30 days an engineer.

I started my first engineering role on June 21, 2021. I have been paid to build code and think creatively for 30 days now. It’s important for me to document this experience as a letter to my future self. Self reflection is a powerful tool for personal growth.

I wake up every morning and remember “I’m an ENGINEER!” I am excited to go to work and engage with my team. The problems I’m being asked to solve have never been solved before and I look forward to thinking about how to solve them with the most creative solutions I can design -- and what’s more is that other engineers want to think on it with me, too! I learned more this month that I can list, and here are takeaways I want to remember: when I’m in a role that is a great fit for workstyle and interests, I shine and excel. My senior engineers and tech lead want me to ask more questions than I’m currently asking, and I am encouraged to let them say “No” or redirect if necessary. When it comes to coding, I set my mind on the learning that is possible in every line, function, codebase, service. With that in mind, I’m more willing and eager to fail faster and ask more questions. Do yourself a favor and read the documentation more than once and check StackOverflow. My previous experience is extremely valuable -- coding is logic and art. Commit my branch at least once a day even if it’s comments or a TODO list.