I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of John Sonmez’s latest book project The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide — even though this post is a month after the public release. This book will come as no surprise for anyone who follows John since he’s been publishing every chapter as he writes it on his blog at Simple Programmer.

The book’s goal is to provide any aspiring or established software developer with the advice and resources needed to make informed decisions throughout their career. It can accompany you from your first day working as a developer to your last.

Who will get the most out of this book?

While anyone who reads it is bound to learn a ton — I certainly did — a person just starting their career will gain the most from reading it. It explains the software development field from A to Z while answering all the questions you may have about what it’s like to be a developer day in and day out.

There are tons of valuable advice on how to learn the skills you’ll need to be an amazing software developer. John also details ways to keep those skills sharp, such as how to build succesful side projects and sharing your knowledge through blogging.

The book spends a significant amount of time describing the wide range of career paths available in software development, providing anyone just starting out with everything they need to choose the right direction for them.

There are many tidbits of information throughout the book that make it a worthwhile investment even if you’ve been a developer for a long time.

For example, there’s an entire section dedicated to advancing your career. In it John explains how to keep moving forward until eventually hitting what he describes as the “glass ceiling”, at which point he offers a few suggestions on how to punch through it.

Most of what he discusses are things he has done himself, which makes him a reliable authority on the matter.

A single resource for all your needs

For long time followers of John’s advice, you’ll find the content to be organized and presented in a very similar voice to his blog and videos. It’s easy to pick up the book, get the information you need and make the right decision for whatever dilemma you’re facing.

The Complete Software Developer’s Guide is a worthy expansion on John’s first book, Soft Skills. This is the type of book that every software developer can come back to again and again over the course of their career.