I am a software developer by accident, and I owe that accident to everyone but myself. Throughout my whole life, everyone around me has been bringing me up. For my first blog post, I want to share my journey on how I became a software developer.
Back then, I didn't really have that big of a dream or ambition. I never saw myself taking up whatever career my teachers were suggesting to my schoolmates.
I was in MRSM Taiping, which is a science-oriented, fully boarding school. The suggestions of career paths there:
So my ambition at the time was really doing gig work, freelance photographer and quick cash mentality. I was just playing games, building PCs during the Covid-19 quarantine, and hadn't figured out what I wanted to be yet. Turned out, that building PC was actually the spark that ignited my interest in software development, but I didn't know it at the time as I actually enjoy building stuffs and it worked and I am pretty sure everyone who build stuffs can relate to it.
This went on until I had to choose what my course would be in university or pre-university, because in Malaysia, you can't simply start with a Bachelor's degree after school.
Long story short, I did not get what I wanted, which was Foundation in Physical Science in University Malaya, because, well, I'm not the brightest student ever in the first place.
I got Diploma in Computer Science, which was my second choice. I felt really high pressure at the time because, you know, Asian culture, where we compare education to everyone.
Most of my friends were:
Me? I was just going to the local uni diploma.
When the internship phase came, I couldn't find any placement. Apparently, no company wanted me. LOL.
Except for one:
They gave me my first opportunity, under my great manager, Mr. Lew, and also my lead engineer, Edmund. And the rest is history.
Looking back at my path, everyone around me helped me a lot my family, my friends, bosses, colleagues and to my loving partner.
Without them, I am truly nothing. Like, genuinely, I'm no one. I don't even know, and I don't want to know, what I will be doing without them.
Thank you to everyone who saw potential in me when I didn't see it in myself.