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Michelle Tan
Michelle Tan

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Do you have any career regrets? What are they?

Maybe regret is too strong of a word to use. Let's face it, we're all human beings at the end of the day. At some point we all make some mistakes in our careers. But not all mistakes are all bad, in fact it's a great learning opportunity because we knew what went wrong.

For me, I learnt that when the task you're handling is going south, it's better to share the news as early as possible and ask teammates for help instead of wrecking my head trying to figure it out on my own. There's no shame in asking for help. 😀

If you had a chance to go back "re-do" it, how would you have done it better/ to avoid it?

Top comments (7)

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eljayadobe profile image
Eljay-Adobe

When I went to the university, I was advised not to go into computer science because "there's no future in computers." I now consider that to have been some rather stunningly bad advice.
I also wish the first time I was in a bad work environment, I would have disentangled myself from it a full year sooner. At least I had learned my lesson, and the second time I was in a bad work environment, I did disentangle myself from it just at the right time.

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michelletanpy profile image
Michelle Tan

The internet is taking over the world now :D I hope you're at where you want to be. Do you mind sharing how to know if you're in a bad work environment? Is there a certain type of indication?
Maybe it's a bad example: No codebase was ever documented type of environment

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eljayadobe profile image
Eljay-Adobe

I'm where I want to be now. I'm at a great company, with a great boss (and an entire management that is great), working on a great product, with great people. My dream job, really. :-)
Hmmm, how to know if you're in a bad work environment. Hmmm. Are you stressed out? Is work-life balance out of whack? Are you miserable? Those are some good indicators.

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michelletanpy profile image
Michelle Tan

That sounds great. Thanks for sharing, those are indeed good indicators.

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_bkern profile image
Barry

Don't always listen to the masses. When I graduated I listened to a lot of bs at the time about outsourcing and how I couldn't pursue programming and development as a full-time career. Through some coincidental changes/shifts, I ended up in a junior developer role and absolutely loved going to work again. I eventually left this job but and pursued a job in software development.

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michelletanpy profile image
Michelle Tan

Yea I agree, that's a good one: Don't always listen to others. Or at times, just take their advice with a pinch of salt. Glad it worked out for you !

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justinctlam profile image
Justin Lam

Staying at one company for too long. It really suppressed salary potential, transferrable skills, and career growth.