Healthy Developer – Details, episodes & analysis

Ever thought about stepping into product management—just to try something totally different from engineering?

Want expert guidance to grow? Apply for 1-on-1 tech career coaching with me.

That’s exactly where Monte found himself. After years in dev and even engineering leadership, he made a move he thought would lead to more ownership and product vision. But once he was in the role… something felt off.

In this coaching session, we unpack what actually happens when you chase product titles inside companies—and why the version you’re offered often isn’t what you imagined. Monte thought he was stepping forward. Instead, he realized he was just managing user stories and process artifacts.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Is this really what the role is supposed to be?”—you’re not alone.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Visit me at healthydeveloper.com

You ever notice how sometimes the people around you see what’s really going on before you do? That’s what happened with this channel. I tried to go broad, help everyone in tech, chase what the “experts” and the algorithm said people wanted—but you knew better.

You told me what made this channel special wasn’t the hype or some generic success formula. It was the real talk. The raw stories. The focus on staying healthy, sane, and actually living your life while you write code in an industry that rarely cares about either.

In this episode, I’m owning up to where I lost the plot—and why I’m bringing it all back to what *actually* matters. We’re going deep on why “Healthy Developer” is the right home for this community (and for me), what’s staying, what’s changing, and what you can expect from here on out.

If you’re here to argue or troll, you won’t like this one. But if you’re tired of the tech grind, and you want real strategies for staying grounded and growing as a developer *without* burning out, you’re in the right place.

Thanks for holding me to a higher standard—and for helping me find my way back. Let’s build something better, together.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

Ever had a manager who expects you to be Superman? No matter what you do, they keep asking for "more, more, more." Earlier in my tech career, I thought it was my manager's fault. But when I learned the art of setting healthy boundaries at work, I realized that the power to push back was in my hands.

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In this episode, I’ll share insights gained from working with over 20 software companies as a developer, architect, and management consultant on setting effective boundaries with managers. Getting this right can bring immense peace and prevent burnout. Without clear boundaries, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by unreasonable expectations—and the result is often exhaustion or even job burnout.

Managers often respect employees who assert boundaries more than those who don’t. It may seem counterintuitive, but consider it: would you respect someone who allows themselves to be treated like a doormat?

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Chapter markers / timelinks:

(0:00) Introduction
(1:20) Setting Boundaries with Your Manager
(1:40) 1 Agree on Responsibilities for Your Role
(3:13) 2 Determine Unacceptable Expectations
(4:20) 3 Assign Consequences
(6:17) 4 Communicate Your Boundaries
(8:55) 5 Have a Backup Plan

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It’s common in many companies for there to be animosity between programmers and managers – but it’s smarter to consider healing that rift.

Earlier in my career I met many other software developers who loved to complain about management.

And I’ve been just as frustrated, especially when it seems like management doesn’t know what they’re doing.

But eventually after having several experiences talking to other programmers I respected, my perspective changed.

In this episode, I share some stories about software projects I have been on where I was challenged to be enlightened to continue.

I hope these stories help you think about what you can do to take the power of your career back into your own hands.

Join my Patreon: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon

Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me:
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching

TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

The Thriving Technologist career guide: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

Does it ever feel like the daily scrum meeting is really just a status meeting in disguise?

The daily scrum or “stand-up” meeting was created as part of the scrum methodology for agile development to reduce time wasted in meetings.

But some companies use it to gather status.

In our modern software development market, there are many tools that can provide managers with real-time access to status, so this is unnecessary.

In this episode, I share several tips for getting your daily stand-up meetings under control so you can run a daily scrum that actually benefits developers.

Though it’s tempting for management at software companies to use the daily scrum meeting to gather status, they actually make the job of software developers harder by doing this – and put their software projects at risk!

Join my Patreon: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon

Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me:
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching

TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

The Thriving Technologist career guide: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

It can be confusing when most companies don’t make it clear how software developers can get promoted for more senior roles.

If you’re a junior developer and trying to figure out, what exactly do I need to do? – it may not be cut and dry.

Rather in this episode, I share some soft skills I’ve found in working with over 30 software development teams that I see those who get promoted exhibit.

If you want to be considered for a senior software engineer role, or perhaps a higher level role such as a team lead, development manager, director, or even CTO – these skills are incredibly valuable.

They will make you stand out from other candidates and naturally be seen as a more mature option for a technical leader.

Join my Patreon: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon

Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me:
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching

TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

The Thriving Technologist career guide: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

Software developers are often frustrated when a product manager changes the design at the last minute. But product managers are a programmer’s best friend!

In this episode, I share how your colleagues in product management are actually your biggest ally.

Whether you’re in Operations, UX,Ssupport, or any other aspect of developing software – a good relationship with the manager of your product is indispensable.

As the “CEO of their product”, these individuals have access to resources and the ability to influence the company in ways you may not have thought of.

Join my Patreon: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon

Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me:
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching

TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

The Thriving Technologist career guide: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

It’s tempting to jump into refactoring code that’s hard for you to understand – but make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons!

But before you take that leap, you should probably consider that there can be some dangers.

Whether you’re coding in Java, Javascript, C#, Python, or any other language – there are non-technical implications of code refactoring that you should be aware of.

In this episode, I share 6 considerations to take into account that will help you avoid getting into a stressful situation when you choose to refactor code.

Join my Patreon: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon

Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me:
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching

TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

The Thriving Technologist career guide: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

Have you ever been confronted with accepting circumstances you couldn’t change on your software project that were really difficult?

Maybe you don’t agree with a decision, or you’ve been forced to work in a way that you’re not happy with?

Though most of us like to think we’re able to control our career, there are times we inevitably have to learn to let go, and accept difficult circumstances.

In this episode, I share a set of steps I go through to help me on software projects when I struggle with this.

If you can accept difficult circumstances easier, you can get back to enjoying your software development career.

Join my Patreon: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon

Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me:
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching

TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

The Thriving Technologist career guide: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com

In working with over 30 companies, I’ve seen 7 common big FAILS in agile software development processes!

These are so common, but so easily avoided, and they have little to do with whether you’re doing kanban or scrum.

In my experience, agile issues are rarely because of a single step in the software development process, but rather because of not considering the implications on the team.

Join my Patreon: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/patreon

Learn about one-on-one career coaching with me:
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/coaching

TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

The Thriving Technologist career guide: 
https://thrivingtechnologist.com/guide

You can also watch this episode on YouTube. 

Visit me at thrivingtechnologist.com