Making it Big in Software: Get the Job. Work the Org. Become Great

Making it Big in Software: Get the Job. Work the Org. Become Great

by Sam Lightstone
Released March 2010
Publisher(s): Pearson
ISBN: 9780137067367

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Book description

The Software Insider’s Guide to Getting Hired and Getting to the Top!

Here’s all the information you need to jumpstart your software career: the best ways to get hired, move up, and blaze your way to the top! The software business has radically changed, and this book reveals today’s realities–everything your professors and corporate managers never told you. In his 20 years at IBM as a software architect, senior manager, and lead programmer, Sam Lightstone has briefed dozens of leading companies and universities on careers, new technology, and emerging areas of research. He currently works on one of the world’s largest software development teams and spends a good part of his time recruiting and mentoring software engineers. This book shares all the lessons for success Sam has learned…plus powerful insights from 17 of the industry’s biggest stars. Want to make it big in software? Start right here!

Discover how to

• Get your next job in software development

• Master the nontechnical skills crucial to your success

• “Work the org” to move up rapidly

• Successfully manage your time, projects, and life

• Avoid “killer” mistakes that could destroy your career

• Move up to “medium-shot,” “big-shot,” and finally, “visionary”

• Launch your own winning software company

Exclusive interviews with

Steve Wozniak, Inventor, Apple computer

John Schwarz, CEO, Business Objects

James Gosling, Inventor, Java programming language

Marissa Mayer, Google VP, Search Products and User Experience

Jon Bentley, Author, Programming Pearls

Marc Benioff, CEO and founder, Salesforce.com

Grady Booch, IBM Fellow and co-founder Rational Software

Bjarne Stroustrup, Inventor, C++ programming language

David Vaskevitch, Microsoft CTO

Linus Torvalds, Creator, Linux operating system kernel

Richard Stallman, Founder, Free software movement

Peter Norvig, Google’s Director of Research

Mark Russinovich, Microsoft Fellow and Windows Architect

Tom Malloy, Adobe Chief Software Architect

Diane Greene, Co-founder and past CEO of VMware

Robert Kahn, Co-inventor, the Internet

Ray Tomlinson, Inventor, email

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Contents
  4. Preface
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. About the Author
  7. Part I. Fundamentals
    1. Chapter 1. Making It Big
    2. Chapter 2. What Good Software Is Really About
    3. An Interview with Marissa Mayer: Google VP and First Lady of Software
    4. Chapter 3. School Versus Job
    5. An Interview with Jon Bentley: Author, Programming Pearls
    6. Chapter 4. Mission Impossible? Getting a Job in Software Development
    7. An Interview with Bjarne Stroustrup: Inventor of the C++ Programming Language
    8. Chapter 5. Making the Most of the Early Years As a Software Developer
    9. An Interview with Richard Stallman: Founder of the Free Software Movement
    10. Chapter 6. Essential Skills. Some Are Even Technical
    11. An Interview with Ray Tomlinson: Inventor of Email
    12. Chapter 7. The Sweet Science of Software R&D Organizations
    13. An Interview with Peter Norvig: Google’s Director of Research (responsible for answering more queries than anyone in the history of the world)
    14. Chapter 8. Career Killers
  8. Part II. Leadership
    1. Chapter 9. Working the Org
    2. An Interview with John Schwarz: CEO Business Objects
    3. Chapter 10. Successful Software Project Proposals
    4. An Interview with Linus Torvalds: Mr. Linux
    5. Chapter 11. Career Advancement
    6. An Interview with Mark Russinovich: Windows Guru, Microsoft Technical Fellow
    7. Chapter 12. Time Management
    8. An Interview with David Vaskevitch: Microsoft CTO (a.k.a. Mr. Big)
    9. Chapter 13. Avoiding Software Development Overruns
    10. An Interview with Grady Booch: The Sage of Software Architecture
    11. Chapter 14. Zen and the Critical Art of Balance
    12. An Interview with Tom Malloy: Adobe Chief Software Architect
    13. Chapter 15. Secret Insights on Software Project Management
    14. An Interview with James Gosling: Inventor of the Java Programming Language
    15. Chapter 16. The Big Leagues: From Medium-Shot to Big-Shot
  9. Part III. Greatness
    1. Chapter 17. Leadership in Software Innovation
    2. An Interview with Dr. Robert Kahn: Co-inventor of the Internet
    3. Chapter 18. The Big Leagues: From Big-Shot to Visionary
    4. An Interview with Steve Wozniak: Inventor of the Apple Computer Co-founder of Apple Inc. Pop Icon
    5. Chapter 19. If I Knew Then What I Know Now
    6. An Interview with Marc Benioff: CEO, Salesforce.com
    7. Chapter 20. Going Out on Your Own: The “Software Startup”
    8. An Interview with Diane Greene: Co-founder and past CEO of VMware
    9. Chapter 21. Compensation: Kuh-ching!
    10. Chapter 22. Making It Big?
  10. Index

Product information

  • Title: Making it Big in Software: Get the Job. Work the Org. Become Great
  • Author(s): Sam Lightstone
  • Release date: March 2010
  • Publisher(s): Pearson
  • ISBN: 9780137067367