The Missing README: A Guide for the New Software Engineer
A practical book for engineers in their first job, written by two experienced engineering leaders. It covers what university rarely teaches: working in a large codebase, writing operable code, testing, code review, delivery, going on-call, agile planning and working with your manager. Read it in your first months and you will recognise most of what happens around you.
Book
Career Growth
Chris Riccomini and Dmitriy Ryaboy (No Starch Press)
288 pages, about 2 to 3 weeks of evening reading
Beginner
$29.99 print, $23.99 ebook
What it is
The Missing README is a 288-page book from No Starch Press, published in August 2021, by Chris Riccomini and Dmitriy Ryaboy. Its subtitle, "A Guide for the New Software Engineer", sums it up: it explains the parts of the job that sit around the code and that nobody teaches in a degree or a bootcamp.
The chapters follow a new engineer's first year: The Journey Ahead, Getting to Conscious Competence, Working with Code, Writing Operable Code, Managing Dependencies, Testing, Code Reviews, Delivering Software, Going On-Call, Technical Design Process, Creating Evolvable Architectures, Agile Planning, Working with Managers and Navigating Your Career.
Is it worth it for a first job?
Yes, if you want one book that covers the whole working picture. Most advice for juniors is scattered across blog posts; this puts onboarding, reviews, testing, deployment, incidents, sprints and one-on-ones in one place, in plain language and in a sensible order. It is written for people at the start, so it does not assume you already know what a runbook or a sprint retrospective is.
It is less useful if you have already worked a year or two in a strong engineering team: much of it will confirm what you have seen.
How to read it
You do not need to read it cover to cover before day one. A good plan:
- Before you start: The Journey Ahead and Getting to Conscious Competence.
- First two weeks: Working with Code, then Code Reviews and Testing.
- First month: Agile Planning and Working with Managers.
- Before your first on-call rotation: Going On-Call and Delivering Software.
Take notes on what differs at your company. The book describes common practice, and your team will do some things differently.
Free vs paid
The book is paid. As of 2026-09 the No Starch page lists the print book (with a free ebook) at $29.99 and the ebook alone at $23.99; prices may differ in local shops and other retailers. Check the official page for current prices.
If you are on a free budget, you can cover most of the same ground with free material: Google's engineering practices guide for code review, the Atlassian Agile Coach for sprints and standups, Julia Evans's posts on asking questions and brag documents, and the free Software Engineering at Google book for testing and knowledge sharing.
Common questions
Is it language specific? No. Examples are general and apply to any stack.
Is it only for big companies? It leans towards teams with code review, CI and on-call, which is most product companies and many software houses. Small startups will skip some of the process, but the habits still apply.
Should I read it or The Pragmatic Programmer first? For a first job, this one. The Pragmatic Programmer is about craft and habits over a whole career; The Missing README is about surviving and doing well in your first year.
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