Toptal Engineering Expert
Remote Work Tools of the Remote Work Trade
Working from home is no longer a business decision or a lifestyle choice. During the biggest public health crisis in a century, it’s a necessity: not to save time or money, but to save lives.
In this article, Toptal Technical Editor Nermin Hajdarbegovic introduces newcomers to essential tools used by remote workers.
Nermin Hajdarbegovic
A veteran tech writer, Nermin helped create online publications covering everything from the semiconductor industry to cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain, IoT, and the Future of Transportation: Understanding the Motoro Coin
Open-source, IoT, and Ethereum smart contracts work together with a new utility coin to make transportation more accessible and reduce vehicle waste. In this article, Toptal Freelance Ethereum Developer Michał Mikolajczyk explains the motivations and methodology behind his startup’s latest initiative.
Michal Mikolajczyk
Founder/CEO of a blockchain IoT startup and community leader for Toptal Warsaw, Michal has a wide range of full-stack experience.
Broad vs. Narrow Skillsets: Software Engineering Skills Demystified
In this article, Toptal Freelance Software Engineer Tiberius Florea outlines the difference between deep and broad skillsets and explains why broadening your skillset may further your career.
Tiberius Florea
Tiberius is an award-winning full-stack developer who has worked for Google. He also interned at Facebook and Microsoft.
Why Developer Portfolios Are Key to Showcasing Your Skills
Have you been googling articles on how to build an outstanding developer resume? Stop right now. It’s a waste of time! Cover letter? That’s a waste as well.
Flavio Pezzini
Flavio is a senior Java developer and a team leader. He’s worked on complex projects for multiple high-profile clients.
Common Mistakes in Client Communication: How to Not Frustrate Your Client
This article will help you identify and address various communication issues that can plague off-site professionals. Whether you’re a full-stack developer, a UI designer, or a content creator, these easy to memorize tips will help you hone your communication skills.
Andreza Cristina da Silva
Andreza, a former fellow at CERN, has worked at different stages & on different types of software projects. Lately, she focuses on iOS apps.
World-class articles, delivered weekly.
By entering your email, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.
Time Management Secrets of an Efficient Engineer
Freelancers work flexible hours, but this convenience comes at a price: They have to manage their time better than on-site professionals. However, it also means they’re free to optimize their routine and achieve exceptional efficiency.
In this post, software engineer Dmitry Ryazantsev will guide you through the ins and outs of personal time management, leaving little to chance. What good are great rates if you waste hours each week?
Dmitry Ryazantsev
Dmitry’s Android dev experience includes work on the Yandex browser (10M+ installs) and creating his own game, which has 250,000 installs.
The Zen of devRant
Let’s face it: Sometimes you just need to rant. Fortunately, there’s an app for that. It’s called devRant, and it’s the place for developers to vent about clients from hell, non-technical friends and family, and clueless recruiters.
In this roundup, devRant Co-Founder David Fox shares his favorite collection of rants since launching. Some will make you laugh. Others will make you laugh so hard you cry. And just about all of them will make you empathize with the author.
David Fox
David is an experienced Web Developer and Big Data Engineer specializing in building big data solutions with graph databases and Hadoop.
Productivity On The Road: Work Full-Time, Travel Solo, Have Fun
Do you have what it takes to travel the globe while working full-time? Can you work on the road while still finding enough time to take care of yourself and enjoy the adventures of travel? It’s not a lifestyle for everyone, but it’s probably not as tricky or demanding as you think, especially when you have a sense of purpose.
In this article, Toptal Director of Operations Dror Liebenthal explains how to enjoy the nomadic lifestyle without compromising your professional performance, health, or social life.
Dror Liebenthal
Dror heads Toptal’s business operations team, leveraging experience gained working on countless Toptal projects and initiatives.
Is Open Source Open to Women?
The fact that women are underrepresented in tech is nothing new. However, while we’ve seen the gender diversity reports from companies like Google, Facebook, and many more, a look at the number of women in the open source community suggests that the numbers might be worse than these reports imply. In this post, Toptal COO Breanden Beneschott shares the results of a study looking at gender on GitHub and considers a few reasons why GitHub is so male-dominated, including a few ideas on how we can make the open source community a more welcoming place.
