A Life Engineered
I just quit my job at Amazon, where I spent nearly 18 years, to help others up-level their careers. I know I can help you too.
My mission is to inspire people who who want to have an exceptional career. Meaningful work, whether you work for a company, big or small, or even go into business on your own, has the power to transform your life for the better. All that's necessary is the motivation to do so (that's what you bring) and a bit of know-how (that's what I bring).
I lead with tech because that's where I come from, but my content is not tech-specific.
Whether you're looking for your first job, looking to change careers, or trying to climb the ladder to the highest rung , I believe the most important thing is that we are intentional with our actions and strive to do the best we can, for the benefit of our family, friends, society at-large, and of course, ourselves.
A Life Engineered
There’s a huge difference between job security and career security.
They're not the same thing by a mile.
Job Security = Static Thinking
Job security is making sure you and your work is needed. If people depend on you, you won't get fired. You avoid change because change threatens your relevance.
Career Security = Dynamic Thinking
Career security is making sure you're valuable when things change. You lean into adaptability because you know change is inevitable.
Don't conflate being needed with being valuable.
They are two very different things.
The person who’s indispensable by hoarding critical work creates job security. This works until the company pivots, gets acquired, or the process changes. When AI automates the process you’re no longer needed.
The person who up-levels their skills, shares knowledge, and builds the automation stays relevant. They thrive during change because they're optimizing for it.
The paradox: The more you try to make yourself indispensable, the more vulnerable you become.
The reality: Nobody can predict the future, but it's safe to assume that things will change in ways we can't anticipate.
I've seen people with "secure” positions get blindsided by layoffs, reorganizations, and industry shifts.
I've also seen people turn disruption into an opportunity.
The question isn't whether change will come. It's whether you'll be ready when it does.
Are you optimizing for job security or career security?
1 day ago | [YT] | 195
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A Life Engineered
Four things I wish junior engineers knew earlier (that would have saved me years of stress):
1. You don't need to know everything before you start You only discover what you actually need to know after you begin. Perfectionism is procrastination in disguise.
2. Seniority means asking MORE questions, not fewer The more senior I became at Amazon, the more I admitted I didn't know things. It's the opposite of what you might think. Curiosity is a strength, not a weakness.
3. The most valuable skill isn't avoiding being blocked It's learning how to unblock yourself. Google, documentation, asking the right person—these are professional skills, not signs of incompetence.
4. Not knowing something isn't a character flaw It's just missing information. Information can be acquired. Intelligence can't be taught, but you already have that.
Bonus insight after 18 years in tech: You're doing better than you think. Stop being so hard on yourself.
I see too many talented junior engineers burn out because they set impossible standards for themselves. The goal isn't to know everything—it's to learn consistently and contribute meaningfully.
To every junior engineer reading this: your fresh perspective and willingness to question assumptions are exactly what experienced teams need. Don't let imposter syndrome convince you otherwise.
What's one piece of advice you wish you'd received as a junior engineer?
3 days ago | [YT] | 370
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A Life Engineered
The thing about glue is that it dries clear.
The same is true for "glue work," the invisible things that keep projects and teams together.
After 18 years in tech, I've seen countless talented professionals (especially women) get stuck in the glue work trap: essential but undervalued contributions that rarely lead to recognition or promotion.
What glue work looks like:
Onboarding new team members
Writing documentation that everyone relies on
Managing cross-team communications
Following up to ensure things get done
Driving projects forward behind the scenes
The problem: This work is critical, but invisible during performance reviews.
The solution: Don't just glue other people's work together. Attach something visible that you created to the project too.
Example: You're documenting a new deployment process. Instead of waiting for someone else to test it, make the first deployment yourself. When you share the documentation broadly, you can point to your successful implementation as the example others follow.
The insight that changed my career: The secret to solving the invisible work problem is to stick some of your visible work to it first.
This transforms you from "the person who helps others succeed" to "the person who creates solutions AND helps others implement them."
Your glue work becomes the foundation for showcasing your technical contributions, not just your collaborative skills.
Have you experienced the glue work trap? How did you make your contributions more visible? Share your story in our Discord - discord.com/invite/HFVMbQgRJJ
6 days ago | [YT] | 247
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A Life Engineered
Here's a simple game to help your manager like you more:
If your manager asks you what the status is, you lose. Otherwise, you're winning.
Most people think 1-on-1 time is about your manager asking how things are going. But that's time that could be used growing your career or discussing critical information that would make their lives easier.
After 18 years in tech, I've learned that managers ask the same questions repeatedly for one reason: you aren't proactively giving them the answers.
Here's how to win the game:
Send status updates via Slack or email before your manager has to ask. When they see your name, they should think "This person keeps me informed" instead of "I need to check in on this person."
The magic happens when you anticipate their needs:
Project milestone updates before the deadline
Potential blockers before they become emergencies
Resource needs before you're behind schedule
Success metrics before they have to hunt for them
This isn't just about status updates. Whenever someone repeatedly asks you the same question, that's your cue to provide the answer proactively next time.
The result? You take things off their plate, increase their trust in you, and free up your 1-on-1 time for strategic career conversations.
It's surprisingly simple, but most people never think to play this game.
Turn your relationship with your manager from reactive check-ins to proactive partnership. Your career advancement will accelerate when they see you as someone who makes their job easier, not harder.
