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Confessions of a Software Techie: The Surprising Truth about Things that Really Matter
"A Readers' Favorite Book Award Finalist"
"book sets you on a journey of enlightenment. Someone finally voiced for all the techies and I honestly couldn't be more happy and content."
—Abdul Vasi, CEO of Web hosting company Hostcats.com
"Very heart based, which is great. Very real life. Nice work. Good use of references too."
--Mark Roberts, Great Chief at Croatan Tribal Nation and Trust
"fascinating book with so many interesting and real-life examples around the factors that drive success in work place and life in general."
--Supriya Srivastava, former Tech lead at Infosys
"looks good. Interesting perspective indeed."
--Kaustubh Mahajan, Senior Consultant at Deloitte
"complete self-help package...."
--Phani Vijay, Business Analyst at Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS)
Confessional. “How-to”. Entertaining. Software world is in a disruptive phase. Technology is changing, business needs are changing, and so should the techies. Without sugar coating and without conforming to be politically right, this book will remove the haziness and share the truth to thrive as a techie at work and life.
After completing more than a decade in the tech world, Ramakrishna Reddy, tells it like it is. By drawing from a decade of experience as a techie, he has distilled work, performance, communication, productivity, politics, health, money, relationships and much more into his 6th book Confessions of a Software Techie.
You’ll
- 10 lessons that they do NOT teach in classrooms
- How to deal with people and politics
- 7 practical ideas to get more done from less
- How to write emails that people want to read and act
- Four things you must do to speak effectively with clients, and stakeholders
- A simple 7 step system to fast track your presentations skills
- 4 things you must know to quantify performance
- How to handle the 7 painful problems that every techie will face
- 6 steps to lead a healthy life (and its just not eating right)
- Learn why "Studying and getting a good job" is bad advise
- Learn different options to create passive income
- Why guys should not chase girls and (what to do instead)
- What a woman wants from HER guy
and much more....
Order this book NOW by clicking the button at the top right corner of this page.
"book sets you on a journey of enlightenment. Someone finally voiced for all the techies and I honestly couldn't be more happy and content."
—Abdul Vasi, CEO of Web hosting company Hostcats.com
"Very heart based, which is great. Very real life. Nice work. Good use of references too."
--Mark Roberts, Great Chief at Croatan Tribal Nation and Trust
"fascinating book with so many interesting and real-life examples around the factors that drive success in work place and life in general."
--Supriya Srivastava, former Tech lead at Infosys
"looks good. Interesting perspective indeed."
--Kaustubh Mahajan, Senior Consultant at Deloitte
"complete self-help package...."
--Phani Vijay, Business Analyst at Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS)
Confessional. “How-to”. Entertaining. Software world is in a disruptive phase. Technology is changing, business needs are changing, and so should the techies. Without sugar coating and without conforming to be politically right, this book will remove the haziness and share the truth to thrive as a techie at work and life.
After completing more than a decade in the tech world, Ramakrishna Reddy, tells it like it is. By drawing from a decade of experience as a techie, he has distilled work, performance, communication, productivity, politics, health, money, relationships and much more into his 6th book Confessions of a Software Techie.
You’ll
- 10 lessons that they do NOT teach in classrooms
- How to deal with people and politics
- 7 practical ideas to get more done from less
- How to write emails that people want to read and act
- Four things you must do to speak effectively with clients, and stakeholders
- A simple 7 step system to fast track your presentations skills
- 4 things you must know to quantify performance
- How to handle the 7 painful problems that every techie will face
- 6 steps to lead a healthy life (and its just not eating right)
- Learn why "Studying and getting a good job" is bad advise
- Learn different options to create passive income
- Why guys should not chase girls and (what to do instead)
- What a woman wants from HER guy
and much more....
Order this book NOW by clicking the button at the top right corner of this page.
- GenresNonfictionProgramming
283 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2017
74 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 18, 2020
Good Book for the software professional who are new in Industry.
Generally scenarios explained in book are applicable for IT folks having experience between 2 to 6 years.
Scenario are realistic & yes even I have experiences such scenarios in day to day IT life.
Pros :
It goes to an extent of explaining and detailing the ways to improve communication , email writing.
Generally scenarios explained in book are applicable for IT folks having experience between 2 to 6 years.
Scenario are realistic & yes even I have experiences such scenarios in day to day IT life.
Pros :
It goes to an extent of explaining and detailing the ways to improve communication , email writing.
