Soft Skills Engineering

What it is

Soft Skills Engineering describes itself as a weekly advice podcast for software developers. In each episode Dave Smith and Jamison Dance take two listener questions and work through them with humour and without pretending the answers are simple. The show is funded by listener donations and is free on the website and in podcast apps. As of September 2026 the latest episodes are numbered past 530, and listeners on the site mention nearly ten years of weekly episodes.

The topics that recur

• Managers who do not manage, and how to manage up
• Teammates who will not review code, dominate discussions or produce low-quality work
• Being passed over for promotion, and how to make your work visible
• Whether and how to quit, and how to leave well
• Interviewing and job hunting, including career switches and layoffs
• Asking for more money and negotiating offers
• Newer questions such as working with coworkers who rely heavily on AI coding tools

Recent episodes, for example, cover what to do when a teammate's AI-generated pull requests are hard to review, and how a career switcher from analytics can do better in technical interviews.

Why it works as mentorship

The recurring value is discovering that your situation is common. Many engineers privately believe their team's problems are unique and that raising them would make them look difficult. Hearing the same questions asked by strangers for years, and answered seriously, is reassuring and often practically useful. The hosts' answers usually include concrete next steps, such as what to say to a manager or how to document a problem.

How to get the most from it

• Search the back catalogue by topic. With hundreds of episodes, there is probably one on your exact situation.
• Listen during commutes or exercise; episodes are around half an hour.
• Submit your own question through the website if you have a situation you cannot discuss at work.
• Take notes on scripts the hosts suggest, such as how to phrase feedback or a raise request, and adapt them.

Where it falls short

The advice reflects the hosts' experience, mostly in US tech companies. Some norms (how direct to be with a manager, how negotiation works, notice periods) differ in Pakistani and other workplaces, so adapt rather than copy. It is entertainment as well as advice, and some episodes are more jokes than guidance.

Pair it with

For interview preparation, pair it with the Tech Interview Handbook. For a longer-term view of engineering careers, books such as The Staff Engineer's Path or The Manager's Path go deeper than a podcast can.

Best for: anyone navigating a workplace situation they cannot discuss at work, and engineers who want regular, light career advice.