I graduated college in May of 2023. It has been almost a month and a half since I have been working full-time in the industry.This period has provided me with some personal revelations. Take this post as a change to journal, a ramble even.
Everybody is struggling with something
After signing the contract for the Cloud DevOps Engineer positions, my impostor syndrome kicked in. Am I good enough? Can I do it? Who am I really, I am just graduating… I cannot work as a Cloud DevOps Engineer? I did not think I know enough to begin from such an advanced position. Some people work years before they get a crack at the position like this. I had two options in my mind: I either know a lot more than I think and it shows or I am faking it and fooling them successfully. During my first day here, I realized that it is the former. I do have what it takes. I need to be fine with asking for help, I need to understand that someone cannot know everything. I just need to be able to learn it. I need to be willing to learn. Instead of it feeling heavy and dreadful to work, I saw myself as their investment into the future.
See yourself as an investment for the company. They want you to learn. If you grow with them and you are willing to change course and adapt quickly, then your value goes up. The field of IT requires you to be willing to start over almost every week. Become comfortable being uncomfortable and you will have a nice career in IT. I cannot say I know so, but I hope so.
Build relationships
You will be in that environment for most of the week. Aim to make it a nice place to be in. Set boundaries to still be productive. I have lunch with some of my coworkers every day. Yes, it is costly in the end of the month; however, I rather plan that expense into my budget and have a good relationship with them, than be a loner and an outcast. If you have rapport, making mistakes do not seem taunting and you are more willing to ask for help; and actually get that help. No need to be best friends, but professional communication and building that rapport is super useful and will come handy while you are climbing your ladder.
Make mistakes, ask questions
Do not be afraid to look stupid. They rather have you ask questions and truly understand than have you take a stab at it and mess up the whole system. Like it is common in DevOps culture, you want to make a lot of small mistakes often so you will quickly learn. So, have a good git handle so you can roll back if need be, work on a separate branch, and push small reversible changes. Test often. This way you ensure that you are producing quality, but if something is wrong, you can quickly take it back as you have a good version control habits.
Keep notes if you have to. Write down steps you take, make sure you have a key manager, and start creating scripts and configuration files for things you need to use often. So once you change a computer, you will be immediately set up in a way that you need to be.
Most importantly, have fun!
Money will come and money will go. It feels great to get your paycheck; however, it feels even better to be healthy, have a good group of friends who you can go on adventures, and a good community you can rely on. At the end of your life there is no buying time. This is when the connections you build will offer you most laughter, peace, and love.
As I grow and build my career. I will aim to keep writing my thoughts down. This truly needs to become a habit for myself. I am still struggling with finding a healthy workout habit, creating a good relationship with food, and building connections with people around me. I need to be patient and give myself time. There is time. I should not underestimate what I can accomplish within a year when I do just a little every day. Consistency is the key for success.