Burned out, frustrated, or convinced your job is the problem? Before you quit, get clear on what is actually broken. In this episode, Steve and Jake sit down with career coach Ben Fox, who helps burned-out software engineers figure out what is next. They break down bad managers, weak boundaries, AI-driven change, career uncertainty, networking, and how to know when to fix the situation versus leave it. Not theory. Practical, tactical advice for engineers who want more control over their careers.

Key Topics Covered:
• How to tell whether the job is the problem or your own boundaries are making it worse
• Why high-achieving engineers often overwork, people-please, and carry those habits into the next job
• The “Goldilocks quit date” for turning an emotional exit into a deliberate decision
• How AI is changing engineering work without eliminating the value of judgment, creativity, and problem-solving
• Why a bad manager can make you question an entire career you may still love
• How to manage upward before deciding the situation is hopeless
• Why career experiments beat making huge decisions based on fear
• How cold outreach and relationship-building can uncover better opportunities
• Why more education can become a way to delay a decision instead of make one
• How thinking like a business owner removes ego and creates better career decisions

Actionable Steps:
• Audit your last week and list what energized you versus what drained you
• Set a clear stopping time for work and protect nights and weekends
• Identify what you are contributing to the situation before blaming the environment
• Ask your manager directly for the support, clarity, or changes you need
• Talk to people already doing the work before changing roles, companies, or industries
• Run small career experiments before committing to a major move
• Reconnect with people in your network without overthinking the ask
• Use AI to remove repetitive work so you can spend more time on judgment and creative problem-solving
• Define a realistic quit date if staying indefinitely is no longer acceptable
• Ask what would need to change for you to genuinely enjoy the role again

Who This Episode Is For:
• Engineers who are burned out but unsure whether quitting is the answer
• High performers working nights and weekends with weak boundaries
• Engineers dealing with micromanagement or poor leadership
• ICs questioning their future as AI changes how engineering work gets done
• Anyone who feels stuck but has not yet tested another path

Why It Matters:
Career growth is not just about working harder. Your energy, boundaries, visibility, relationships, and willingness to speak up all shape your performance. If you never identify what is actually draining you, you can leave one job and recreate the same problem somewhere else. Own what you can change, test what you cannot, then make the decision with clarity.

Where to Listen:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Or wherever you get your podcasts

Find Ben Fox:
Visit benfoxcoaching.com to learn more about Ben’s coaching and sign up for a free 45-minute diagnostic call.

Connect with Ben on LinkedIn, where he regularly shares career insights, lessons from his client work, and practical ideas for engineers navigating change.

Share:
If this episode hit home, send it to someone. The Impactful Engineer grows by word of mouth, just like the best careers do.

Most engineers try to improve focus by working harder, becoming more disciplined, or finding a better productivity system. That misses the real problem.

You probably have too many things competing for your time, energy, and attention.

In this episode, Steve and Jake break down why real focus starts with elimination. That means deciding what actually matters, accepting the tradeoffs, and removing the projects, commitments, distractions, and decisions that keep pulling you away from it.

Not theory. Practical, tactical advice for engineers who want to execute at a higher level without constantly fighting themselves.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why willpower is a terrible long-term strategy for staying focused
• The hidden cost of trying to maintain too many priorities at once
• Why becoming great often requires deliberately becoming less involved elsewhere
• How scattered technical interests can keep engineers from developing real expertise
• Why specialists become the people others specifically request for important work
• How saying yes to everything destroys execution and credibility
• Why fewer priorities reduce decision fatigue and mental clutter
• How simplifying routine decisions preserves energy for higher-value work
• Why every meaningful goal requires a tradeoff
• How focused seasons can accelerate career and personal progress

Actionable Steps:

• Write down the three to five things that matter most in your current season
• Audit where your time and mental energy actually go each week
• Identify commitments that do not support your highest priorities
• Eliminate unnecessary activities instead of trying to manage them better
• Choose which technical or professional skill you want to become known for
• Stop accepting work that compromises execution on your highest-value projects
• Create clear criteria for what deserves a yes and what automatically gets a no
• Simplify repetitive decisions wherever possible
• Write down what you are willing to trade to reach your current goal
• Commit long enough for focused effort to compound into visible expertise

Who This Episode Is For:

• Engineers who constantly feel busy but are not making enough progress
• High performers taking on too many projects and responsibilities
• Engineers struggling to become known for a specific strength
• Professionals who feel mentally overloaded by competing priorities
• Anyone serious about accomplishing something that requires concentrated effort

Why It Matters:

Your time and energy are finite. Every unnecessary commitment takes resources away from something that could actually change your career.

Focus gives you the bandwidth to execute better, build deeper expertise, become more valuable, and earn opportunities that average performance will never create.

You do not need to become better at juggling everything. You need to decide what deserves your attention in the first place.

Where to Listen:

Spotify
Apple Podcasts
Or wherever you get your podcasts

Share:

If this episode hit home, send it to someone. The Impactful Engineer grows by word of mouth, just like the best careers do.

How do you know when you are starting to lose trust at work? Sometimes the signs are obvious. Sometimes they look like fewer assignments, meaningless work, weak feedback, or people simply avoiding you. In this episode, Steve and Jake break down the warning signs that an engineer may be underperforming and, more importantly, how to turn it around. Not theory, practical, tactical advice for rebuilding trust, earning better work, and proving through execution that you deserve more responsibility.

Key Topics Covered:
• Why getting fewer meaningful assignments can be a warning sign
• What it means when coworkers and managers stop engaging with you
• Why meaningless work may signal a loss of confidence in your performance
• The danger of receiving feedback and doing nothing with it
• How defensiveness makes people stop giving you honest feedback
• Why better feedback has to be earned over time
• How small assignments can become opportunities to rebuild trust
• Why excellence matters even when the work feels beneath you
• How helping overloaded teammates can create your own opportunities
• Why technical skill alone will not make people want to work with you

Actionable Steps:
• Pay attention if meaningful work starts disappearing
• Ask directly for feedback instead of assuming everything is fine
• Receive criticism without immediately explaining or defending yourself
• Ask for specific examples when feedback is unclear
• Take visible action on the feedback you receive
• Follow up later and ask whether your changes are being noticed
• Treat small assignments like they matter, because your execution does
• Look for ways to take work off the plates of overloaded teammates
• Deliver work at a level that makes your effort undeniable
• Rebuild trust through repeated execution, not promises

Who This Episode Is For:
• Early-career engineers unsure whether they are performing well
• Engineers who feel overlooked or underutilized
• ICs who are frustrated by low-value assignments
• Engineers who struggle with defensiveness or feedback
• Anyone who needs to rebuild trust with a manager or team

Why It Matters:
Your career expands when people trust you with more. When that trust starts disappearing, so do meaningful assignments, visibility, responsibility, and growth. You do not rebuild it by demanding better opportunities. You rebuild it by taking ownership, acting on feedback, and demonstrating excellence with whatever is already in front of you.

Where to Listen:
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Or wherever you get your podcasts

Share:
If this episode hit home, send it to someone. The Impactful Engineer grows by word of mouth, just like the best careers do.