What Separates Good Engineers from Great Ones
Beyond Coding22 Loka 2025

What Separates Good Engineers from Great Ones

What's the real difference between a good software engineer and a truly great one? It’s more than just coding skill. It's a specific mindset, a disciplined approach to technology, and a deep understanding of core principles. This is the roadmap to leveling up your career.


In this conversation with Sander Mak, Director of Technology at Picnic, we discuss the methods they use to train world-class engineers.


You will learn:

The "under the hood" knowledge that truly matters.

Why great engineers often choose "boring," proven technology.

The critical transition from being a coder to a product-focused engineer.

The most common pitfall that holds good developers back.


If you're a software developer looking to move beyond "good enough" and achieve greatness in your craft, this is the episode for you.


Connect with Sander:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandermak


Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:30 - Building Picnic's Tech Academy for New Engineers

00:04:37 - The Key Mindset of a Successful Junior Engineer

00:08:01 - A Look Inside the Engineering Training Curriculum

00:12:19 - The Common Pitfall of Copying Without Understanding

00:14:10 - How Deep "Under the Hood" Knowledge Should Go

00:17:41 - Why Great Engineers Value "Boring" Technology

00:21:44 - Improving Developer Experience and Team Productivity

00:30:02 - The Transition from Coder to Product Engineer

00:34:18 - Key Advice for Self-Taught Developers

00:35:41 - Using AI for Learning vs. for Code Generation


#SoftwareEngineering #DeveloperCareer #Coding

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(251)

Most Replayed Moments: What Elite Software Engineers Do Differently

Most Replayed Moments: What Elite Software Engineers Do Differently

After 250 episodes of Beyond Coding, a pattern shows up again and again: the engineers who thrive aren't the ones chasing the newest tool or the cleanest code. They're the ones who learn fast, keep th...

20 Touko 32min

Special Q&A: What Separates Cracked Engineers From Everyone Else Today

Special Q&A: What Separates Cracked Engineers From Everyone Else Today

Reddit Reacts is back. I'm taking the most controversial takes on software engineering from Reddit and giving you my unfiltered perspective on what's happening, from juniors leveraging AI tools, to th...

6 Touko 38min

Microsoft Trainer: The AI Engineering Fundamentals To Succeed As Software Engineer

Microsoft Trainer: The AI Engineering Fundamentals To Succeed As Software Engineer

Most engineers are using AI coding tools without understanding what they actually are and it's costing them. Microsoft Certified Trainer Rob Bos has trained thousands of engineers on AI tooling, and h...

29 Huhti 47min

Open Source Expert: The Best Engineers Don't Apply For Jobs

Open Source Expert: The Best Engineers Don't Apply For Jobs

Most engineers approach open source the wrong way. They write code, open a PR, and wonder why it never gets merged. Bruno Schaatsbergen, Terraform core contributor and ex-HashiCorp engineer, breaks do...

22 Huhti 37min

Software Expert: This Is How You Design Systems That Survive

Software Expert: This Is How You Design Systems That Survive

What separates software that survives from software nobody wants to touch? Nico Krijnen has spent 30 years building systems, coaching teams, and learning why some projects thrive while others quietly ...

15 Huhti 53min

Top Microsoft Advisor: "Coding Is Cheap, Software Is Expensive." You're Focused on the Wrong Thing

Top Microsoft Advisor: "Coding Is Cheap, Software Is Expensive." You're Focused on the Wrong Thing

Suzanne Daniels is a Top Microsoft Advisor who works with CTOs and engineering leaders across EMEA on developer productivity, GitHub, and AI adoption. Her take: the industry is obsessing over coding s...

8 Huhti 46min

AI Expert: Most Software Engineers Aren't Ready for What's Coming

AI Expert: Most Software Engineers Aren't Ready for What's Coming

The role of the software engineer is shifting from execution to orchestration, and it's happening faster than most of us realize. Dennis Vink, Principal Consultant at Xebia, breaks down how he approac...

1 Huhti 47min

Ian Miell: If You've Been At The Same Company 3+ Years, You're Already In A Box

Ian Miell: If You've Been At The Same Company 3+ Years, You're Already In A Box

Most senior engineers don't realize they're stuck until it's too late. The longer you stay, the more people around you have already decided who you are and what you're for. Ian Miell, CTO at Container...

25 Maalis 1h