Reading List

I've posted a very preliminary reading list for the Fog Creek Software Management Training Program.

Who do I imagine will be interested in this program? Based on the applications we've received so far, it's the kind of people who would have gone into entry-level associates programs at management consulting firms and technology integrators. They're expecting to work like crazy for two or three years, either as preparation for graduate school (especially MBA programs, the best of which require several years of real-world work experience for admission), or in hopes of delaying the inevitable decision about real life.

Those programs have a fatal flaw though: they really only care about getting cheap labor that will work hard and can be billed out at high hourly rates. Life as a recent BA graduate in a management consulting firm consists of tons of travel, never to pleasant places, living out of a suitcase in a hotel somewhere unlovely, and working ridiculous hours on the most mundane aspects of a project, all for the sake of "paying your dues" in hopes of a better career later. Only a small fraction of the people that start these programs end up working as management consultants.

As long as you're ready to work hard, why not do it at Fog Creek? We'll actually teach you everything we know about the software industry instead of giving you grunt work, we won't make you travel, and by the end of three years you'll be far more qualified to lead technology projects and technology companies.

Venture Voice

Gregory Galant came by the Fog Creek office a couple of weeks ago and interviewed me for his podcast Venture Voice; the MP3 interview is now available for download (it's about 55MB).

Aardvark'd: 12 Weeks With Geeks

More about this crazy movie: it has now been accepted to both the Los Angeles and New York Independent Film and Video festivals! Congratulations to Lerone Wilson of Boondoggle Films, the filmmaker.

So that's one place you can see it. We have completely sold out of the first DVD printing and are desperately trying to get more replicated. If you order the DVD now, you'll probably get it around December 15th. This is probably your last chance to order copies this year. Someone emailed me to ask about region codes: this DVD is not region locked and will play anywhere, although for best results you should get the right format (NTSC or PAL) for your country. There are English subtitles.

Oh, and by the way: My company, Fog Creek Software, has paid internships in software development for qualified college students. They're in New York City. Free housing, lunch, and more. And you get to work on real, shipping software with the smartest developers in the business.

About the Author: I’m your host, Joel Spolsky, a software developer in New York City. Since 2000, I've been writing about software development, management, business, and the Internet on this site. For my day job, I run Fog Creek Software, makers of FogBugz—the smart bug tracking software with the stupid name, and Fog Creek Copilot—the easiest way to provide remote tech support over the Internet, with nothing to install or configure.

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