Sometimes I wonder how I ended up in a role like this in my current company and how passionate I became despite the fact that this was not the job I wanted in the first place. A few people knew that programming nor any tech-related course back in college was not really my first choice. People I knew said that I just have to find a course that will eventually pay me well enough once I started working. I was not really good back in college and a passing grade was good enough for me. I had that feeling that I know I can do it but I just did not want to do it because that’s not what I wanted, so why to push it (a bit rebellious isn’t it?). On one hand, despite being an easy-going person, I still did not allow myself to fail.
After college, I was excited to take just an entry-level position that is Computer Science related and it was simply because wanted to provide something for my single mom. I welcomed the tech corporate world into my life without hesitation.
My first job instantly gave me a taste of what a programmer is. Not someone encoding, nor just doing basic, mundane tasks. I was given tasks that I had no idea how to go about and ended up researching, designing, developing, and deploying. Mostly all by myself. I taught myself my first MVC as developer #1 of a startup company. The company had such a vision that it “forced” me to develop several systems until we eventually grew and more experienced developers joined and helped.
Got my first award for Employee of the Year
After about 3 years, I felt that I have reached the peak of my role and I have been presented with an opportunity to be much more. I got exposed to more than just programming with my 2nd job and gave me my first team lead experience. I was hesitant at first but I still accepted the challenge to see if this is a path I wanted to take. This is where I really felt that I wanted to be more than just a developer and honed my skills in managing teams, collaborating with other managers, understanding best practices, and started developing my document and process management skills. I even took up Masters's Degree from the University of the Philippines - Online University (UPOU) to further myself and learn more.
Got my Beyond Call of Duty Special Award
So why am I writing about this now? It’s because I wanted to share that despite my lack of enthusiasm and confidence in this field, I eventually managed to become someone that leads a team of 8, responsible for one big technology asset of a thriving company. All because I took the challenge and did not give up. Yes, there were days and weeks that I wanted to quit and pursue other things but I guess it happens to the best of us from time to time. The important thing is that I did not quit and pushed myself to be better.
So I will soldier on… till the next write-up!
Hackathon Mentor
