Aloha to myself,
This letter is for you sometimes in the future. I want to remind you of this crazy year 2020 and how it was to begin your journey as software engineer two frickin years ago at ThoughtWorks. It is so funny to me that it's already two years. I just remembered how i had the same feeling at Adwen with Jan, Marco, Armin and Martin. These two years just strolled right away like at Adwen. My time at ThoughtWorks is still a blast. i was never learning so much while having so much fun. Now i understand my co-workers comment from my first project at a forklift company about "too motivated" younger developers not wanting to do a break to play a round at the Kicker. I am now on the other side, sometimes just wanting to take 30min to do anything else. You also can read that my main language switched to English. I hope my school English teacher Mrs. Schade would be proud. When you read these hard learned advices, remind yourself about them and think back of the journey you undertook to get where you are.
"Experience is what you have learned in a situation where you desperately needed it."
Compare with yourself, not others.
Lately I ask myself the question: What am i worth? How much am i supposed to earn and where am I in my journey? My tech lead gave me a good advice for the first question: "Measure your value outside of ThoughtWorks to know what you are worth within ThoughtWorks." and for the second one i have an answer. Look where you were two years ago and write something down about your current knowledge base. Don't compare yourself to others. There are always people will be better than you and there are always people who are better than them. When somebody knows more then you about a technology or topic then learn from them and try your best. You will teach other what you know in no time.
Choose the challenge, not comfort.
My comfort zone has expanded over the last two years at ThoughtWorks due to the constant pushing of its limits. The temptation to stay in the built up comfort zone for a while is there but you have to get out there to push it further. It will make you a better professional and you will feel more satisfied with your career. Remember that the best things often happen outside the comfort zone.
Be humble but don't be an imposter.
Be humble and respect yourself and your skills. There will always be something to learn from others but this doesn’t mean that everyone is better than you. Don't make the mistake to fuel the imposter syndrome. You are able to stand your ground in the face of challenges with the experience you gained.
Be a role model, not arrogant.
Don't make the mistake of looking down on people because of your experience compared to theirs. Instead, be role model for them. Support their growth and give something from that back other have given you on your journey. Remember, not long time ago you were at the same point.
Run a marathon, not a sprint.
The road to becoming a good professional software engineering consultant and developer is a long one. Like Birgitta Böckeler told you: "Do not try to achieve everything in one year, you still have so many ahead of you until retirement.". Take your time and enjoy the ride but don't give slack around. The time to learn is limited so choose it wisely and become good in the topics you are really interested in. One new skill and one better feature of your lifestyle every year is enough. Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Think first, code second.
It is simpler to start coding right away. Tackling the first problem head on but with this strategy the code usalley get messy so let me tell you the things you should think about first. How can I test the feature and do i need a feature toggle? Knowing how to properly test will shape the domain object much better and a toggle will protect you from angry Business Analysts. Features can be coded in many ways so ask yourself is it simple enough and is it the right technology for it? If it is simple we can improve it later and with the right technology the maintainability is guaranteed. Your "muscle" as an engineer is the brain, not your fingers. Always think before you act. You will work in pairs so use the knowledge of your pair too.
Deliver value, not code.
Fast prototyping taught you to look for right tools. Using code generation is not a mistake. There is no point in reinventing the wheel. Avoid wasting time in something that is already out there. If you can achieve your goal simply glueing together some tools, just do it. What you should deliver as a software engineer is value to your business, not lines of code.
Choose life, not work.
This is going to be the last section of this letter and it should be the most important one. You have partially lost your hearing and other things in your life due to stress. I know you have the need to stay busy and always work on something. After all you have a strong passion and technology always fascinated you. Remember that work is important, but life is more. Live a meaningful and rich life. Use the time you have for more than getting better at your job. Pick up a new hobby, do sport, read books, write your Pen and Paper adventures, play an instrument, enjoy the video games and hangout with your friends. Life put all of us in different corners of the world. Good that we life in the century of VoIP-technology. Everyone is just one call away. Put yourself out there and find a partner for your life and give to your partner all the love, attention, and support that you can. You’ll be surprised how much having a rich life will improve you as a professional.