How pet projects can enhance your career
summary
Argues that short pet projects prove skills by shipping end-to-end work, not just tinkering, and recommends tools and habits that actually move projects forward: MongoDB, Twitter Bootstrap, host on GitHub and use Trello to break tasks into two-hour chunks. Gives concrete outcomes — a failed t‑shirt run, a project that attracts contributors and works in production, and an Amazon‑style résumé page that reached major press — and practical rules: time‑box, outsource boring bits, ask for help early.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00The importance of pet projects
- 3:01Defining a pet project
- 5:31Industry culture and habits
- 9:30Overcoming obstacles to learning
- 12:46Motivation and compensation
- 15:41Practical benefits of side projects
- 18:22Marketing and engagement
- 20:22Managing project lifecycle
- 21:55Corporate environments and tools
- 25:35Community and collaboration
- 30:27Resources and concluding Q&A
