Stage 1 · Lesson 7 of 7
Testing your fit
These roles suit people who enjoy strangers, ambiguity and switching context, and who get energy from seeing someone use what they built. They are harder for people who want long quiet stretches of deep work on one codebase. Test your fit cheaply before committing.
Interview two people about a painful workflow and write down what they said. Build a small tool for a real person, such as a society, a shop or a lab, and watch them use it. Give a ten-minute demo to people who do not code. Notice which parts you want to repeat and which you rushed through.
Common trapchoosing the role for its pay or its current popularity, then discovering the daily mix of meetings, travel and follow-up drains you.
A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 1 cheat sheet entry come with the full roadmap. Unlock
Resources for this stage
Start with
- GuideFreeThe Pragmatic Engineer
Gergely Orosz
Free issues cover how forward deployed and customer-facing engineering roles work at real companies
Also worth your time
The free part explains the role's origins and how it differs from solutions engineering