Sometimes, the key to unlocking growth as a software engineer is to simply listen.
That’s what Paul Sjoberg, an engineering manager at Iodine Software, does when life gets busy and he’s forced to balance skill-building with personal obligations.
“I have a go-to lineup of podcasts that keep me updated on tech, from news and trends to in-depth discussions and expert interviews,” he explained.
While outside resources have helped Sjoberg keep his skills sharp, he admits that the best way to learn is through action. Striveworks Senior Software Engineer Peter Crist takes a similar approach to growth, sharing that he often spends time diving into technical documentation, whether that’s through Kubernetes or Postgres.
“There are many domains to explore here at Strive, and we’re encouraged to explore the areas that particularly interest us,” he said.
With support from their employers and outside resources, both Sjoberg and Crist have managed to keep their skills sharp — and improve their work in the process. Read on to learn more about both individuals’ approach to continuous growth.
Iodine Software’s AI-driven predictive engine interprets raw clinical data to generate real-time, predictive insights that can be used by clinicians and hospital administrators to make critical decisions, scale workforces and improve finances.
Give us a snapshot of what you do to stay on top of your engineering knowledge and skills.
The best way to learn is through action. While reading and listening build a strong foundation, real understanding comes from hands-on experience. However, life gets busy, making it hard to dedicate time to deep learning. That’s why I rely on passive listening — tuning into podcasts or YouTube videos while driving, doing chores or working out. It allows me to stay informed and continuously learn, whether it’s about current events, my hobbies or the latest in technology.
What are your go-to resources for keeping your engineering skills sharp?
I have a go-to lineup of podcasts that keep me updated on tech, from news and trends to in-depth discussions and expert interviews. Hearing from industry leaders and innovators helps me identify emerging developments and key areas to watch. In addition to podcasts, I rely on blogs and LinkedIn to stay informed and explore fresh perspectives on tackling challenges.
“Hearing from industry leaders and innovators helps me identify emerging developments and key areas to watch.”
What does the learning culture look like at your company or on your engineering team?
Iodine has played a key role in driving learning and the exploration of new technologies. In the developer experience and platform space, new trends and best practices are constantly emerging to enhance organizational efficiency. Keeping up with these changes can be challenging, but it’s essential for gaining buy-in and driving progress — something best achieved through hands-on experience. Iodine also offers a continuing education allowance for us developers to leverage and grow our skill set.
Striveworks’ cloud-native platform is designed to enable teams to build, deploy, monitor and audit AI models more effectively.
Give us a snapshot of what you do to stay on top of your engineering knowledge and skills.
At Striveworks, I’m learning something new almost every day. I often find myself diving deep into technical documentation, ranging from Kubernetes to Postgres. There are many domains to explore here at Strive, and we’re encouraged to explore the areas that particularly interest us. Apart from that, I stay up to date using various Slack communities for Go and Kubernetes, among others. At work, I like to learn by doing and through collaboration; on my own time, I prefer picking up a new technical book that interests me and slowly working through that. It’s always refreshing and invigorating when you can bring some of the lessons learned to apply to your day-to-day work. There is a daily focus on skill-building, both intentionally and through osmosis via the challenges we’re solving at Strive.
What are your go-to resources for keeping your engineering skills sharp?
I keep my skills sharp through a mix of Slack communities, technical books and weekly newsletters on Go and Kubernetes. I also like exploring new topics on YouTube or through articles shared by coworkers. When I’ve had the chance, attending topical conferences has been a great learning opportunity. While these are all great options for me, I’m finding more and more that I’ve been learning the most from my coworkers here at Strive. The group here is certainly one of the most talented that I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside, and I’ve been able to grow my skills easily with guidance and fostering from the team.
“The group here is certainly one of the most talented that I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside, and I’ve been able to grow my skills easily with guidance and fostering from the team.”
What does the learning culture look like at your company or on your engineering team?
At Striveworks, we all understand that regardless of where you are in your career, there is always something new to learn or to improve upon. We never stop learning in this field, and the culture here at Strive takes that to heart. We have various self-organizing groups that consistently share technical articles or news, as well as a journal club for discussing the latest relevant white papers and an engineering book club that works through a technical textbook together week by week. These are great options for driving collaboration, discussions and learning.
