Four things I wished I knew before becoming a software engineer
12 Dec 2022 #careerThis post is part of my Advent of Code 2022.
It has been 8 years since I started working as a software engineer. I began designing reports by hand using iTextSharp. And by hand, I mean sketching the report layout by drawing lines on a blank canvas. Arggg! I used Visual Studio 2010 and learned about LINQ for the first time those days.
Then I moved to some sort of full-stack position doing DotNetNuke modules with Bootstrap and Knockout.js. In more recent years, I switched to work as a backend engineer. I got tired of getting feedback on colors, alignment, and those things. They’re important. But that’s not the work I enjoy doing.
These are four things I wished I knew before becoming a software engineer.
1. Stand out: make yourself different
Find a way to stand out.
Learning a second language is a perfect way to stand out. I’m a bit biased since language learning is one of my hobbies. For most of us, it means learning English as a second language. But, a second language opens doors to new markets, professional relationships, and job opportunities. And, that’s something you can brag about on your CV.
After an interview, you can be remembered for the languages you speak. “Ah! The guy who speaks X language.”
2. Always keep learning
Let’s be honest. University will teach you lots of things. Probably, you don’t need most of them. You will have to study books, watch online conferences, and read blog posts. Never stop learning! That would keep you in the game in the long run.
But, it can be daunting if you try to learn everything about everything. “Learn something about everything, and everything about something,” says popular wisdom.
Libraries and frameworks come and go. Stick to the principles.
3. Have an escape plan
There is no safe place to work. Period! Companies have financial problems. Companies lay off employees without any further notice and apparent reason. You can get seriously injured or sicked. You won’t be able to work forever.
If you’re reading this from the future, ask your parents or grandparents about the year 2020. Lots of people lost their jobs or got their salaries cut by half in a few days. And, there were nothing they could do about it.
Have an escape plan. A side income, your own business, a hobby you can turn into a profitable idea.
Have an emergency fund. The book “The Simple Path to Wealth” calls emergency funds: “F-you” money. Keep enough savings in your account to avoid worrying about when to leave a job or when the choice isn’t yours.
4. Have an active online presence
If I could do something different, it would have an active online presence earlier. Have a blog, a LinkedIn profile, or a professional profile on any other social network. Be active online. Use social networks to your advantage.
In the beginning, you might think you don’t know enough to start a blog. But, you can share what you learn, the resources you use to learn them, and your sources of inspiration. You can learn in front of others, learn in public. You can show your work.
Voilà! These are four things I wished I knew before starting a software engineer career. Remember, every journey is different. For sure, my circumstances have been different than yours, and that’s why these four things. In any case, “Your career is your responsibility, not your employer’s.” I learned that from The Clean Coder.
Interested in more career lessons? Check five lessons I learned on my first five years as software engineer, ten lessons learned after one year of remote work, and a case against massive unrequested refactorings.
Happy coding!