December 18, 2017
If I am asked to define the book in a sentence, I would like to say that this is the book that I would want to gift my kids when they grow up. From professional to personal, author has dealt variety of topics. My point of reference with the author was his book ‘The Utlimate Speaking Survival Guide’ and hence I was expecting a small upto the point creation about IT companies, which could be finished in a few hours or a day. Author has apparently surprised me with this creation which is a far cry from the concise abstract.
The introduction itself is a pointer about what to expect further. What impressed me the most is the brief account of author’s relation with his father, who always used to say ‘ No’, which, the author positively recognises as a tactic to handle the harsh realities of the real world. This is what the current mollycoddled generation lacks the most.
The first chapter, Ten lessons not taught in class is an eye opener for everyone, irrespective of the age and experience. The fact that every employee need to be a salesman is applicable to everyone, through which author implies that everyone should sell themselves to the employer. The qualities of honesty and humility are analysed and presented in a fresh perspective. Author tells why solution is important not the problem.The cardinal rules specifies the professional and interpersonal tips for the employees. Next chapter is about prioritising and explains how to get more done with less.
The next chapter how to write effective emails tops my priority list. In the current scenario when all the correspondence is through emails, it is quite relevant that everyone should know the dos and don’ts. The next chapter ‘Speak sense into your listeners’ is an abstract of his Book ‘Public Speaking’. Chapter six is the most important book, which is the prime representative of the title. The second part of the book is about the personal life. The second part is substantially a big brother’s advice to the younger ones, and the same could not be counted relevant in the whole concept of the book.
The book is relevant not only to the techies but to the people working in other areas as well. The title could be Confessions of an employee or something of the similar sort because the current title will thin out the target readers. Overall the book is a good deal for the Indians in the digital format since getting the paperback from the global store will cost you a good fortune.
This review is in return of a free book from the author
The introduction itself is a pointer about what to expect further. What impressed me the most is the brief account of author’s relation with his father, who always used to say ‘ No’, which, the author positively recognises as a tactic to handle the harsh realities of the real world. This is what the current mollycoddled generation lacks the most.
The first chapter, Ten lessons not taught in class is an eye opener for everyone, irrespective of the age and experience. The fact that every employee need to be a salesman is applicable to everyone, through which author implies that everyone should sell themselves to the employer. The qualities of honesty and humility are analysed and presented in a fresh perspective. Author tells why solution is important not the problem.The cardinal rules specifies the professional and interpersonal tips for the employees. Next chapter is about prioritising and explains how to get more done with less.
The next chapter how to write effective emails tops my priority list. In the current scenario when all the correspondence is through emails, it is quite relevant that everyone should know the dos and don’ts. The next chapter ‘Speak sense into your listeners’ is an abstract of his Book ‘Public Speaking’. Chapter six is the most important book, which is the prime representative of the title. The second part of the book is about the personal life. The second part is substantially a big brother’s advice to the younger ones, and the same could not be counted relevant in the whole concept of the book.
The book is relevant not only to the techies but to the people working in other areas as well. The title could be Confessions of an employee or something of the similar sort because the current title will thin out the target readers. Overall the book is a good deal for the Indians in the digital format since getting the paperback from the global store will cost you a good fortune.
This review is in return of a free book from the author
February 7, 2018
There is some humor behind the common sense of the book
This practical handbook for techies is full of common sense remarks and notes and we have to keep in mind that common sense is the basic quality of anyone in any kind of any job. Common sense requires, first of all, a good knowledge of the situation you are in, the company you work for, the people you work for and with, the objectives of the company and the people you work for and with. If you do not understand these things, you better retire straight away. If you understand these things then you just apply simple common sense logic to the situation you are in and wonder what your objective can be, what people expect from you, what you are able to deliver and do, what can valorize you in your own eyes and in the eyes of people around you, you work with or for.
The central concept is added value. What value are you able to add to what comes to you for you to transform it into some effective and usable item. If what you do does not add any value to what you handle, you are useless and you will eventually be replaced by a machine. In modern times when machines are becoming intelligent and are becoming ever abler to do every day more intelligent and smart things, you have to wonder how you can out-perform these intelligent machines. That’s what this book is all about.
Take emails. You can always have an automaton, a robot that can send robotized automatized answers to most emails that come in. Obviously, some cannot be answered by bots, robots and other AI machines. These have to be sorted out. A machine can sort them out as being the emails that machines cannot answer. We are talking about intelligent machines. Then the book is interesting about the advice it provides on how to write a good email, and god knows how many emails are bad that end up in my mailbox. There are a few good ones and unluckily most of these good ones are produced by bots, robots and AI machines. It is amazing how few human beings are able to write a good email, starting with the subject that means nothing and ending with the greetings that are just off the point and ineffective as for establishing a decent relationship.
