T-Shape Skill Model ⭐
─────────────────────── ← Breadth (many skills)
│
│ Depth (one expertise)
│
│
│
Horizontal: DB, Frontend, DevOps, Testing basic
Vertical: Backend deep (language, framework, patterns)
Career Ladder Re-cap
| Level | Focus |
|---|---|
| Junior (0-2y) | Learn, deliver tasks |
| Mid (2-5y) | Feature independent, help junior |
| Senior (5-8y) | System design, mentor, project lead |
| Staff (8-12y) | Cross-team, architecture |
| Principal/Distinguished | Company-wide tech direction |
Two Career Tracks
Individual Contributor (IC) ← Technical depth
↓↑
Tech Lead
↓↑
Engineering Manager ← People management
↓↑
Director / VP
Either choose. Both valuable।
Learning Habits ⭐
- Read code — 70%, write 30%
- 1 technical book/month
- Side project — experiment new tech
- Blog posts — teach = learn
- Conference talks — YouTube (free!)
- Newsletter — Bytes, InfoQ, DevOps Weekly
- Podcasts — commute time
- Pair programming — senior থেকে শিখুন
Must-Read Books ⭐
- Clean Code — Robert Martin
- The Pragmatic Programmer — Hunt/Thomas
- Designing Data-Intensive Applications — Kleppmann
- Refactoring — Fowler
- Clean Architecture — Martin
- Code Complete — McConnell
- Domain-Driven Design — Evans
- System Design Interview — Alex Xu
- The Mythical Man-Month — Brooks
- Accelerate — Forsgren (DORA)
Deliberate Practice
- Specific goal (master async pattern)
- Outside comfort zone
- Immediate feedback
- Repetition with refinement
LeetCode / Competitive Programming
Interview prep + algorithmic thinking। Weekly 2-3 problems। Focus: array, tree, graph, DP, system design।
Open Source Contribution ⭐
- Use projects you love
- Read CONTRIBUTING.md
- Start: docs, tests, small bugs
- "good first issue" label
- Build relationships with maintainers
- Eventually: maintain own library
সুবিধা: portfolio, network, real codebase, recognition।
Personal Brand
- GitHub — active, quality pinned
- LinkedIn — updated, endorsements
- Twitter/X — tech conversation
- Blog/Medium — long-form writing
- YouTube/TikTok — if comfortable
- Speaking — meetup → conference
Soft Skills ⭐
- Communication — most undervalued
- Writing clearly
- Presenting ideas
- Meeting facilitation
- Giving/receiving feedback
- Negotiation
- Empathy, active listening
- Time/priority management
- Stress management
Time Management
- Deep work blocks (2-4h no meeting)
- Pomodoro (25/5)
- Eisenhower matrix (urgent × important)
- Say no to low-value
- Calendar block
- Email batch (2x/day)
Burnout Prevention
- Set work hours boundary
- Take vacations (actually disconnect)
- Exercise regularly
- Sleep 7-8h
- Hobbies outside tech
- Say no to extra when full
- Talk about it (manager, therapist)
Finding Mentor
- Senior at current company
- LinkedIn reach-out (polite, specific ask)
- Open source maintainer
- Formal program (ADPList, MentorCruise)
Being a Mentor
Junior-কে শেখান → নিজেও শিখবেন। Teaching = highest retention।
Specialization Options ⭐
- Backend deep (distributed systems)
- Frontend (performance, a11y)
- DevOps / SRE
- Data Engineer / ML
- Security Engineer
- Mobile (iOS/Android)
- Embedded / Systems
- Game Dev
- Blockchain
Financial Planning
- Emergency fund (6 month expense)
- Invest (index fund, DPS)
- RSU/options understand (equity)
- Negotiate salary (research market)
- Side income (freelance, teaching)
- Tax planning
Long-term Vision
5-10 year plan কী চাই? Big-tech senior? Startup CTO? Entrepreneur? Academic? Reverse-engineer path থেকে।