Git Cute’s first book for software engineers is coming this spring

Git Cute: A Software Developer & Tech Podcast, was launched in April 2019 by software developer Jocelyn Harper. Through it, Harper, who currently works as a senior software engineer for PayPal, speaks frankly about working in tech, from the point of view of a Black woman navigating the industry.

“I think my podcast attracts certain people that kind of go against the status quo, which is really nice — people that speak out and stand up for issues and don’t let their employment get in the way of that,” Harper told Technical.ly. “I’ve always been good about not caring about what my employer thinks if I speak out about racial justice. My fanbase does the same thing.”

Git Cute fans are spread out all over the world: Last year, Spotify stats showed that the majority of its listeners were in India, followed by Germany, then the United States.

“It’s really cool,” she said. “Last year the podcast really took off in terms of numbers and people interacting and then following my personal twitter, too.”

One reason the podcast gained a following is that fills some of the gaps. Harper and guests talk about current tech events, but also about aspects of surviving the industry that are less touched on, going far beyond code and testing and interview preparation. She talks about how to navigate the industry once you’re part of it.

It’s a subject that is often overlooked in tech publishing. So she decided to write a book, slated to be released in ebook format in the spring: “Git Cute: A Software Engineer’s Guide to Seniority.”

SURPRISE!
I am writing an e-book about how to be a software engineer under the @gitcutepodcast brand!

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Coming Spring 2021https://t.co/YLXr76nZCn pic.twitter.com/168FbL0LVo

— Josie (@javavvitch) December 24, 2020

“I thought there was a gap in the market for self-help educational books regarding once you get a senior software engineer position, and what the heck that actually means,” she said. “There’s so much material out there on acing your technical interview and what to study and how to get there, but nobody’s telling you how to keep it. Nobody’s telling you what you actually need to do to excel. No one’s telling you what paths there are to take after senior software engineer.”

The target audience are people like Harper and the Git Cute following: ambitious, driven and always thinking about their next career move.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with just being a senior software engineer, making good money and that’s what it is,” Harper said. “That’s completely fine. But for people that are wondering what will be their next career goals, I definitely want to talk about that, because that’s really important.”

When it comes down to it, Harper wants to help guide senior software engineers to be impactful in what they do.

“That means outside of code,” she said. “When you hear ‘senior’ you know that at some point you’re going to be mentoring other people. If you have junior engineers, you’re going to have to step up and be a mentor in that role.”

Making an impact can also increase your pay, she said: “Those are things that people don’t realize get bundled in your year-end reviews. Despite the fact that people may not want to necessarily be promoted, it’s tied directly to your money. You want to be able to get your 10% or 20% bonus at the end of the year, right?”

The release date for the self-published ebook is unconfirmed, but Harper is aiming for April or May.

“Originally it was beginning of the spring, but then as I’ve been writing, interviews have been happening and people have been wanting to contribute to the book in one way or another, so it’s expanding a bit more than I thought it was going to,” she said.

A hardcover version of the book will also be an option, with a release after the ebook. Preorders are available here.

As for the podcast, it recently kicked off its third season with an episode discussing the firing of a Jewish GitHub employee after he, on Jan. 6, cautioned D.C. coworkers on Slack that there were Nazis in the area.

“I have a few interviews lined up,” Harper said of future episodes. “I’m going to be having a podcast interview with Sidney [Buckner] with Ladybug Podcast, and then I have some I’m not allowed to speak about yet.”

The Git Cute podcast is available on major podcast streaming platforms, including Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play and Apple Podcasts, or you can stream it from gitcutepodcast.com.