My Job Went to India 52 Ways to Save Your Job By Chad Fowler

Just now i finished reading My Job Went to India 52 Ways to Save Your Job By Chad Fowler.

I have enjoyed reading this book throughly.

Please do get a copy of this book and read it.

An interesting book written by Chad Fowler, who spent 1.5 years in India hiring and managing an outsourced team of developers. The book's main focus is on how you can make yourself as, a developer, more valuable to your company / community so that your job is not outsourced. There are quite a lot of valuable and interesting ideas in the book for professional development, and "getting your name out there". The book also gives the reader some idea of what development is like in India, some tips and the pluses and minuses of outsourcing.

The style of the book is conversational, and easy to read. I finished it in 4 hours. I'd recommend it to developers wondering about outsourcing and looking for some tips on professional development


Few ideas i wanted to share....

3. Lead or Bleed?: I haven't been given the opportunity...? Seize the opportunity!

4. Invest in Your Intelligence

5. Be a Generalist: Generalists are rare ... and, therefore, precious.

7. Don't Put All Your Eggs in Someone Else's Basket, which talks about the "professional services barrier" (more on this later).

8. Be the Worst:
be the worst guy in every band you're in. a) you fit in, b) your playing gets transformed. works in the downward direction too!
The people around you affect your own performance. Choose your crowd wisely.

9. Love It or Leave It:
You have to be passionate about your work if you want to be great at your work.
Work because you couldn't not work.

12. Find a Mentor

13. Be a Mentor: To find out if you really know something, try teaching it to someone else. Also, mentors tend not to get laid off.

21. Remember Who You Work For: Your manager's successes are your successes. Solve your manager's problems.

24. How Much Are You Worth? Ask "Was I worth it today?"

28. Learn How to Fail:
Every wrong note is but one step away from a right one.
Stressful times offer the best opportunities to build loyalty.
A craftsperson is really put to the test when the errors arise. learning to deal with mistakes is a skill that is both highly valuable and difficult to teach.
Rules: 1) Raise the issue as early as you know about it. 2) Take the blame. 3) Offer a solution. 4) Ask for help.

33. Me Rite Reel Nice: You are what you can explain.

35. Suit Speak: Market your accomplishments in the language of your business, and always have your elevator speech ready, just in case. Answer: "What are you working on?" and "What is the benefit of that?"

36. Change the World: Have a mission. Make sure people know it.

37. Let Your Voice Be Heard. With respect to the musician metaphor:
The best saxophonist doesn't always get the gig.
Who you've played with is at least as important as how well you play; musicians are cool by association.
Sometimes, the better musicians are overlooked for work because everyone assumes they won't be available or because they are too intimidated to ask.
Music works via a network effect. If your social/music network terminates before reaching someone, it's not likely you'll ever be asked to perform with that person until an intermediary connection is made.

38. Build Your Brand: Your name is your brand, and Google never forgets (don't be a jerk).

42. Already Obsolete: Your shiny new skills are already obsolete. Investigate the bleeding edge.

43. You've Already Lost Your Job: You are not your job.

44. Path with No Destination:
Focus on doing, not on being done.
Bad processes create bad products.
It's how you traverse the path that's important - not the destination.

46. Watch the Market: Watch the alpha geeks, and try to be one, or at least "make the hang" with one. (Applies to research as well?)

47. That Fat Man in the Mirror: Developer, review thyself; do a 360 review: ask trusted people for feedback, using 10 characteristics you feel are important, get constructive info.

52. Think Global: If I have to depend on someone...I'm going to have better luck if that person feels that I respect them.


About the Author

Chad Fowler has been a software developer and manager for some of the world’s largest corporations. He recently lived and worked in India, setting up and leading an offshore software development center for a large multinational company