[Be a Better Pro] Books to Read - The Passionate Programmer

There is more to career development for programmers than simply training hard on technical “features.”

Know how to communicate, understand better your peer's roles and tasks, be in sync with the business plan... this list could go on with an infinite number of skills that are just as important as better programming skills or being the best mathematician ever.

I’ll try to start spreading what I’ve learned about being a better professional these years, and I guess that picking a good book is a nice place to begin.

The Passionate Programmer by Chad Fowler is a non-technical book that gives tips on how to be a better professional. It's targeted to programmers and yet can be easily read by others.

It has 54 chapters full of tips, gotchas and real histories. Between this myriad of words there is one thing at the end of each chapter that totally gets my attention: The “Do Something” section.

As small as this request seems, each small step leads towards improvement. Furthermore, as small steps are easier to accomplish, they provide a fast and good feeling of moving forward.

So when you’re reading this book, DO NOT SKIP those activities! Try to complete them or a version of them, but most importantly DO IT!

Some of the ideas in this book opened my mind, both for things I didn’t know and for things I already knew (in this case adding to them). Nice, huh? Okay, so here is a glimpse of the book with my comments.

Now is the time to think in the domains that you invest your time.
(Chapter 3)

Understanding your business can be the difference between the bad, the good, and the excellent (totally cliché I know).

Another example of good knowledge spread throughout the book that I see ignored by peers is on who you work with and who you seek knowledge with.

A mentor is someone in whom you can trust enough to ask: “What should be different in me as a professional”
(Chapter 13)

The people around you affect your performance. Choose wisely your group. (Chapter 4)

There are some points of view that Chad exposes which I have to disagree with, yet different opinions are good for helping increase your judgment about the subjects and construct knowledge, and therefore I urge you not to skip even when you start feeling like drifting away.

Ready for a boost of inspiration? Is it cheap? Yeah it is (worth every cent)!

If you want the English version, Amazon has a $10 Kindle version here. Or, get an e-reader friendly version for $18 at The Pragmatic Bookshelf.

And if you want the Brazilian Portuguese version, the Casa do Código has a R$29,90 ebook version here.