How I Learned to Enjoy the Career Progression Journey

👨‍💻 From Self-Taught Developer to Graduate 🎓 Software Engineer 👩🏾‍💻 to Engineering Director 🚀

My journey into tech is a bit unique. I'm not a typical college dropout, but I also didn't study computer science in college. My uncle use to build computers from scratch when I was growing.

Overtime, I just got more comfortable playing with computers because he was always playing with them. My uncle wasn't a typical nerd, IMO he was the coolest person on the planet.

I studied Computer Information Systems at THE ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY.

If you didn't know CIS degree gets no respect from trolls. To keep it simple it's a business tech degree IMO. Great for prepping people who want to work in tech, but are not that techincal. If you could kinda code back in the day, you were a superstar in the program.

I eventually had to learn to code because my first manager made it a requirement.

Starting out as a self-taught dev was like trying to scale Mount Everest 🏔️ with just a pair of sneakers 💼 and a newborn in tow 🧒. But, I was determined to make it to the top 💪 and achieve my dream of becoming a IT professiona. TBH, I didn't really know what a software engineer was at the time. I just knew our clients needed help with websites, so I started learning the basics.

The endless hours of studying PHP, SQL, and JavaScript while working a 9-5 job, felt like a marathon 🏃‍♂️ with no finish line. But, I knew that one day it would pay off 💰.

Two years later, I finally got my shot 🎯 at proving myself. My current role was a rollercoaster at the time and I went back to ASU career site and found a software engineering role. Didn't feel prepared for it at all 😨.

The interview was rough. It was about 5 hours and we spent a good amount of time on one coding problem. I honestly thought about giving up multiple times and wanted to say,

Sorry, I don't want to waste anymore of your time.

At the very end I ask a lot of questions on how can I get better at this then had about 20 questions to ask them. They love that! I aced it! 💪

But, once I landed the job, I realized that I wasn't as fulfilled as I thought I would be 🤔. Don't get me wrong I was happy, I had a job at one the biggest tech companies at the time. I wasn't fulfilled per se.

That's when I learned about the "Arrival Fallacy" 🧐. It's the illusion that reaching a goal won't make us as happy as we thought it would.

The reason for this is simple - once we reach our goal, the stress subsides and the dopamine (the "feel-good hormone") is no longer released.

So, how do we avoid this and actually enjoy the journey? 🤔

The answer is simple - focus on the journey, not just the destination.

I know that is cliche, but it's true. I've had a few promotions, raises, bonuses since that first hire but leveling up each time wasn't like I was immediately happier. Looking back the journey is what I enjoyed the most.

Now sharing that journey in Tech Dad makes it even more worth it.

Sure, having a solid goal in place is important, but it's also crucial to appreciate and enjoy the journey to get there.

You might not make a newsletter/blog or YouTube channel like I did, but I highly encourage you to document the journey. The easiest way IMO is by  journaling 📝.

It's a great way to spark introspection and appreciate the ground we've covered. Spending a few minutes each week reflecting on our efforts using a "Good, Bad, Better" lens can help us course correct and start enjoying the journey.

And, once the destination is reached, the journal becomes a great artifact to relive the journey and appreciate what we've achieved. 💯

Finally, I've found that even though I've progressed up the software development career ladder, some of the skills I learned as a hands-on coder are still relevant in my later life.

One such methodology is the "As a... I want... So that..." 🤔. This simple yet effective approach can be applied to different areas of our lives, making sure we're going after the right goals 🎯.

💡 Remember, it's not the destination, it's the journey 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️!