If you keep in mind this simple idea you will understand that you must treat other people just the same way as you would like them to treat you. If you are a clear-minded person who cannot spend hours every day reading ranting and raving emails or papers you expect people to send you email or papers or memos that are laid out in the most visible way possible, in the clearest hierarchical progression possible, etc. You want to see the main points straight away and in their proper order of importance. You expect bullet points or numbers in proper order of importance. So do the same in your turn.
You expect no frill no thrill no drill communication, keeping the frills, the thrills, and the drills for later tonight at the bar or in front of the TV and whatever comes afterward because working has to be intensive and to the point all the time. True enough a side-remark with humor can be fun now and then but not to the point of disturbing the minds of other people and the work of everyone. You may like gross or sexy humor, but everyone does not and you have to accept that the person you make a sexy remark to has to be ready to accept it and you must be ready to accept his or her retort at the same level, with the same tone. If you tell a student in class that – for any justified reason whatsoever – you are going to spank him one day, first you must be sure he (that’s what you can say to a male student, not to a female student) is able to accept the humor and you must be ready to get his retort like “Promises, always promises, Sir!” which might be quite embarrassing in a classroom or an amphitheater.
It is the same thing at work. It takes two consenting people to have a snowball fight or to exchange humorous remarks. If the two people are not at the same level of understanding and acceptation one is necessarily harassing the other. That’s common sense again. And that is essential in the workplace. Everyone at any level has to be respected, that means that everything you do to anyone, you must be ready to accept the same thing coming from them. If the bullies who harassed women or men were actually ready to be bullied by them there would have been no harassment because a man who treats a woman or a man or a boy or a girl as a sex object is definitely not ready to be treated as a sex object by the women, the men, the boys, or the girls he has treated like that for years. And it works just the same for women because there are quite a few female sexual bullies in the workplace or in society.
So you cannot appreciate this book if you are not in that mood, in that state of mind. But if you are I guess you will find all the notes and remarks just plain sensible and obvious because you would probably have already encountered them and devised them in a way or another.
Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU
This practical handbook for techies is full of common sense remarks and notes and we have to keep in mind that common sense is the basic quality of anyone in any kind of any job. Common sense requires, first of all, a good knowledge of the situation you are in, the company you work for, the people you work for and with, the objectives of the company and the people you work for and with. If you do not understand these things, you better retire straight away. If you understand these things then you just apply simple common sense logic to the situation you are in and wonder what your objective can be, what people expect from you, what you are able to deliver and do, what can valorize you in your own eyes and in the eyes of people around you, you work with or for.
The central concept is added value. What value are you able to add to what comes to you for you to transform it into some effective and usable item. If what you do does not add any value to what you handle, you are useless and you will eventually be replaced by a machine. In modern times when machines are becoming intelligent and are becoming ever abler to do every day more intelligent and smart things, you have to wonder how you can out-perform these intelligent machines. That’s what this book is all about.
Take emails. You can always have an automaton, a robot that can send robotized automatized answers to most emails that come in. Obviously, some cannot be answered by bots, robots and other AI machines. These have to be sorted out. A machine can sort them out as being the emails that machines cannot answer. We are talking about intelligent machines. Then the book is interesting about the advice it provides on how to write a good email, and god knows how many emails are bad that end up in my mailbox. There are a few good ones and unluckily most of these good ones are produced by bots, robots and AI machines. It is amazing how few human beings are able to write a good email, starting with the subject that means nothing and ending with the greetings that are just off the point and ineffective as for establishing a decent relationship.
If you keep in mind this simple idea you will understand that you must treat other people just the same way as you would like them to treat you. If you are a clear-minded person who cannot spend hours every day reading ranting and raving emails or papers you expect people to send you email or papers or memos that are laid out in the most visible way possible, in the clearest hierarchical progression possible, etc. You want to see the main points straight away and in their proper order of importance. You expect bullet points or numbers in proper order of importance. So do the same in your turn.
You expect no frill no thrill no drill communication, keeping the frills, the thrills, and the drills for later tonight at the bar or in front of the TV and whatever comes afterward because working has to be intensive and to the point all the time. True enough a side-remark with humor can be fun now and then but not to the point of disturbing the minds of other people and the work of everyone. You may like gross or sexy humor, but everyone does not and you have to accept that the person you make a sexy remark to has to be ready to accept it and you must be ready to accept his or her retort at the same level, with the same tone. If you tell a student in class that – for any justified reason whatsoever – you are going to spank him one day, first you must be sure he (that’s what you can say to a male student, not to a female student) is able to accept the humor and you must be ready to get his retort like “Promises, always promises, Sir!” which might be quite embarrassing in a classroom or an amphitheater.
