Book · 2015
The Effective Engineer
by Edmond Lau
Edmond Lau argues the engineers everyone calls 10x aren't working ten times the hours; they're choosing higher-impact work, chapter by chapter through why.
What does Reddit think of The Effective Engineer?
Thirty recognized mentions sounds like real engagement until you read them. Most of what's tracked here is the phrase 'effective engineer' used generically: cscareerquestions threads about mentors, diligence, and networking that happen to use those two words together, not discussion of Edmond Lau's book. Two excerpts actually engage with it. The ↑183 r/ExperiencedDevs comment lists it alongside The Pragmatic Programmer as an easy read with real takeaways, no further argument attached. The ↑142 r/programming comment is closer to an actual review. It quotes the book's own framing, that engineers should 'focus as much time as possible on building, solving problems, and improving features,' and pushes back, calling the underlying logic a 'we should only build stuff' mentality that undersells meetings and process. That's the real debate buried in this dataset. Is Lau's impact-per-hour framework insight, or an argument for skipping the parts of engineering that aren't code?
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Impact per hour over hours worked, and what gets cut to get there
- · One real critique surfaces: does the framework argue for skipping meetings and process
- · Most tracked 'mentions' are the phrase, not the book, drowning out the two that matter
Common praise
- + The ↑183 r/ExperiencedDevs comment calls it an easy read with real takeaways, filed right next to The Pragmatic Programmer.
Common criticism
- − The ↑142 r/programming comment quotes the book's own framing and pushes back, calling it a 'we should only build stuff' mentality that shortchanges meetings and process.
- − Two substantive mentions out of thirty tracked references isn't a lot to judge how Reddit actually feels about it.
Who it's for
If you already believe some hours produce ten times the output of others, this is the argument for acting on that belief instead of just logging more of them. Go in skeptical if you think 'building stuff' undersells everything else engineering involves: that's exactly the pushback the ↑142 r/programming comment raises against the book's own framing. Early-to-mid-career engineers picking a short, practical read alongside The Pragmatic Programmer are the ones actually recommending it here, not the whole subreddit.
Mentions over time
Which Reddit comments matter for The Effective Engineer?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“One of the SUPER common interview questions at LOTS of companies is "what happens when you type a URL in a browser and hit enter", and it doesn't take long to realize a HUGE chunk of that is networking. That should tell you something meaningful, like, modern software engineering is almost entirely …
“1. The Effective Engineer: How to Leverage Your Efforts In Software Engineering to Make a Disproportionate and Meaningful Impact 2. The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey To Mastery They're easy to read and might have some takeaways for you.
“> Improve the efficiency of their engineering teams so that they focus as much time as possible on building, solving problems, and improving features. While I understand the desire not to overload engineers with meetings and bureaucracy, I think the "we should only build stuff" mentality that is co…
“Honestly. It's crazy to think that some of these "engineers" are even engineers. If they are too dense to see through this obvious grift? Then maybe they're too dense to be an effective engineer lol
“The OPs who post these sorts of posts hardly ever post an (anonymised) version of their resume, so I wonder how they do with following up on feedback generally in their job seeking technique...it would help them to succeed. Isn't being diligent a part of the skillset you need to be an effective e…
“Hey! Im planning on doing content on this exact topic, so I know exactly how I would go about it personally: 1) Go to meetups for Software. Since college is not an option for you, there are tons of apps out there like LinkedIn or Meetup that will let you go to free workshops, zoom classes and meet …
“A series of good mentors. I've been lucky to cultivate a few during my career but my first two were the most critical. A professor in grad school "recognized my desire to learn more than just what was needed to get the grade" (his words not mine). He exposed me to a lot of knowledge that I wouldn'…
“I feel like everyone places a big emphasis on tech domain knowledge, but I’ve found that understanding the business goes much further both in making you a productive and effective engineer. No matter what your industry, understanding why a case or feature has value makes you better able to deliver…
“Focus on being productive instead of being busy. I ask myself everytime: - Does this task move the needle? - How impactful is this? **If you want the big things to go well, you have to let the small things go wrong.** I learned a lot leading a team of juniors. Every time there was so…
“Honestly, there's a lot of dumb answers in this thread. Far more than usual. Learning devops is a huge question with no straight answer. There are a lot of different ways to do devops, and the "right way" is going to be different for you than it will for me and for the next guy. It also can 100% b…
“in my experience, this is a self-limiting perspective. there are few things as valuable to being an effective engineer as understanding the problem space itself. depending on what you are engineering, this manifests itself in different ways, but actually having a grasp of the problem the solution …
“> Secondly, never say "I" when you made a mistake. I know it sounds like you want to be honest, but you are putting yourself on a bad slope by doing this. Why? Simple human psychology. Most people never take accountability for their mistakes. Now suddendly you are the guy who does. Now guess what? E…
“I posted a list of my favorite books in another comment on the importance of reading to get to the next level. Here is that list for people who don't want to click a link: * [Staff Enginee…
“I really like Educative’s materials, I frequently buy courses on Udemy, and I’ve recently subscribed to The Pragmatic Engineer newsletter and enjoy it. I also just read The Effective Engineer and found a lot of value from it (but I’m at 3 YOE so it may be redundant for you)
“You know what I'm talking about if you have read it. In my opinion, the author takes too long to get to the point, a lot of obsoleted code, and there aren't much real world examples. I found The Effective Engineer by Emond Lay is a better alternative. He shares actionable steps with his real lif…
Convinced? Pick up The Effective Engineer
What else does r/cscareerquestions read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
The Effective Engineer — frequently asked
Is The Effective Engineer worth reading?+
The tracked data barely engages with it directly, but what's there splits. The ↑183 r/ExperiencedDevs comment calls it an easy read with real takeaways, paired with The Pragmatic Programmer. The ↑142 r/programming comment is more skeptical, quoting the book's framing and pushing back against what it calls a 'build stuff' mentality.
What is The Effective Engineer's main argument, according to Reddit?+
Per the ↑142 r/programming excerpt, which quotes it directly: engineers should spend as much time as possible building, solving problems, and improving features.
Does Reddit compare The Effective Engineer to The Pragmatic Programmer?+
Once, directly. The ↑183 r/ExperiencedDevs comment lists both back to back as easy reads with real takeaways, with no ranking between them and no further elaboration.