How I started my career

I graduated from one of the prestigious universities FAST in Pakistan in 2010. I was offered my first job as Software Engineer during a university drive right before my final exams. I still remember the interviewer asked me about ArrayList in C# which I couldn't answer. But he was impressed with the way I answered the questions about design patterns and what pattern to use in which scenario. I was given an offer right away after the interview.

I started my career as Blackberry Developer in 2010. At that time, mobile applications were trending and their developers were quite in high demand. During that time, there were 3 blackberry developers in Pakistan and I immediately got a side hustle project which was paying double the salary which I was getting as full-time. Then I moved to Android and iOS development. In this company, I got a chance to go on expedition trips to Northern Areas of Pakistan four times. This is how I explored the beauty of my own country for the first time.

Explore different role

After working there for 5 years, I wanted to explore the different environment and try other roles within Software Engineering. I got an offer from another company as Senior Analyst through a reference where I got an opportunity to work in Malaysia for 6 months. This is when I fell in love with this country. My role was to do their requirement analysis for one project and onsite development for another project where I had to lead a team of developers. This gave me exposure to understanding how communication is very important with customers.

Then I joined a product-based company as a functional developer. My primary role was onboarding the customer, and customizing their workflows on our platform. I was utilising my communication skills which I learned from my previous employer and was progressing well. But it didn't involve much development work which made my technical skills obsolete. This is the time I realised I should go back to the engineering role and develop my skills which are high in demand. I started learning about Javascript, Nodejs, React JS and got an offer in Malaysia.

Lessons Learned

• I was lucky enough to get my first Software Engineering job without having hands-on experience. As an entry-level interviewee, you are expected to have a good understanding of the concepts.

• Analyse the trends in the market and try to learn those skills which are in high demand. Just like in my case, I wanted to be a Mobile Application developer which was in demand at that time.

• Networking is very important in this field. I got all of my jobs through networking. And it's very important to maintain your profile on LinkedIn and be active in the community of the tech stack which you are working on.

• Always be in a cycle of learning and advancing your skills to stand out. Develop a passion and ambition to grow.

Conclusion

Overall, I think we are blessed to have this career path where most of us can work from home. During the pandemic Covid-19, our profession was less likely which was impacted. At the same time, we have to be careful especially during the 2022-23 global financial recession where tech companies are impacted.

Cheers to 2023!!