Growth, problem solving and authenticity — five things I learned at my first job as a developer
Reflections of an Industrial Engineering graduate after two months in a start-up environment
Navigating the working world and landing your first job fresh out of college can be a daunting journey — something they don’t prepare you for at University.
“An Industrial Engineer working as a developer? Upon graduation I knew that I didn’t want a typical Industrial Engineering position, ending up somewhere in supply chain management or optimization, so I broadened my search — from finance positions all the way through to data science positions, with no idea what I was doing.
Finally, I read about an interesting healthtech start-up in my area and knew the company would be a great fit. I reached out, and three weeks later I started as a “Junior Tooling Specialist” — I still don’t know what this means.
1. Your job title doesn’t mean much (especially in a start-up environment)
Over the last two months I have already learned and absorbed a mini degree’s worth of knowledge. I learned how to
- deploy small web applications with Python front-end packages like Streamlit,
- systematically solve big data problems,
- use version control with Git,
- work with Amazon Web Services (AWS CLI),
- write clear and concise documentation for projects, and
- I’m currently busy with a course on Python’s Django framework for back-end development, which includes sections on the integration with front-end HTML and CSS.
Apart from basic Python programming this was all new to me! In the tech world there are so many programming languages, tech stacks, skills and frameworks — for a fresh non computer science graduate still finding their feet this can be overwhelming…
2. All you need is a growth mindset! Believe in your ability to learn.
The technology field is a two-sided sword. Any technical skill can nowadays be learned online with incredible platforms like Udacity, Udemy, etc. This is great, because you have everything you will ever need at your fingertips, but this also means that everyone else does as well, making the barrier to enter the tech market very low. So how are you suppose to stay competitive in the tech world?
Adopt a growth mindset! Keep learning, ask questions, read articles and blogs, do online courses — on everything, as much as you can. This will expose you to things you didn’t even know you enjoy. Keep carving, slowly but surely, and try to apply whatever you learn in your immediate environment. Don’t try to learn everything out there all at once — instead, problem solve as you go. Don’t know something? Google it, watch a video, figure it out, day by day.
3. Most jobs across all industries are nothing but problem solving
No matter who you are and where you work, you will constantly have to problem solve. Every task can be defined as a problem. Whether it’s to find bugs in a programme or getting through 100 emails under time pressure, there is a problem that needs solving. Apply yourself, reflect and learn from it, then do it all over again tomorrow.
Programming, or development in general, is nothing but glorified problem solving. Struggling? Google, Stack Overflow, Github, Discord — the answer is most probably already out there.
Where am I, what do I have at my disposal to solve this, what result do I need to get to? If you can define these three things you can solve any problem.
4. Be your true authentic self
Before I started I made a very conscious decision to be myself from day one. Putting up a ‘professional’ corporate visage at work can be draining, which is something I learned early on during internships. Being yourself at work allows you to make real connections with colleagues and it frees up mental space which enables you to show up everyday to do best what you’re hired to do.
If you made it through the interview process, chances are you already connected with some of your colleagues on an energetic level. Subconsciously, their choice to hire you is not only based on your technical assessment, but also who you are as a person, communicated through your interactions during the interview process. By expressing your authentic self you create a true transparent picture of the person that will show up everyday, and they can feel that authenticity (or lack thereof) immediately. So be you, and be you well, because that is all you really have to offer this world.
5. No job is a one man show
No matter what you are doing, you will always have to press on someone else’s number every now and then. Whether it be the Support team, the colleague next to you, IT to help you with your computer, DevOps to help you with AWS configurations, or the receptionist to open up when you forgot your keys — always be kind and respectful, it always comes back to you.
Do keep in mind that this is my experience from working in a start-up environment (100 employees), and will differ drastically to a first experience at a big corporate.
Thanks for reading and feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and Github.
