What I'm thankful for in my career in 2025.
I was listening to Chris Plante's Post Games podcast (a new favorite of mine) episode on reasons to be thankful for video games [in 2025] , and it inspired me to do a little public sharing myself.
I've kept this blog focused on software engineering so far, so I'll keep this post focused on what I've been grateful for in my professional life.
A supportive partner
This year (and all years) I'm thankful for a partner who grants me the time and space to pursue professional goals and hobbies. I worked some long hours in 2025, trying to finally get a promotion that I've been eyeing for years. I also put in a lot of work to release a new major version of Igir , which has gained more traction than I could ever hope. And frankly, articles on this blog take a lot of time, and this will be my 14th article this year. My personal and professional interests overlap heavily, so it's easy for me to work long hours at a laptop, and I'm thankful for someone who lets me cycle in and out of technical focus.
Leaders who advocate for you, and leaders who bring you into the room
I changed teams at the beginning of the year to a team that has better matched my career goals. I credit this positive move to a senior leader who had been on the lookout for opportunities for me after I had asked them for some guidance. This team move allowed me to better demonstrate cross-team leadership in a way that was meaningful to executives, which helped me crack the Staff barrier; which I also credit to leaders who sponsored my promotion submission. This year, I'm grateful for engineering leaders that are always on the lookout for opportunities for those in their reporting chain, and who go out of their way to advocate for those people.
I'm also grateful for engineering leaders who "invite you into the room," bringing you into discussions that you didn't otherwise have line of sight to. Multiple leaders have looped me into productive discussions this year, trusting my opinions and subject matter expertise, allowing me to steer the outcomes and demonstrate leadership.
Colleagues who raise the tide
A rising tide lifts all boats.
This year, I'm thankful for colleagues who have invested in their peers through direct or indirect mentorship, being generous with their time, proposals to improve processes & reliability, writing documentation & how-to guides, and inviting collaboration.
Amortize Your Learning by Writing How-To Guides
Mar 4, 2024 · 6 min read
The time required to learn something new can be large, but you can make that cost worth it by teaching it to others.
Be an Engineer Who Invites Collaboration
Nov 23, 2025 · 7 min read
I don't care if you're a 10x engineer, I care if we can build great things together.
I'm also thankful to everyone who just simply cares. Who cares enough to ask questions, learn, set and raise standards, investigate & address issues, and distribute knowledge. Thank you.
A strong network of "people of high character"
A dear friend forwarded me a Scott Galloway article titled "Friending " this year. It highlights some worrying statistics about the male loneliness epidemic. The article is admittedly an advertisement for his new book (which is next on my to-do list), but I've been thinking a lot about this quote:
The best thing anyone can do to improve their own success is make friends with people of high character who are ambitious. You are the average of your five closest friends.
I'm thankful for friends in similar careers, who I can go to for advice, and who are invested in me. But I'm also thankful for friends that continuously demonstrate the kind of courage, honesty, empathy, and reliability that I hope to match one day.
An employer who treats their employees like adults
On the topics of occasionally working from home (pre-COVID), vacation frequency & length, and general accommodations for family life; a senior leader once told me something to the effect of:
If you treat people like adults, you'll get adult behavior out of them.
Meaning if you treat your employees with respect, trusting they're making the right choices for themselves, their family, the company, and their team—then you are likely to get better outcomes from them.
This year I'm thankful for executives at my company who:
- Continue to be transparent about how the macroeconomic environment is affecting the company, and how we're ranking against competitors
- Haven't forced a return to office, and are instead hiring in offices they want to grow
- Haven't limited promotion opportunity for remote employees
- Haven't instituted a "use AI every day or be fired" type of policy that's become popular in software engineering