It is the same thing at work. It takes two consenting people to have a snowball fight or to exchange humorous remarks. If the two people are not at the same level of understanding and acceptation one is necessarily harassing the other. That’s common sense again. And that is essential in the workplace. Everyone at any level has to be respected, that means that everything you do to anyone, you must be ready to accept the same thing coming from them. If the bullies who harassed women or men were actually ready to be bullied by them there would have been no harassment because a man who treats a woman or a man or a boy or a girl as a sex object is definitely not ready to be treated as a sex object by the women, the men, the boys, or the girls he has treated like that for years. And it works just the same for women because there are quite a few female sexual bullies in the workplace or in society.
So you cannot appreciate this book if you are not in that mood, in that state of mind. But if you are I guess you will find all the notes and remarks just plain sensible and obvious because you would probably have already encountered them and devised them in a way or another.
Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU
October 1, 2018
I downloaded this book pondering a career change. The word Techie and the reasonable ebook price caught my eye.
I thought 'Confessions of a Software Techie' would be a life story of company tech support staff. Although there are elements of that, it is actually a self help guide.
Reddy provides his story but focuses on how to perform better at work. He focuses on writing more effective email, communicating with team members, relating to superiors, and speaking in front of a group. (He is a champion public speaker with a lot to say on the topic). He even discusses romantic relationships and how to do better, which I found entertaining but took with a grain of salt.
The author explains how he ended up being a writer in the last chapter of the book. He gives the advice, "Be a creator, not a consumer." The implications of this are on the surface crazy. But, he's spurring his reader to take action. Another piece of advice he gives is "Get a mentor." He also recommends "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by American psychologist Angela Duckworth.
Looking through the lens of someone seeking employment, this was a worthwhile read, despite grammar issues. And, more importantly, I am implementing his suggestions as I search for work.
I thought 'Confessions of a Software Techie' would be a life story of company tech support staff. Although there are elements of that, it is actually a self help guide.
Reddy provides his story but focuses on how to perform better at work. He focuses on writing more effective email, communicating with team members, relating to superiors, and speaking in front of a group. (He is a champion public speaker with a lot to say on the topic). He even discusses romantic relationships and how to do better, which I found entertaining but took with a grain of salt.
The author explains how he ended up being a writer in the last chapter of the book. He gives the advice, "Be a creator, not a consumer." The implications of this are on the surface crazy. But, he's spurring his reader to take action. Another piece of advice he gives is "Get a mentor." He also recommends "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by American psychologist Angela Duckworth.
Looking through the lens of someone seeking employment, this was a worthwhile read, despite grammar issues. And, more importantly, I am implementing his suggestions as I search for work.
March 6, 2022
Some chapters deserve 5 stars, but I feel that the book chapters are not all necessary. It talks about dating and things that don't seem to fit the subject area. I applaud the author on discussing salary and negotiations and the differences in buying power in the US and India, but this area easily becomes more complex than the short chapter leads one to believe.
The first chapter starts off grammatically rough, but the subsequent chapters seem to have better use of articles and verb structure. This book is the 5th or 6th the author has written and he has done a lot to improve his verbal skills.
One chapter tried to show what it means to take ownership of a responsibility. Technically, the topic is good, but the example about creating artifacts to pass and audit seemed wrong and perhaps dishonest. I think taking ownership in that area would be to put processes in place to ensure the artifacts are generated, not just creating the ones needed for the specific audit.
The more I read the book the less I felt it applied to me. It is really best for a very junior software engineer.
The first chapter starts off grammatically rough, but the subsequent chapters seem to have better use of articles and verb structure. This book is the 5th or 6th the author has written and he has done a lot to improve his verbal skills.
One chapter tried to show what it means to take ownership of a responsibility. Technically, the topic is good, but the example about creating artifacts to pass and audit seemed wrong and perhaps dishonest. I think taking ownership in that area would be to put processes in place to ensure the artifacts are generated, not just creating the ones needed for the specific audit.
The more I read the book the less I felt it applied to me. It is really best for a very junior software engineer.
October 24, 2019
Part of this book is pretty good, other parts not so much. Where the book really shines is in the nitty gritty commentary on career progression and operating in the day to day of a tech job. Things like email etiquette, handling requests, work-product queues, as well as the logic of performance ratings are spot on.
