Choosing to upend my life, quit my decade-long career, travel around the world and then move across the coast from NY to Seattle was not something I had ever imagined doing. Especially as a pretty risk-averse individual that values stability as much as I do. But change is good, as it creates opportunities for growth, and I am proud of the risks I have taken to be where I am today and excited about all the possibilities it holds.
Most days, I’m not sure how I ended up in the chemicals industry but at the time, I knew that the stable day-to-day work life balance in an industry that would be around forever suited me, and the government-like company benefits are enviable by many in the workforce. But as a healthy, young college grad full of vitality that didn’t make any use of the free healthcare and pension, this ‘stable job’ was sucking the life out of me. The stagnant industry was not innovative or exciting and I was looking for more. I was simply not being challenged, even as I successfully moved up the corporate ladder year after year. I even started moonlighting as a realtor to keep me busy and to open other doors into a potential career change.
The number one reason employees leave a company is because of their direct manager. This was case the case for me. Between my manager, my team and the company culture I had “come to terms with”, I was unhappy and just going through the motions. After a lot of soul-searching, weighing the risk vs. reward, and general happiness of a career change into the unknown, I finally took the leap of faith and left my job.
When Google’s Project Aristotle came out with what makes an ideal team, I polled my friends for the reality of it in their teams at work. My software engineer friends in the tech industry responded with overwhelmingly positive feedback. They were passionate about programming, their teams, and called their colleagues friends. The growth mindset of the tech industry, startup culture and potential career progression spoke to me.
After some research, I realized that software engineering would harness my strengths in logic and creativity. I get to be a problem solver and troubleshoot like I had in supply chain, and with the creative freedom of writing my own code in the most logical and efficient way. Pursuing a career in software engineering holds a lot of potential and impact, leading to greater fulfillment, while checking off the boxes of it being an intellectually stimulating, in-demand marketable skill that would allow me the freedom and flexibility I’m looking for and the seemingly limitless opportunities.
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