A friend recently asked me what I do for work, which led me to reflect on my career path so far.
Ever since school, I’ve been a geek at heart and would drool over the prospect of spending time in our Computer Lab. Java was one of the subjects, and I was really good at memorizing rote syntax and reproducing it on paper.
For my college education, I luckily landed in a Computer Science degree without much thought, as it was almost a default choice for most graduating students aiming for vocational careers.
College was fun. I spent more time in the high-speed Internet labs than in classes. I would hack away on friends’ phones, installing custom software on them, then come back and spend more time on my home computer, either installing a new flavour of Linux or just playing games day in and day out.
The last few semesters of college rolled in, and I decided it was time to gain some real-world experience.
I got an internship as a DevOps engineer. Most insightful time of my life, career-wise. I was deep in the trenches, out in the real world. I spend my days on the AWS Dashboard, exploring the myriad of services it offers. It was fun, but DevOps was machines and configuration. I wanted something I could “see”. I did not take the full-time offer and left after 6 months.
Hunting for companies where I could do full-stack stuff, I landed at Postman. I was finally comfortable. It was a company that was growing out of its “startup” phase. I was in the company of brilliant minds. I was working on a product used by developers worldwide. It was a hustle, but I learnt a lot.
I had a good manager, which is a boon for early-career people. I worked in the “Growth” organization. Our goals were multifold. Bring more customers, train them on our platform, and then retain them. I learnt about product-driven development. I could see how my work was making waves and contributing to revenue. It was full-stack JavaScript work. I was there for 3 years.
Then COVID happened. Personal Tragedy Struck. I got burnt out and left without another job in hand. I was gainfully unemployed. I took care of my health, read books, and took naps in the sun. I travelled and sat across the ocean, feeling free. I spent 4 months like that.
Time for another job. I decided I’ll move closer to the “user” and look for front-end roles. I landed up at Twilio. It was another developer-focused product. I already knew the ropes. My colleagues were great, my manager was a great leader and mentor. I was having the time of my life. Tech-wise, I was all-in on JavaScript, Typescript, and React.js. Unlike some of my full-stack peers, I never shied away from CSS. Products needed to look good, in addition to working great, was what I always thought. I had taste, I had an eye for details. But frontend is not just pixels, it’s also performance. I worked on performance optimizations, loading speed, and telemetry. It was fun, but the company was going through a period of turbulence. Shifting priorities and undelivered projects. It would stabilize soon, but I had already been here for 2 years, so I decided to look elsewhere!
Then came my current org. It was a different kind of role. It involved writing more than hands-on technical work. My technical know-how would definitely help me, but this could mean a radical shift in my career path. But it was globally remote - An opportunity to work with people all around the world. It would be a new challenge. As a person, I believe in challenging myself, and I liked writing, and I loved technology, so I thought I’d give it a go. And so far, it’s awesome! I have been writing more, something I’ve wanted to do for years. I’m also not shying away from hands-on, deep technical work when it comes my way. (AI is going to take away this soon anyway) I’m working with colleagues who live on a different continent from me. And, I’m seeing the impact of my work. Like before, I’m still helping developers deliver the best product for their users.
According to me, that is the essence of professional life. Do good work with good people. And never stop learning. I think I’m going to keep on doing that, no matter the job role listed under my name.