My Journey to My First Job as a Data Engineer

The First Story of Many

Hello reader,

My name is Violeta Rakonjac and I am from Serbia. This is my story, my journey to my very first job as a Data engineer. Don’t expect a road map, expect inspiration and motivation.

I’ll start with a short story on how I decided to pursue this career. I am a Computer science graduate with a Master’s degree in education. I originally wanted to be a college professor. So I started working in a high school, determined to elevate classes, standards and innovate the way of teaching computer science. I poured all my ideas and did so much in a few years. But it wasn’t enough for me. I realized that I was the one who wanted to learn constantly, and to be challenged with problems to solve.

That realization lead me to think about a career change. I was already in love with data, and it just so happened my best friend was a data engineer. My Jelena, my inspiration for exploring the world of data engineering. That was the time when I had my daughter Andjelka (Angel), so I found my motivation as well. That is how it all started.

Anyone who has children knows how bound to your home you are in winter with a baby. That left a lot of time for me to invest into learning. So that is what I did all the time when my baby was sleeping.

I started by strengthening my SQL skills. Then I went from knowing basic Python, to intermediate-level knowledge. Foundation complete. Then I invested a lot of time into learning data engineering concepts, different technologies used, best practices and watched demos of use cases.

I felt like I was ready, so I started applying for jobs. And I got my first interview right away! Looking back, I did very well for my first interview. I got to the last round of interviewing when the other candidate was chosen. Then, I was unsuccessfully interviewing for six months. I always felt good when I was given the opportunity to introduce myself, no matter the outcome. But one thing that was shaking my boat the most was getting an automated “No” response to my application. I don’t know why it got to me so much, but I always appreciated it more when someone took a minute to write a personal response.

Okay, I still had my motivation and inspiration by my side and my husband jumped in as a support system. My learning path hasn’t stopped. That is one fulfilling aspect of my life, I like it and I learned every day.

My learning path was elevated, I kept refreshing my SQL and Python skills daily. I learned about and tried all open-source tools like Airflow, Kafka, MySQL, and PowerBI. I used DataCamp paid subscription for SQL and Python and I took other courses they offer on basic concepts of Cloud computing etc. I also paid for Google's Data engineering learning path.

After all that, I felt like I was on such a level that I should be the one choosing where I wanted to work. Maybe too confident, but something changed. I wasn’t applying to all jobs anymore and I didn’t accept further interviews if I didn’t like my first impression of the company.

All of a sudden, I was getting more interview invitations. And there it was… I saw a job post on LinkedIn from a company that I had never seen before, and the job description wasn’t miles long. They wanted someone with AWS knowledge, but I’ve learned GCP. So I looked at some “learn the basics” tutorials on AWS and realized I could easily switch. I read about the company and it resonated with me, their journey, awards, futuristic ideas and approach. I applied and hoped for an invite for an interview.

And I got it!

Then I saw who would be interviewing me… Two tech leads, giants in our industry, not HR. Wow! That was a first, but I had a good feeling. And I was right, it was the best interview of my life. I felt so good, I was happy. At one moment I didn’t even care if they wanted to continue, I stayed in that interview for a while.

They hired me, gave me the opportunity to learn and grow with them. So I will try and do weekly posts on my experience as I grow and hopefully, I’ll inspire you to pursue your dreams, keep your motivation and never give up! I want you to always know your value and what you can bring to the table. There is a place for everyone, and in the end, just like it happened to me, you will know your struggles end with a reward.

Thank you for reading, and for letting me be a part of your day and community.

Tell me your story in the comments!