from Gergely Orosz | by Gergely Orosz

Here are the 5 most "impactful" and 5 most-read blog articles on The Pragmatic Engineer blog in 2021. Though my focus has shifted to the newsletter starting late August, I still cross-post some newsletter issues that are free for all subscribers. The list:

The 5 most "impactful" ones: 1. The Trimodal Nature of Software Engineering Salaries (152K views) This post resulted in companies re-evaluating how they think about compensation & many engineers realizing there’s a “hidden range” of sw eng compensation. t.co/BHWctPBJLE

2. What Silicon Valley "Gets" about Software Engineers that Traditional Companies Do Not (110K views) Silicon Valley companies consistently "get" things their traditional counterparts fail to either understand or implement. The 7 biggest differences. t.co/m31Pw6LAV7

3. Equity 101 for Software Engineers at Big Tech and Startups (70K views) Any startup that does not issue equity for all employees/engineers is no startup in my book. A summary of key things you should know about equity, and things to pay attention to: t.co/WxQ9pQh2mY

4. The Pragmatic Engineer Test (13K views) 12 questions to get a sense of what a tech company is like to work at, based on things most job postings do not mention. All job listings on my job board fill out this test: t.co/wt2EeQEU1Q t.co/RK7HIKf5Pl

5. Reverse Interviewing Your Future Manager and Team (6K views) The best "career" hack I know of - and one many people shared they wish they would have done earlier. t.co/25VoX1UY7b

The 5 most-read ones not mentioned above: 6. Performance Reviews for Software Developers – How I Do Them In a (Hopefully) Fair Way (85K views) My approach to preparing for and delivering performance reviews that are fair, build trust & motivate people. t.co/SWHraH0LH2

7. Preparing for the Systems Design and Coding Interview (83K views) At Big Tech and high-growth startups, coding and systems design interviews are common - and fairly standard. My advice on how to best prepare for these. t.co/OgLf9gBB6w

8. System Design Interview Book Review: Finally, a Book for Getting Better at Architecting Systems (63K views) My review of the excellent book by @alexxubyte. Surprisingly many people found this article. t.co/HNq9K3ic1k

9. How Big Tech Runs Tech Projects and the Curious Absence of Scrum (49K views) A survey of how tech projects run across the industry highlights Scrum being absent from Big Tech. t.co/W0UcBsv9O5

10. Uber's Crazy YOLO App Rewrite, From the Front Seat (49K views) I've worked on many projects throughout my career as a software engineer. However, Helix -Uber's Rider app rewrite in 2016 introducing Swift and RIBs- stands as the craziest project. t.co/5FF8gCkFLl

Read all articles on my blog: t.co/svCAkNmhox Starting from late August this year, I've started to write long-form articles similar to - but often deeper - to these blog posts, and more frequently. Subscribe to get these in your inbox regularly: t.co/SLe64y6YsX