Getting into tech: Fresh out of college

Our upbringing has instilled in us the importance of pursuing a college education, achieving good grades, graduating, finding a job, and avoiding gaps in our employment history. In keeping with this philosophy, I followed a similar path after earning my degree, remaining in the city to seek out job opportunities similar to those pursued by my peers. Succumbing to peer pressure, I joined my friends in the hunt for the most popular job with a respectable salary. A call center job appeared to fit the bill, given the fact that programming jobs typically do not offer high compensation for inexperienced individuals, and many companies prefer experienced programmers.

Attempting to apply for the same job as your group of friends is a challenging endeavor. While having friends as support is undoubtedly beneficial, it can lead to competition among each other, particularly when vying for the same position. Therefore, I do not recommend this approach. I attempted to secure a job with my friends but to no avail. Subsequently, I decided to go solo in my job search. Although I received a few interview invitations, I failed to land a job. It was not until I began job hunting that I realized how hard the process could be. I underwent a rigorous application process, including numerous exams and interviews with a call center company, only to discover that I had not been selected for the job. Perhaps I was simply not cut out for the position, or maybe my English language skills were insufficient for the job requirements.

After realizing that English was not my strongest suit, I took a step back and reevaluated my career goals. While programming was the main reason I pursued a degree in computer engineering, I had briefly veered off that path. The following day, I began sending out resumes in hopes of landing a programming job. I lost count of how many resumes I submitted online and in-person before finally securing my first programming role, which was truly exciting!