My (not so intentional) Journey Into Software Engineering
By: Umar Nawed, Associate Software Engineer
In spring 2019, I graduated from the University of Toronto with a specialization in Business and Information Technology. Confused about what to do, I knew that going into business wasn’t what I wanted to pursue long term, so I decided to focus on the information technology side of things. Naturally, I turned to software engineering. I enjoyed the software engineering and algorithm courses that I took during college, so I figured, Why not turn it into a career? I began applying to several software engineering jobs, hoping that my lack of experience wouldn’t be too big of a burden in finding my job search. I had previously held a few internships that focused on IT and programming, but definitely nothing major like you’d usually find at large tech companies.
After searching for a month, I stumbled on a job posting from Veeva for an Associate Software Engineer position. The qualifications didn’t seem too imposing — mostly basic Java and computer science fundamentals. I decided to apply without thinking much of it. A few weeks later, I received an email from my future manager. During the phone interview, I got to learn about the company and the work that I would potentially be involved in. It didn’t take long for me to get invested — Veeva seemed like an amazing company to work for.
The subsequent on-site interview consisted of a mix of technical and soft-skill portions. What struck me about Veeva was how the non-technical interviews weren’t intense Q&A sessions. Rather, they felt like natural conversations where we were able to discuss what Veeva stands for, its values, and the type of work my team would focus on.
What really resonated with me, however, was the values that Veeva lives by. These values — do the right thing, customer success, employee success, and speed — are all things that I really believe are needed for a company to succeed and contribute positively to its community. Most importantly, the idea of a company standing for doing the right thing, especially for its customers and employees, is crucially important. Without these things, a company can’t have a positive impact on its industry. I’ve been at Veeva for nine months and can confidently say that this company fully embodies and lives by those values. As an employee at Veeva, your success and development are always given priority. Veeva prioritizes helping employees to develop their skills and improve their toolbox; we’re constantly reflecting on how we can improve and do better. What’s really special is that there is never any finger-pointing or backbiting; all feedback is constructive and the only aim is to improve the team.
I’m on the OLS, or Outside Life Sciences, team. Specifically, I’m a part of RegulatoryOne, a division of Veeva that is dedicated to developing software that manages the regulatory affairs for companies in the cosmetic, chemical, and consumer goods industries. As the product development team is based entirely in Toronto and is still in its infancy, we’re in a unique position to push the envelope in how we build out features. This gives us developers — especially new grads like myself who don’t have much formal software engineering experience — a chance to develop our skills and try new technologies and designs. We also have the opportunity to figure things out by trial and error as well as improve our skills by speaking with senior developers in the industry. This is amplified because we get to build regulatory software, which is (in my humble opinion) objectively the greatest software that has ever been created.
Initially, I was nervous about embarking on this new phase of my life, but after a few months, all the anxiety was washed away. Team collaboration and comradery allowed me to focus on trying my best and not being afraid to fail. I would recommend any college student or new grad to apply to Veeva (not to mention that the Toronto office has the most blessed coffee machine)!
