Words of Wisdom
Three pieces of advice that will help you as you start your career in Software Engineering.
Last week we had the opportunity to hear from Lisa Shissler Smith who is an Engineering Manager at Netflix and also an Advisor for Strategio.
She shared the story of her journey with us, which started as a Librarian and eventually led her to her current role.
While talking about her story she blessed us with many golden nuggets that all aspiring software engineers could use for their own journey.
Three points that really stood out to me were the following.
Engineers should…
· Be curious
· Not be afraid to ask questions
· Tell their story
I want to take some time to look at these three points and explain how I plan on using them in my journey. I encourage you all to follow along. Who knows? Perhaps you may find them beneficial for you journey as well.
Engineers should be curious
Lisa spoke of how curiosity is an important trait for software engineers. When she says this, she couldn’t be more right. Everyday technology is evolving. What was popular 5 years ago, may be on its way out. With all these constant changes, it is impossible for one to stay stagnant and survive. In order to be successful, we have to be CURIOUS. We need that desire to learn what is new and relevant.
Of course, it is impossible to know everything, but we need to be willing to grow and learn new things. Lisa mentioned that potential candidates often get discouraged when they realize they haven’t worked with a certain technology that an employer is looking for. She says that instead of getting deterred, candidates should instead say, ”Yeah sure I don’t know what it is, but I’ll learn it”.
I have been stumped by this in the past, but I now see that my curiosity brings a lot of value. I have demonstrated through my constant training that I love to grow, and this will be my response going forward.
Engineers should not be afraid to ask questions
I mentioned in my previous point that it is impossible to know everything. This is especially true in software engineering. How do we combat this to be successful?
We ask questions!
It seems like a pretty easy answer, right? But for many people, it is easier said than done. The reason it is so hard is that none of us wants to look lost or out of place. We want to make it appear as if everything is always under control. When we do this we are only making things worse. We prolong finding the solution to our problem because we become afraid to ask our peers for help.
Lisa said, “Don’t feel like you have to have all the answers always”. It is impossible to know everything in this career. The fewer questions you ask in the beginning the harder you make it on yourself. Lisa mentioned that over time you will start to see patterns and figure things out on your own more frequently, but until then don’t be afraid to ask! She finished this point by saying “People are very giving of their time”. If we are just willing to ask, we will be surprised to find that people are always willing to help. I’ve seen this to be true in my life as well.
In the past, I have spent hours, days looking for solutions to problems, when all I had to do was ask the right person, and arrive to the solution quickly.
Engineers should tell their story
The last golden nugget that I wanted to share from Lisa is that engineers should tell their story when interviewing for positions. What better way to show that you know a certain technology than to share personal experiences with it?
We should talk about our personal projects, and things we have built not only from a technical aspect but also go deeper. Lisa says we should be able to say Why we did something? What did we learn along the way? What did we reject as a possibility before we picked the thing that we picked?”
When we do this, we are showing that we not only know the basics of technology but also know how to use it. That is something that I am looking to implement. Through sharing my story I can show employers that I can use what they are looking for, and apply the technology in various ways.
I hope this article was of benefit to you!
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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