The part where the book sort of falls short is in the later material where he discusses "relationship advice" and making passing income, were mostly weak because they seemed to be "a bridge too far" in terms of the scope of the content. Much of this could probably be a dedicated book in itself, and nothing Reddy wrote on these "life topics" seem to have any idiosyncrasies with respect to techies, they were just general advice.
The first 3/5 is a clear recommend to new people going into a tech-career to get some "no frills basic preview" of broadly what to expect. The rest of the content is an easy pass. Conditional recommend
The part where the book sort of falls short is in the later material where he discusses "relationship advice" and making passing income, were mostly weak because they seemed to be "a bridge too far" in terms of the scope of the content. Much of this could probably be a dedicated book in itself, and nothing Reddy wrote on these "life topics" seem to have any idiosyncrasies with respect to techies, they were just general advice.
The first 3/5 is a clear recommend to new people going into a tech-career to get some "no frills basic preview" of broadly what to expect. The rest of the content is an easy pass. Conditional recommend
October 18, 2017
Sound advice for techies
This was a good book with a lot of sound advice. I think it’s a great book for any young professional to read but especially techs just starting out! He covers so much by using his personal experiences, it keep the book interesting and entertaining while still being educational and giving excellent life advice. He has many valid points that most don’t really think about until someone brings it to their attention. If you’re looking for sound advice on how to program you life you this will definitely be worth your time to read, and study. I found some parts pretty humorous myself, which just made it that much easier to read. I would read it again.
This was a good book with a lot of sound advice. I think it’s a great book for any young professional to read but especially techs just starting out! He covers so much by using his personal experiences, it keep the book interesting and entertaining while still being educational and giving excellent life advice. He has many valid points that most don’t really think about until someone brings it to their attention. If you’re looking for sound advice on how to program you life you this will definitely be worth your time to read, and study. I found some parts pretty humorous myself, which just made it that much easier to read. I would read it again.
November 23, 2017
Very useful book for anyone interested in navigating through a techie job. Simple and practical insights on getting recognised, promoted, and finding job satisfaction. The second part about life was mostly well-known concepts so I rushed through them, except the last chapter which was informative. Again gives some practical guidance on living the creative life, thankfully without any exaggerated drivel on unlocking your potential like other self-help books. I would have liked it even better if it was written to address readers of both genders, which is something most career-advice books neglect to do. But it doesn't take away from the usefulness of it.
October 26, 2017
A good read
I started of this book with an exitement because of some reason. But i wasn't very sure if i'll end this book with the same exitement. To be honest, this book was more than what i was hoping for budding author.
In some places, if you may find it boring for some obvious reasons but some chapters will get deep under you to make you think. To me any book that is helping you think is definitely worth a read. I'm sure many will find the last few chapters more cheerful and interesting.
I started of this book with an exitement because of some reason. But i wasn't very sure if i'll end this book with the same exitement. To be honest, this book was more than what i was hoping for budding author.
In some places, if you may find it boring for some obvious reasons but some chapters will get deep under you to make you think. To me any book that is helping you think is definitely worth a read. I'm sure many will find the last few chapters more cheerful and interesting.
November 14, 2023
The author quickly runs out of things to say. He also tries really hard to drag out the sentences like - "This word starts with E and ends with G", those kind of sentences appear a lot.
Furthermore, the author has nothing to provide to his readers. How to write an email? Overcoming fears? Finding a purpose? Managing emotions? The author has no qualifications for the things he writes about (besides the experience in IT). Why would anyone be interested? Save your time and money - dont buy this.
Furthermore, the author has nothing to provide to his readers. How to write an email? Overcoming fears? Finding a purpose? Managing emotions? The author has no qualifications for the things he writes about (besides the experience in IT). Why would anyone be interested? Save your time and money - dont buy this.
January 18, 2018
A bit amateurish
Seems like it was written by an author just starting out, but it is. That is okay because you can feel the another's passion to help you succeed. Within these pages i found a a plethora of useful advice and wisdom.
Seems like it was written by an author just starting out, but it is. That is okay because you can feel the another's passion to help you succeed. Within these pages i found a a plethora of useful advice and wisdom.
December 3, 2019
excellence in all topics
extremely excellent in each and every topic covered and highly recommended for reading it. i am going to read it 100 more times
extremely excellent in each and every topic covered and highly recommended for reading it. i am going to read it 100 more times
November 14, 2020
A few points that sounded good. Some that sounded obvious after I read them and didn't realize about them. And many points that felt like too much effort.
Read
January 20, 2022For Indian software engineers who plan to migrate to the US (with a tech job), this could be a good read. Maybe a bit dated, but nevertheless some good nuggets of advice.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews