When you grow up not knowing what you can become, you end up spending a lot of extra time figuring out your options. At least that’s what happened to me:
Artist → Writer → Musician → Doctor → Policy Analyst → Writer (??) → Entrepreneur → Trust & Safety Specialist → Digital Marketing Specialist → Community Operations or T&S Specialist → ??? → Software Engineer
I knew what interested me:
- Creativity
- Systemic thinking
- Problem solving
- Helping people
But I didn’t know where those passions could coincide with a career. So I bid my time as a contractor in the tech industry. As a contractor, I confused my goals, diverged away from meaning in my work towards feeling meaningful. I wanted to feel important and a part of something, but not at the expense of doing work that did not feel impactful and interesting. So I took classes online to explore potential interests. Gave things a go. Slowly inched towards something yet unseen.
I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I knew I would recognize it when I saw it. And then… I saw it.
My life as I knew it began to crumble away and I could finally see beyond my immediate surroundings. My father began to exhibit signs of dementia and became my brother’s and my dependent.
Now I understood that meaning is a derivation of purpose and that meaningful doesn’t mean much after all. The drive forward isn’t some lofty, intangible concept, drive comes from helping people in real, knowable ways.
When I decided to become an engineer, it wasn’t for the prestige. If I am going to be honest, and I always try to be, it was because I needed to take care of my family and software engineers make the kind of money that would make that possible.
What I hoped, was that I would also enjoy it. Luckily, learning to code, to collaborate on complex problems, to ideate and explore, and to continually foster curiosity brought me immense joy (and a fair share of late nights).
Being resourceful is important, especially when you don’t have as many resources to begin with, so scholarships, loans, and whatever savings I had were key to this transition. Most importantly was the role that Adobe played via their Corporate Responsibility Program, the Adobe Digital Academy. I had begun to think that the transition into software development would bankrupt me and I was terrified of the risk, but the scholarship I received from Adobe paid the tuition to attend Galvanize in full. It covered partial living expenses and I took out a loan for the rest.
Those 6 months were a wild ride. I went from knowing some basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to building full-stack applications, independently exploring new tools, contributing to open source, attending hackathons, and even helping newer, aspiring engineers.
I learned the value of belief. There were days I couldn’t code well because I was doubting myself and then there were days when no one could stop me because I believed I was some magical prodigy. A freaking unicorn. My ability hadn’t changed from one day to the next, it was my confidence (forced or natural) that empowered me to perform at my best. Or at the very least, overcome technical barriers with fewer frustrations.
I could not have made it without some of the most amazing instructors (Nestor, Josh, and Michael), my dear mentors (Vlad and Vanessa), or some of the coolest friends and peers (Chuck, Tim, Jason, and Steven). They made my time at Galvanize as fruitful as it could be.
So how did I become a bonafide engineer?
My fairy godmother, Adobe, offered me an internship at the headquarters in San Jose, CA. Believe me, there is a tremendous difference between a coding bootcamp and a coding job. For the first few weeks I was a tad overwhelmed. Impostor Syndrome came knocking on my door, more often that I would have liked (Yes, I got to have an office as an intern). Those 4 months flew by and I learned so much from working with my team, a team I came to really respect and care for.
My mentor, Neha, always kept me grounded, stepped in to help if a problem felt too daunting and was genuinely caring and fun to be around. My manager was by far the most candid and funniest manager I have ever had, and a true advocate. He made me feel really supported and like a valued member of the team. My whole team was brilliant and kind (you know who you are!). It was as important to my success to have studied avidly for half a year, as it was to work in an environment where I felt safe to fail. When we feel like it is okay to occasionally misstep, we are better equipped to thrive and shine. And thus, 4 months came to an end a few weeks ago. I was sad I could not join my team as a full-time engineer.
But you know what I learned? That kindness begets kindness. People help people they like. In my own experience, I have sent event opportunities, tutorials, advice or even make my network available to engineers I like, those I find ambitious, kind, and fun to be around.
So even though I am not joining my team in San Jose, I am beyond overjoyed to announce that I signed an offer with Adobe to work in their San Francisco office. All because my manager and teammates were kind enough to advocate for me, introduce me to other teams, and help me prepare for interviews.
A year ago, I promised myself I would become an engineer and Adobe helped me make that dream come true (with a few months to spare!).
It is truly a one of a kind place to be.
#AdobeLife
