The latest articles on DEV Community by Justinnnnnnn045 (@justinnnnnnn045). https://dev.to/justinnnnnnn045 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4108777%2Fff96a8c4-8144-47c6-aae8-6715e0dff65c.png https://dev.to/justinnnnnnn045 en Justinnnnnnn045 Thu, 03 Sep 2026 23:03:34 +0000 https://dev.to/justinnnnnnn045/the-1-professional-development-spend-of-540-engineers-isnt-a-book-4kgm https://dev.to/justinnnnnnn045/the-1-professional-development-spend-of-540-engineers-isnt-a-book-4kgm <p>I spent a weekend reading all 540 comments from Hacker News' biggest Ask HN on professional development: <em>"What is the best money you have spent on professional development?"</em> (524 points, 540 comments).</p> <p>The results surprised me — and they might change where you put your next learning budget.</p> <h2> The ranking (by how many DISTINCT commenters named it) </h2> <div class="table-wrapper-paragraph"><table> <thead> <tr> <th>#</th> <th>Resource</th> <th>Mentions</th> <th>Est. price</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>1</td> <td>Therapy / coaching</td> <td>51</td> <td>~$100/mo</td> </tr> <tr> <td>2</td> <td>Writing / blogging practice</td> <td>13</td> <td>Free</td> </tr> <tr> <td>3</td> <td>Refactoring (Martin Fowler)</td> <td>4</td> <td>~$45</td> </tr> <tr> <td>4</td> <td>Designing Data-Intensive Applications</td> <td>3</td> <td>~$45</td> </tr> <tr> <td>5</td> <td>Domain-Driven Design (Eric Evans)</td> <td>3</td> <td>~$55</td> </tr> <tr> <td>6</td> <td>Toastmasters</td> <td>3</td> <td>~$10</td> </tr> <tr> <td>7</td> <td>Coursera Specializations</td> <td>2</td> <td>~$50</td> </tr> <tr> <td>8</td> <td>LeetCode</td> <td>2</td> <td>~$35</td> </tr> <tr> <td>9</td> <td>MasterClass</td> <td>2</td> <td>~$15</td> </tr> <tr> <td>10</td> <td>The Pragmatic Programmer</td> <td>2</td> <td>~$45</td> </tr> </tbody> </table></div> <h2> The finding that surprised everyone </h2> <p><strong>Therapy is #1.</strong> Not a book, not a course, not a certification — the highest-ROI professional-development spend according to 51 distinct engineers was coaching/therapy. The comments overwhelmingly said it unlocked career growth more than any technical book:</p> <blockquote> <p>"As a founder / CTO the best money I have spent is on a really good coach." — gtf21</p> </blockquote> <p>The technical books are still there (Refactoring, DDIA, DDD), but the pattern is clear: once the fundamentals are covered, the biggest gains come from non-technical skills — communication, leadership, and mental health.</p> <h2> Methodology (what makes this honest) </h2> <ul> <li>A 524-point Ask HN thread asked the question and got 540 answers.</li> <li>I read <strong>all 540 comments</strong> and ranked every resource by how many <strong>distinct people</strong> named it.</li> <li>Not ranked by marketing. Not ranked by affiliate commission. Ranked by what engineers actually paid for and recommended.</li> <li>Prices are <strong>labeled as estimates</strong>. No fake numbers, ever.</li> </ul> <h2> The interactive version </h2> <p>24 resources, grouped by price tier (Free / Under $50 / $50-$150), searchable, with real quotes behind every item:</p> <p><strong><a href="https://justinnnnnnn045.github.io/pd-engine/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://justinnnnnnn045.github.io/pd-engine/</a></strong></p> <p><em>What did YOU spend PD money on that's missing from the list?</em></p> career learning books productivity