The Pragmatic Engineer
Insights on engineering culture, leadership, and the tech industry from a former Uber engineering manager.
Best for
Senior software engineers and engineering managers who want insider reporting on tech industry practices and career strategy
Why we recommend it
- Written by a former Uber and Microsoft engineering manager with firsthand experience
- Deep original reporting on compensation, hiring, and organizational culture
- Over one million subscribers making it the top technology newsletter on Substack
The Pragmatic Engineer is a weekly software engineering newsletter by Gergely Orosz that delivers deep reporting on engineering culture, compensation, hiring practices, and the forces reshaping the tech industry. Launched on Substack in August 2021, the newsletter surpassed one million subscribers and ranks as the number one paid technology newsletter on the platform, generating over $1.5 million in annual revenue entirely from subscriptions with no sponsors or affiliates.
Orosz draws on more than a decade of experience at companies including Uber, Microsoft, and Skype, where he held engineering and engineering management roles. His coverage of tech layoffs, return-to-office mandates, and the impact of AI on engineering roles has made The Pragmatic Engineer a primary source that mainstream outlets frequently cite. Within just one year of launching, Orosz had amassed 200,000 subscribers and was earning more than his previous Big Tech salary.
What differentiates The Pragmatic Engineer from other tech newsletters is its combination of insider perspective and journalistic rigor. Orosz regularly conducts original surveys and interviews with engineers at top companies, producing data-driven analyses that are difficult to find elsewhere. The free tier offers substantial value, while paid issues go deeper into sensitive topics like compensation benchmarks and organizational dysfunction.
