Resources
A curated collection of the best learning material out there — the stuff I actually recommend to every engineer I mentor.
CS Fundamentals
Core computer science concepts that actually matter in day-to-day engineering.
System Design
Think like an architect. Understand trade-offs at scale.
System Design Primer↗
Comprehensive, open-source resource covering everything from load balancing to database sharding.
Designing Data-Intensive Applications↗
Martin Kleppmann's masterpiece. The single best book on distributed systems and data architecture.
ByteByteGo Newsletter↗
Visual breakdowns of real-world system designs. Great for building intuition over time.
Software Craft
Writing clean, maintainable code that your future self (and teammates) will thank you for.
Refactoring Guru↗
Design patterns and refactoring techniques explained with clear examples and beautiful illustrations.
The Pragmatic Programmer↗
Timeless wisdom on the craft of software development. A must-read for every serious engineer.
Clean Code by Robert C. Martin↗
Love it or debate it — the principles here will shape how you think about code quality.
Engineering Practices
The team-level skills that separate code writers from effective engineers. This is how seniors actually operate.
How to Write a Great Pull Request↗
Google's guide to writing code that reviewers love. A great PR tells a story — small scope, clear description, and zero surprises. This is the skill that gets your code shipped faster.
Breaking Down Problems — The Senior Engineer's Superpower↗
Senior engineers don't solve big problems — they decompose them until each piece is trivial. Learn to take a vague business requirement and turn it into a clear set of user stories and shippable tasks.
Shape Up by Basecamp↗
A free book on how to scope, shape, and ship work in cycles. The best mental model for turning ambiguous requirements into concrete deliverables without drowning in process.
Productivity & Knowledge Management
Build the operating system for your brain. Stop drowning, start directing.
Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte↗
The foundational text on personal knowledge management. Transform how you capture and use information.
Getting Things Done by David Allen↗
The classic productivity system. Still the gold standard for managing tasks, projects, and mental clarity.
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman↗
A reality check on time management. Stop optimizing and start choosing what actually matters — essential reading for anyone drowning in productivity advice.
Tools
The apps and platforms we use and recommend for knowledge management and AI-native development.
Cursor↗
The AI-native code editor. Built on VS Code but deeply integrated with AI — tab completion, inline chat, and codebase-aware reasoning. Once you try it, you can't go back.
Claude Code↗
Anthropic's agentic coding tool. Runs in your terminal, reads your entire project, and reasons about architecture — not just autocomplete. The best AI pair programmer available.
openclaw↗
Agentic workflows for power users. Simple as that.
Notion↗
The Swiss Army knife of knowledge management. Databases, wikis, project boards — all in one workspace. Great for building a developer PKMS.
Obsidian↗
Local-first, Markdown-based note-taking with powerful linking. Perfect for building a networked knowledge graph that you actually own.
Instapaper↗
Save articles, blog posts, and documentation to read later — distraction-free. The first step in a solid capture workflow.
AI & Engineering
Work with AI, not lean on it. Build the skills the next era of engineering demands.
Simon Willison's Blog↗
One of the best practitioners in AI-assisted development. Practical, thoughtful, and always current.
Andrej Karpathy — Intro to Large Language Models↗
The single best primer on how LLMs actually work, from one of the field's most respected researchers. Watch this before forming opinions about AI.
Latent Space Podcast↗
Deep-dive conversations with AI engineers and researchers. Covers the intersection of AI and software engineering with real technical depth.
Career Growth
Navigate the industry, negotiate better, and build a career — not just a job.
Staff Engineer by Will Larson↗
Understand what comes after senior. Even if you're not there yet, it shapes how you think about growth.
The Missing README↗
Everything they don't teach you in school about being an effective software engineer on a team.
Levels.fyi↗
Transparent compensation data. Know your market value before your next negotiation.
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