Diverse Software Engineers Podcast

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, and more!

Diverse Software Engineers Podcast is the definitive podcast for learning the "soft" skills that are essential for gaining fulfilling work, and keep them coming. Through the lens of consultant Eric Lau, and Iranian-Canadian up-and-coming engineer Fatima Agheli, we will empower you to break some glass ceilings, and build software that delights.

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Latest Episodes

Season 1, Episode 13 => Season Finale - Event Modeling / Event Sourcing Give you Superpowers!

Ever dreamed of having superpowers? In all my 15+ years experience as a software engineer, I have witnessed such powers. They are called event modeling / event sourcing! How do you acquire such powers and profit from it? In the season 1 finale, let the creator of event modeling, Adam Dymitruk, tell you how!


This concludes season 1, and it was a blast. Season 2 will begin in the fall (stay tuned for exact dates) with new and exciting guests!


Published 2 hours ago

event modeling

event sourcing

Season 1, Episode 12 => Confessions of a Biased Manager - How to avoid biases hurting your chances of success!

Live far away from the office? Have an accent? These are some examples of how you can be unfairly rejected from a position. Have you been rejected because of these things? I suspect I had, and I can imagine that is true for many of you. Bias are pervasive and sometimes even well meaning managers, such as myself, who have worked as a software engineer manager for years, have committed in the past. 

In this episode I confess to some of these biases and expose how some questions fester biases. Then Fatima and I will show you ways to overcome them, so you can obtain fulfilling positions and careers.


Published 7 days ago

interview

Season 1, Episode 10 => Do you feel burnt out? How do you know? Listen for signs before it's too late!

How many days in the past 30 days do you feel lethargic? You wake up with a list of things to complete, and end up doing none of it? Or you dread waking up, and wish the day is magically over? Perhaps yesterday at times you feel great, but it lasts only a few hours at most, and soon you have that sinking or nagging feeling that something is just … off. It has happened to many of us, me included, in my 15+ years as software engineer, manager, and architect. 

This episode’s guest, Karthik Viswanathan, is taking an extended break from work. He is living through this right now, so he is perfectly positioned to identify burnout, look for ways to reduce likelihood of burnout happening to you, and what to do when you feel burnt out.


Published 21 days ago

burnout

health

Season 1, Episode 9 => Snippet - How do You Uncover a Company's Real Culture?

Listener feedback and support has been incredible thus far, and really took off since the last episode. All you guys are amazing! One listener asked "How do You Uncover a Company's Real Culture?" 

This episode directly answers the question. If you want to know what it’s like to work for a company, you can’t exactly go up to an interviewer or HR and ask “What’s your company culture like?” Summing it up in one answer isn’t totally possible, and often yields a polished, marketing-approved answer than a candid discussion. 

So how do you do it? Find out by subscribing and listening, like so many of you have already thus far.


Published a month ago

snippet

culture

interview

Season 1, Episode 8 => You want to be a software engineer? University, Code Camp, or Technical Program? Alternate Ways to Get in the Industry

University, Code Camp, or Technical Program? This episode, thanks to guest Matt Catallier, who has mentored at Lighthouse Code Camp, we will explore:

  1. What are code camps, and what students can accomplishment from them
  2. Code camps vs technical programs vs university degree
  3. Why  Amazon, Microsoft isn't always the best thing 
  4. Ideal first / second job
  5. Job position red flags
  6. How having a bad manager really sucks

Published a month ago

amazon

code camp

starting out

job search

Season 1, Episode 7 => Gain Employment at Microsoft. How do you get there?

What does it take to be hired by Microsoft as a software engineer? My guest and Simon Fraser University alumni Issac Qiao has started an exciting chapter of his career there, and he dishes out all the time and effort he went through to get it, as well as how you can get there.


Published a month ago

microsoft

interview

preparation

communication

Season 1, Episode 6 => Fatima 1-on-1 with mentor, session 1

As Fatima's mentor, Eric is going to inquire about Fatima's career path, schooling challenges, and dishes out solicited advice on career path (not knowing is OK), ways to get more information about a career, and doing the best you can at your current path matters even if the course material or subjects are not immediately applicable.


Published 2 months ago

mentor

coaching

Season 1, Episode 5 => Quality Assurance Mindset - Developing it will GUARANTEE results!

Eric and Fatima sit down with Eric's long time friend and Ping Identity QA Manager Ken Wong to talk about the quality assurance mindset, what it means, and how software engineers / developers can benefit from it.

While Ken is not holding his breath that Hollywood will feature a QA person as a glamorous profession in a feature film, he believes QA is a worthwhile profession that many in software engineering programs want to be aware of.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenwong80/


Published 2 months ago

qa

mindset

coop

interview

Season 1, Episode 4 => Tools, Domain, and the Architect's Role!

Building the right things can be as important as building things right. Our guest this episode, Hussein Waljee, is a champion of this statement. An accomplished Solutions Architect with degrees from MIT, MBA credentials from University of British Columbia's Sauder Business school. With stellar education and work experiences in his pocket, Hussein talks about how he got here, what the architect role means, and career advice on how you can become one yourself.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hussein-waljee/


Published 2 months ago

interview

career

architect

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