About

This blog exists to help people succeed in their tech careers.

Most of my articles sit at the intersection of software engineering and human psychology. I like to take a holistic approach and look beyond pure coding. My hope is that you will learn how to go from being a programmer to being a software engineer. And perhaps, you will enjoy the occasional short story along the way.

If I’m going to do something for 40 hours a week for many years, I would like that to be something that I enjoy. Something that can combine the arts and the sciences, an opportunity to hone your craft, and to benefit real people in a tangible way. For me, software engineering is that sort of thing. Maybe you feel the same way.

Sheldon “Don” Sandbekkhaug

I’m a software engineer who’s been programming since 2009. Currently, I work at Google.

During my time at the University of Texas, I interned at Calxeda, Multimedia Games, and Infusion. The CS Internship Guide is based on my and other students’ experiences.

Besides spending quality time with a terminal, I enjoy playing board games, meditation, lifting weights, reading, traveling, history podcasts, video games, and auto racing high performance driving.

Contact Sheldon

How much of this blog is written by AI?

For most articles, the answer is 0%.

AI writes about 2% some articles starting in 2025. Occasionally, I use AI to help generate ideas and refine specific paragraphs. For instance, I struggle with writing transitions, so AI plays the role of a helpful editor there.

I’m very happy to use AI in software engineering, but not at the expense of quality. The industry is transforming, and we must adapt the way we work. (Hot take: IDEs will be obsolete or look very, very different by the year 2031)

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Legalese

I have not received money, product samples, gifts, or any sort of compensation for writing about any company. If I do in the future, I will note it on the appropriate blog entries.

Any opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions. Any content on this blog does not represent the official position of Google or any company that I have worked with.

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