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Writing · · 2 min read

Why You Should Write About Your Work (And Share It)

Career Community

Originally published on LinkedIn.

I once crashed my laptop during a live demo in front of 200 people at the 2023 Richmond Technology Council - rvatech/ Data & AI Summit. Standing there with a black Apple loading screen, I wondered: am I a masochist? Short answer: undiagnosed. Long answer: demoing my work is one of the few things that forces me to level up as a software engineer.

More about me: I graduated with an English degree but I've been writing and talking about tech in public since 2016, when I ran my first live demo in front of my bosses Chris Monger and Paul Devitt, PhD at Snagajob. The topic: programming a remote button click to order products off Amazon using Selenium WebDriver on EC2.

Ten years and dozens of blog posts and tech talks later, I've left Amazon Web Services (AWS) and joined my old boss Paul at GEICO as a Tech Evangelist, which means I'll be posting from this account a little more frequently about what I'm doing at GEICO.

Specifically, I'll be telling stories of the brilliant engineers solving distributed systems problems in our Claims Engineering group at GEICO Tech. No AI, no BS.

This is the first of such posts!

My agenda

To persuade you that's it's good to:

  1. write about one's craft (privately)
  2. share one's writing (publicly)

NOTE: Prioritization - i.e. how do I make time to write? - is another topic entirely.

1. Why is it good to write about one's craft?

  1. It reveals deeper meaning. Writing forces you to figure out what you actually think about your work. Think of it as level 2 rubber ducking.
  2. You're doing interesting work (whether or not you realize it). *Write it down *before it becomes "just part of the job" and you forget why it was cool/hard.

2. Why is it good to share (on LI/X)?

  1. Be part of the conversation. You don't have to be a "thought leader"; just start chiming in via comment or repost! LI and X is a place where serious pros are debating things highly relevant to your trade; join the dialogue!
  2. Feedback is how we get better. Sharing your thoughts gives others the opporunity to contribute to them! This comes in the form of feedback, which usually increases the worth of your ideas.
  3. Career insurance! Sharing online demonstrates your authority on a topic better than any resume bullet point. It also builds trust in an online community that might get you your next job.

In conclusion

Writing and sharing are career hygiene practices that should not be overlooked. Yes, you might end up crashing your demo in front of 200 people, but start small!

Write. Share. See what happens.