#4 Hope is not a career plan

How to find your path to success without getting lost

In 2006 I was nobody. I landed my first job as a PHP engineer after 5 years of bouncing between factory jobs and unemployment. Since then I switched my technology stack to Java and I’ve become an Engineering Manager in 2022.

It was rough at times. I’ve made mistakes on the way, many mistakes. But you don’t have to.

Here’s what 12 years of working in the Software industry taught me about building a career.

Let’s get to it!

Step 0 - The Dream

No matter how big my struggles were in my 20s I’ve always had a dream of not being poor. Do you remember the meme Stop Being Poor? That was my lighthouse believe it or not.

Before you get on a journey you need to know your destination point. You know where is the shop you go to for your shopping. You don’t leave your house first to decide where you buy your groceries later.

Dream big. What title would you like to have? CTO? Staff Engineer? Pick what you’d like to do in a few years. This will be your compass to keep you on track.

Step 1 - Where are you now?

After I finished school I became a Technician of Electronics. I knew Delphi and Assembly for industrial microcontrollers. I knew I don’t want to stay in the hardware space and I knew Delphi was a dead language in 2006.

To find your way you need to know where you’re now. You need to audit your position on the market, your skills, your time and money.

Don’t look only at technical skills related to Software. What do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies? What did you learn at home? Those skills you can use to differentiate yourself on the market.

What’s your personality? Are introverted or extroverted? How are your communication and soft skills?

Be honest with yourself to know what are your advantages and in what areas you’re weak.

Step 2 - Where do you want to be?

In 2006 I knew the magical thing called Web was on the rise. I was spending a lot of money I didn’t have on Internet Cafes to browse the global network. I’ve learned about PHP being the language popular in Web Development and it paid well.

You need to figure out what’s your goal. You know where the lighthouse is and the goal is the next island on the way to it.

Read about the Software Engineering market, try things and decide what you like. If I was starting now, in 2023, I’d look at Python and Java as JavaScript is a bit too saturated for me.

If you want to become a Senior Engineer check out what your colleagues are doing. Figure out what skills you need from the job offers. Ask your manager what you need to do to get promoted.

Define the goal the next step on your journey should take you.

Step 3 - What’s the gap?

I’ve got some internet at home and I very soon realised the first book I need to buy is a Polish-English Dictionary lol. There was no Google Translate and I didn’t even know it existed. With technology changing every week and months or years it took books to translate. I had to learn how to get access to what was viable now.

That’s why I asked you to be honest earlier. Learning your next programming language may not be the best first step or it may be wrong full stop.

If you’re an experienced Engineer, learning communication skills and leadership will help you more than learning new technologies.

I speak from experience.

You know what’s the difference by now. Make a list of skills that you need to get to make the step. If you’re not sure - ask.

Ask your mentor, your colleague or manager. If you don’t think they can help you ask strangers on the Internet. LinkedIn is a great place to start.

If you feel that nobody will listen to you or you don’t want to disturb anybody - I give you permission to drop me a DM and we’ll figure out what you need.

Step 4 - Execute and calibrate

It took me 5 years of learning PHP, frameworks, JavaScript and how to manage Linux servers. 5 years of learning every day. No matter if I came back from a shift at the factory or if I was looking for the next factory or pizzeria to hire me.

You know what you’re missing and now you need to learn. Not watching YouTube videos all day. I mean doing what you need to master to reach your goal.

If it’s learning to code it’s spending time writing code and making apps. Check my friend’s newsletter for that [https://codingchallenges.substack.com/].

If it’s communication and leadership go on YouTube or find books that can help you and start practicing at work. Take more responsibility and be seen as the great Engineer you are.

The same as hope is not a career plan - no plan will work if you won’t.

Wrapping up

Be patient. I finished school 17 years ago. I had better and worse years but that’s how life is. As long as you keep your eyes on your dream, on your lighthouse, and keep on moving one step at a time you’ll reach your destination.

P.S.

If you are a Mid or Senior Engineer and

→ You feel stuck in your career

→ You’d like to get a pay rise

→ You don’t know what your next step is

I’m opening my calendar for 5 people for Career OPS Coaching where I will guide you through the process you just read and help you in making your next step.

All that for FREE! If you agree to:

✅ Put in the work

✅ Give me honest feedback

✅ Leave a killer review if you’re happy with the results

Send “I’M IN” to dar@darsadowski.com or DM me on LinkedIn.