Bytes of My Journey to Code

As someone who used to spend hours gaming and only studied when necessary, I never imagined to find myself in the world of programming. Computers were just a way to pass the time. Until, one byte at a time, curiosity led me to code.

First Encounter with Code

My first real encounter with code was when I enrolled in a Computer Science program at university. Ironically, I had no real reason for choosing it—I didn’t know a single thing about programming, nor did I have any passion for it. I took some courses like algorithm, data structures, OOP, IoT, etc, but none of them spark any passion in me—at least, not yet. Although I got good grades on those courses, it didn’t give me any sense of accomplishment. It felt like I was just going through the motions without truly connecting with what I was learning.

The problem hit in my 3rd year, when we were required to do a year-long internship. This is when reality struck—I was completely unhireable. Scrolling through the job listing feels like trying to decipher Minecraft’s enchanting table language. It dawned on me just how little I actually knew. Not only that, with the social skills as good as a door knob’s, interviews was not any better. I got super nervous, especially during live coding tests. Until after several rejections, somehow, I finally got accepted to a company.

Internship

Landing an internship as a Backend Engineer was a huge relief, but I knew I had to work extra hard—I had no prior backend experience. Fortunately, I still had a few weeks before the internship started, so I used that time to explore the company’s tech stack.

Fast forward to my first day: I had grasped the basics, but meeting my peers and coworkers quickly made me realize the skill gap. Some of them already knew things I didn’t even know existed. I could tell they were truly passionate about programming. Many had contributed to open-source projects that were actually being used by people.

That’s when it clicked for me—this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to build something useful, something that people could benefit from. That moment sparked my passion for programming.

Where Am I Today

Two years after my internship (now i’m a full-timer), I can now confidently call myself a Backend Engineer, but I know this is only the beginning of my journey as a Software Engineer. I’ve learned so much along the way, from debugging complex issues to collaborating with amazing teams. Yet, there’s still so much more to explore. Personally, I’m eager to deep-dive into the world of Front-End development. Not being able to create UIs has felt like a limitation, and I’m excited to expand my capabilities.

I’ve realized that every project, every challenge, and even every failure is part of the process. Learning never stops in this field, and I’m excited to continue building my skills and pushing boundaries. The journey is far from over, and I’m more passionate than ever about the road ahead.