I woke up one morning realising that I wasn't happy with the job I had at the time. I was working to feed myself, I found little joy in what I was doing, I didn't have a long term career plan nor any sparks that would excite me. I then decided to take some time out to find out what would really ignite the fire. I went on a trip to Scandinavia for a few months to reflect over my interests and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to wake up every morning looking forward to going to work.
After months of reflection, I found out that I wanted to become a software developer. I wanted to innovate and be a part of society that works towards developing technology even further. I wanted to be part of the future.
My interest for coding and technology goes back to when I was a teen, I had a book on visual basics and I used to like writing configuration scripts for games. When I finally found out that I wanted to become a developer, I reached out to a family member who is in the industry. He then helped and advised me on the steps I needed to take.
And this is how I ended up working at Mobile Wave Solutions. The team was kind enough to offer me an internship in development for six months, during which I received a great mentorship. I was progressing well and after achieving various important milestones I was offered a full-time position as a Junior Developer only after four months in the company. A year later I was already working as a regular developer, it took me a year of hard work and long nights.
Gaining knowledge can be quite challenging, especially when you know you need to reach the level of the other developers. One of the most important things that Mobile Wave Solutions taught me is that you can be as curious as you want, you can ask questions all day long without anyone judging you. Ramping up and getting to a stable state to do work on my own was really challenging. Also grasping the amount of tech information was difficult, because the tech industry is an entirely new universe. All of a sudden you are exposed to so many things - product, business development; it's not only about understanding technology,, but it is key to comprehend the business itself.
I consider myself a happy and diligent developer, whatever issues I encounter I will work relentlessly until I fix them. Essentially, the good mentorship I received at Mobile Wave shaped me as a good professional. My initial plan was to stay at the company for one year - learn enough software development to go back to the UK and find a job there. However, I chose to stay, because I am constantly gaining more knowledge and experience.
My company has aided me with the mentorship, with business knowledge - I have spent two years on one project and one technology, now I am moving to another project for another client working on a different technology. The best thing of all is that I have a say in things, because through hard work you gain recognition and through recognition you gain responsibility. Only through responsibility you can truly show what you are capable of. I am able to talk to clients and to directly apply my expertise in the communication with them.
I am honoured and grateful for my decision to switch careers and to follow the path I am most passionate about.