September 11, 2026 ★ Featured · 4 min read Career AI Engineering Welcome to the Blog January 01, 2026 ★ Featured · 2 min read Career Community This blog is where I keep the longer version of what I usually share on social media: career lessons from a non-traditional path into tech, notes on AI engin... Joining a New Company or Team: How to Fit In and Grow September 02, 2022 · 9 min read Career Blameless Postmortems: Reviewing Incidents Without Pointing Fingers October 07, 2021 ★ Featured · 4 min read Career How to Financially Evaluate Whether to Join a Startup March 11, 2021 · 11 min read Career Investing Heard You Have Been Grinding LeetCode: The Data Structures and Algorithms Round in Every Software Engineer Interview December 30, 2020 · 19 min read Career The Many Kinds of Communication at Work December 27, 2020 · 7 min read Career How to Keep Growing Your Impact Inside a Company November 25, 2020 ★ Featured · 11 min read Career Career Growth Notes: Observing and Reflecting on Your Own Abilities November 07, 2020 · 8 min read Career 1:1s and Mid-Cycle Check-Ins in Silicon Valley Tech October 04, 2020 · 9 min read Career Choosing an Industry, a Company, or a Team: A Few Thoughts for Job Hunters August 23, 2020 · 11 min read Career Do the Right Thing vs. Do Things Right July 03, 2020 · 3 min read Career Performance Reviews at US Tech Companies June 12, 2020 · 12 min read Career Saying Goodbye at Work June 10, 2020 · 11 min read Career If Not Now, When? When Will You Make the Change? May 23, 2020 ★ Featured · 21 min read Career Never Waste a Good Crisis May 08, 2020 ★ Featured · 15 min read Career Reader Letter: Job Hunting as a Career-Changing Engineer During the Pandemic April 25, 2020 · 17 min read Career Why I Recommend You Start Writing, or Creating Anything April 12, 2020 ★ Featured · 19 min read Career Community My Notes on Atomic Habits: A Scientific Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones March 13, 2020 · 14 min read Career How Do You Set Goals for Your Career and Your Life? December 13, 2019 · 15 min read Career Got an Offer? How to Negotiate Salary: The Sandwich Method and a Final Move Before You Sign October 05, 2019 ★ Featured · 20 min read Career Asked About Salary Expectations in an Interview? How to Handle the Money Question September 27, 2019 ★ Featured · 14 min read Career Reader Letter: Job Hunting in the US With a Non-STEM Background August 24, 2019 · 20 min read Career Silicon Valley Life Reader Letter: A Semiconductor Engineer in Taiwan, in His 30s, Thinking About a Career Change August 17, 2019 · 25 min read Career An Alternative Path Into Big Tech: Software Engineering Apprenticeships August 03, 2019 ★ Featured · 15 min read Career How to Ask Precise Questions August 03, 2019 ★ Featured · 6 min read Career My Days Working at Facebook: The Offer, Bootcamp, and Choosing a Team May 04, 2019 ★ Featured · 32 min read Career Silicon Valley Life Editor’s note: This post was written in 2019. The policies and benefits described here reflect that time and may have changed since. The Most Effective Way to Get an Interview: Referrals, and the Network I Built Around Them March 15, 2019 ★ Featured · 14 min read Career Community Choices Matter More Than Hard Work January 28, 2019 ★ Featured · 8 min read Career Four Years in Silicon Valley: Life, Work, and What I Have Learned January 19, 2019 ★ Featured · 22 min read Career Silicon Valley Life 2018 Year in Review December 31, 2018 · 11 min read Career Community My NTU Talk: Six Things I Wish I'd Known in College, and Three Rock Bottoms November 10, 2018 ★ Featured · 24 min read Career Do You Have Impostor Syndrome? October 27, 2018 ★ Featured · 14 min read Career How to Get a Job at a US Tech Company October 06, 2018 · 17 min read Career Silicon Valley Life How I Keep Growing: Improving My Skills and Broadening My Horizons September 22, 2018 · 7 min read Career The People Who Gave Me a Chance in America September 14, 2018 · 11 min read Career Community Interview Tips: How to Tell Your Story and Persuade the Interviewer June 13, 2018 · 15 min read Career Mindset, Growth, Luck, and Choices May 24, 2018 · 8 min read Career 2017: Three Highlights and Three Life Lessons December 23, 2017 · 16 min read Career The Fate No Software Engineer Can Escape: Keep Learning, Keep Practicing May 05, 2017 · 11 min read Career Are Software Engineers Miserable and Unhappy? April 29, 2017 · 5 min read Career What a Day Looks Like for a Silicon Valley Software Engineer December 30, 2015 · 21 min read Career Silicon Valley Life You Got the Offer: What to Watch For, and Can You Negotiate More Salary, Stock, or Vacation? September 19, 2015 · 14 min read Career Software Engineer Interview Prep: What to Practice, and How to Balance It With the Job Hunt August 31, 2015 · 9 min read Career Going on the Offensive: I Want to Find a Job. What Sites and Platforms Does Everyone in the US Use, and Which Ones Get Me the Most Interviews? August 15, 2015 · 18 min read Career Silicon Valley Life Get Discovered: How Recruiters and Headhunters Find You, and Why LinkedIn Matters August 10, 2015 · 18 min read Career How Software Engineering Interviews Work in the US August 09, 2015 · 10 min read Career Silicon Valley Life Which Programming Language Should You Learn? I Want to Get Into Google, but I Never Learned X. Will They Accept Someone With a Y Background? August 08, 2015 · 7 min read Career My Experience Job Hunting as a Software Engineer in America August 08, 2015 · 9 min read Career Silicon Valley Life Grateful to Everyone Who Helped Me, and Everyone Who Hurt Me: A Year Without Regrets November 28, 2013 · 8 min read Career Community