Who Am I?

Hunter Davis

Director of Engineering at Avvo and Oversight Board Member at Apprenti

Real Engineering "Math"

(And Other Helpful Tidbits)

Pair Programming - My Misconceptions

  • 50% Less Efficient
  • Doesn't work for difficult tasks (algorithms)
  • I would lose "credit" for my work
  • Only done in academia, not the 'real world'

Pair Programming - The Real Math

  • 3 + 5 = 10 ... eventually
  • It works especially well for difficult tasks (algorithms)
  • Skills mentorship is worth more to a business than your ego
  • Having a growth mindset on the job will make your career

My Value to the Org - My Misconceptions

  • My value is 100% the work I produce.
  • Helping others is a waste of time.
  • "Why would I know what that person is working on?"

My Value to the Org - The Real Math

  • My value = My Work + (% Improvement to Others * #Individuals)
  • Teaching is a multiplier
  • As you grow your career the right hand of that equation becomes huge
  • Bonus - Fewer Problems When You Work Together!

How Much Time Should I Spend When Feeling Stuck?

1 hour * level, unless your team size is one.

How Much Time To Invest Into A Proposal?

3 Hours % Level (Provided it warrants a proposal)

The Value of Conferences

(i.e. how do I get my boss to pay for a conference?)
  1. Early Career: Skills Growth + Networking
  2. Mid/Late Career: Hiring + Networking + Branding
  3. Pro-Tip: Show value by teaching others
  4. Pro-Pro-Tip: Start with a book!

High Value Questions

  • Can you help me understand X
  • Can you give me advice about Y
  • What happens if Z becomes unresponsive?

My Internship Experience

  • Subsidiary of a Tobacco Corporation
  • My performance started to suffer, mis-alignmnet of prioritization values
  • Met my first on the job mentor who changed my life
  • Bonus Info - Often immediately escorted off premesis when you put in your 2-weeks notice at very large corporations

Mentorship Math is Exponential

  • Watch-Do-Teach, Repeat
  • Everyone you teach can teach others
  • Folks Carry Skills Growth Across Jobs
  • Current Organization Reaps Compound Interest

Bonus - That Which You Mock

For many years I had a ... less than stellar attitude

Especially when it came to technology choices


Hunter in 2001

Assembler language is the only real programming

Those C/C++ Programmers just aren't good enough to write assembler.

Don't even get me started on management


Hunter in 2003

(Now Working Professionally as a C++ Programmer)

C++ is the language of real hackers!

Those Java programmers can't figure out how to manage memory

Javascript programmers, thats just an oxymoron

Kind of Like Managment Intelligence, ha ha


Hunter in 2007

(Now Management)

At least I'm not writing Javascript


Hunter in 2010

(Now managing a start-up primarily coding in Javascript)

At least it's not Java


Hunter in 2016

(I've just spent the past 6 years as a Java developer)

...still in management

At least I'm not one of those executives


Hunter later in 2016

Just Kidding about that executive thing :)


Thank you!


hunter@hunterdavis.com

View this Presentation Online at: http://www.hunterdavis.com/ or http://github.com/huntergdavis