I was 33 when I began my software engineering career.
This ‘late start’ led to a sense of insecurity about my abilities.
Here’s what I did about it… 👇

I joined a Java study group.
We met after work a couple times a week in a crowded apartment.
It was all guys and smelled like sweat and pizza.
We drew pictures on whiteboards and defended our designs with technical arguments.
We built multithreaded networking systems.
One of my collaborators, PhiL Campaigne, introduced me to Design Patterns, a landmark book by the ‘Gang of Four’.
Unknowingly, he had handed me a career changing gift.
I recognized that Design Patterns gave power to the software designer.
The same power integrated circuits gave to the computer hardware designer.
I began slowly, with the basics.
I incorporated simple patterns like Factory and Singleton into my software design.
My designs and code evolved and improved in many ways: determinism, quality, clarity.
A code reviewer said ‘your code reads like a book’.
My career began to accelerate leading to technical lead, architect and small business owner roles.
Within a few years I felt confident in my software engineering abilities and no longer thought about ‘catching up’.
My takeaways:
Necessity may be the mother of all invention, but it was insecurity and curiosity that were the mothers of my career growth.
Collaborating with people like Phil was crucial, because the network effect of knowledge sharing is powerful - and growing with fun people by my side continues to bring great joy.
Identifying the parallel value of Design Patterns and integrated circuits was a lesson which taught me to value range of experience.
Do you have a similar career growth experience?
If you do, please tell me about it in the comments.