Breanden Beneschott
As the co-founder of Toptal, Breandan was instrumental in the creation of Toptal’s. He helped set up our infrastructure in 40+ countries.
A Remote Worker's Guide To Staying Healthy
There are a lot of developers who take good care of themselves and enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle. If you are one of them, you can skip the rest of this post, because I wrote it to help developers like myself, who could benefit from a healthier lifestyle.
Even if you are entirely focused on your career, and think you don’t have enough spare time to lead a healthy lifestyle, bear in mind that good physical health will also boost your productivity.
Victor Abadio
Victor is a front-end developer & wordPress specialist with 7+ years of experience as a freelancer. He has worked with agencies & start-ups.
Things to Watch Out for While Working Remotely
Remote jobs can be good for you, but depending on your character, they can also have some unpleasant side effects. Burnout affects people in all walks of life and in all industries, so what makes remote workers different?
Recognizing burnout symptoms early is of vital importance, and I cannot stress this enough. The deeper you sink into it, the longer it will take to recover, it’s as simple as that.
Nermin Hajdarbegovic
As a veteran tech writer, Nermin helped create online publications covering everything from the semiconductor industry to cryptocurrency.
Software Development Anywhere: My Distributed Remote Workplace
Working as a remote software development freelancer has many benefits, but setting up an effective distributed working environment can be a real challenge. In this article, Toptal Engineer Ivan Voras describes how he leverages SSH and a number of related technologies, along with the Raspberry Pi and ownCloud, to be able to work effectively from anywhere.
Ivan Voras, PhD
Ivan’s 15+ years of back-end and blockchain architecture experience has seen everything from DBA ops to development of OS kernel modules (FreeBSD).
Digital Nomads Can Manage Teams, And Manage To See The World
Some people like the known and predictable. They freak out when their daily routine gets disrupted. But, I’ll bet if you are doing any kind of creative work like programming or design, you are not one of those people. Ordinary day-to-day office work will kill you. It will eventually strip your motivation, creativity or flare for what you do.
Lora Plesko
Lora has over 10 years of experience in IT as UX designer, business analyst, project manager, and QA.
How to Make Remote Working Work for You
Remote work comes with lots of things to take into account when designing your schedule, so finding the right balance that works best for you can be tricky. Here’s how to create a remote working schedule that works best for you, enabling you to get the most out of life while staying productive and effectively supporting your colleagues.
Belle Cooper
Co-founder of the Melbourne startup Hello Code, Belle is a seasoned iOS developer and avid writer.
Ergonomics for Digital Nomads: Working on the Road Without Killing Yourself
We live in a time where technology has made it possible to work from anywhere, and many people have eschewed the traditional office for the chaotic din of a cafe in Bangkok or a hotel in Prague. Yet, while this trend has opened up unprecedented opportunities, it also brings with it a number of challenges, perhaps the most insidious of which is a lack of ergonomically healthy options in non-traditional workspaces.
Casey Rosengren
Casey works in the community-related business space and has experience in the startup world.
World-class articles, delivered weekly.
Toptal Developers
- AngularJS Developers
- BigCommerce Developers
- Big Data Architects
- Blockchain Developers
- Front-end Developers
- Full-stack Developers
- HTML5 Developers
- iOS Developers
- Joomla Developers
- Laravel Developers
- Mobile App Developers
- Node.js Developers
- Odoo Developers
- Outsourced Developers
- PHP Developers
- Prototype Developers
- Python Developers
- QA Engineers
- Qlik Developers
- React.js Developers
- Remote Developers
- Salesforce Consultants
- Shopify Developers
- Software Developers
- Software Engineers
- SolidWorks Developers
- Squarespace Developers
- Startup Developers
- Svelte Developers
- Twilio Developers
- Velocity Developers
- Web Developers
- WebRTC Developers
- WooCommerce Developers
- WPF Developers
- View More Freelance Developers
Join the Toptal® community.