Reflections on my first week as a software engineer

I'm now a bonafide software engineer!

After spending four years transitioning into this career, it feels surreal to say. Especially since, as a return hire that ended my internship six months ago, not a lot has changed. The job is more or less the same (minus the existential dread of getting hired, of course). Perhaps there's truth to that Godzilla vs. King Kong r/programming meme afterall.

And, on top of being a newly minted software engineer, I'm also a newly minted remote engineer.

While most of my team works from Sunnyvale HQ, I'm setting up shop right here in Portland, Oregon. A lot has been said about the infeasibility of remote work (hit pieces from a desperate real estate industry), but I'm determined to make it work. I hope my voice can help change the narrative around remote work, so workers can build lives around what matters to them - not some arbitrary management decision.

But, I'll save my stump speech on remote work for another time. For now, let's discuss what went well this week, and improvements I'd like to make moving forward:

Here's what went well this week

Here's what I'd like to improve on

My intention for this blog is to regularly report "field notes" from my experience as a software engineer. Like a scientist publishing discoveries in a diary, I hope to learn from these notes, and share with other people who might find this content useful.

And with that, have a great weekend!