Do you have a similar experience? Share your story in our Discord - discord.com/invite/HFVMbQgRJJ
1 week ago | [YT] | 395
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A Life Engineered
Here are the 3 things I look for in seniors and above.
They bring clarity to chaos. When projects are messy and requirements are unclear, they cut through the noise. They ask the questions that expose hidden assumptions and turn vague goals into actionable plans.
They elevate everyone around them. They teach, not just critique. They foster discussions and make the whole team smarter. They share knowledge in ways that stick and help others level up their own capabilities.
They own the outcome—not just the code. They care about whether the feature actually solves the problem, not just whether it works as specified. They think about user impact, business metrics, and long-term maintainability.
If you're already doing these things, you're more senior than you think.
I've seen people with "Junior" titles who operate at senior levels and people with "Senior" titles who still think like juniors.
The difference isn't years of experience or lines of code written.
It's about how you approach problems, how you work with others, and what you take responsibility for.
The best part is that these behaviors are learnable. You don't need permission to start bringing clarity, elevating teammates, or caring about outcomes.
Are you already operating at a senior level without the title? Which of these resonates most with your current role?
For more insights on advancing your tech career: alifeengineered.substack.com/
#SeniorEngineering #TechCareers #CareerAdvancement #TechLeadership #SoftwareEngineering
1 week ago | [YT] | 223
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A Life Engineered
Unpopular opinion: Most people don't need to learn more things to grow their career.
They would accelerate their careers the most by:
Doing the impactful work they already know how to do
Communicating what they know more clearly
Making better decisions and trade-offs
Asking better questions
Hard skills get you the job. Soft skills are how you scale.
I've seen too many people plateau because they kept learning “just in case” instead of learning “just in time.”
The person who can explain complex things to others and tie it back to the business gets promoted. The one who memorizes things that you can easily look up stays at the same level.
The person who asks "What problem are we actually solving?" builds better solutions.
I share frameworks for developing these career-multiplying skills in my weekly newsletter: alifeengineered.substack.com/
What's been more valuable for your career progression: hard skills or soft skills?
#SoftwareEngineering #TechCareers #CareerDevelopment #CommunicationSkills #TechLeadership
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 205
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A Life Engineered
Big tech taught me a lot of things that I'm struggling to unlearn.
I realize now how slow things were.
I thought "let's meet early next week" was being responsive.
The biggest shock is that I don't need to ask permission to make decisions.
It sounds dumb typing it out, but I'd internalized that big things required approval.
Want to change a process? Let’s have a meeting. New tool? Three stakeholder sign-offs to change the process.
Simple decisions? Let's schedule time to discuss.
I thought I had special skills that set me apart.
The reality is that many of these "big tech skills" when it comes to taking action aren't as transferable as I thought.
Navigating bureaucracy isn't the same as building solutions.
"Hi, my name is Steve and I'm a recovering big tech employee. I last worked there 18 months ago."
"Hi Steve."
I learned incredible things at Amazon, but I also learned some habits that don't serve me outside those walls.
The real world moves at a different speed entirely.
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 262
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A Life Engineered
“I can’t get promoted to senior because my manager isn’t assigning me promotion-worthy projects.”
Lack of scope for senior and beyond is BS.
There are always promotion-worthy projects to do.
Your manager just doesn't know about them.
For senior levels and above, it's on you to find scope.
Solving impactful problems nobody asked you to solve is part of operating at the next level.
The reality of any large organization is that there are more problems than people.
If you can't find one, you aren't looking hard enough. Open your eyes.
The people who advance don't wait for their manager to hand them the perfect project. They identify gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities that others miss to make a big impact.
Your job is to scope impactful problems and solutions to your manager that they didn’t know about.
Your job is to find problems worth solving.
You need to show your boss that you’re capable of doing next level work by doing next level work.
Your manager can't promote you to a level you haven't already proven you can operate at.
Want to discuss strategies for finding and executing promotion-worthy scope with other ambitious tech professionals? Join our community: discord.com/invite/HFVMbQgRJJ
What's the best promotion-worthy project you've tackled without being assigned? Share in the comments.
#TechCareers #CareerAdvancement #Promotion #SeniorEngineering #TechLeadership
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 232
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A Life Engineered
Why did I stay at Amazon for 18 years while others left after two?
Survivorship bias.
Our brains use mental shortcuts that help us navigate complexity but these shortcuts also keep us stuck.
You cannot eliminate bias, but you can recognize it.
I've identified 7 cognitive biases that consistently derail careers - including my own.
The patterns:
Staying in toxic situations (sunk cost fallacy)
Dismissing feedback that challenges us (confirmation bias)
Burning out because we can't recognize our limits
Making terrible team decisions (groupthink)
You can't fix what you don't know exists.
What cognitive bias do you think impacts tech careers most?
For more insights like this: alifeengineered.substack.com/
Full breakdown with examples and frameworks: lnkd.in/gn3YtjcF
#TechCareers #CognitiveBias #CareerDevelopment
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 109
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A Life Engineered
Are you optimizing your work for what would make you happy and fulfilled?
Not what looks good on paper. Not what would maximize recognition from others.
Not what pays the most or sounds the most impressive.
What would actually make you excited to dive into work?
What would make you want to go all-in?
The biggest career decisions are easier to make when we're brutally honest about what we actually want, not what we think we should want.
I'm curious whether you’ve actually thought about what would make you fulfilled at work.
What's really driving your decision making? Share in our Discord community - discord.com/invite/HFVMbQgRJJ
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 90
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