This week I’d like to talk more about my job as a software engineer, how I have been able to get up to speed with my team, and how I have become proficient with our technology stack.
As I mentioned last week, I work for a healthcare IT software company called QGenda. Our software facilitates workforce management for healthcare organizations by providing tools for credentialing, scheduling, and timekeeping. I began working on our software for credentialing healthcare providers in June 2022, and now am beginning to feel comfortable with our technology stack and application architecture.
Our application is built on .NET with a Postgres database backend and React (with Typescript) frontend. Prior to entering this role I had some experience working with .NET and React, so I was able to wrap my head around the basic flow of information through the frameworks pretty quickly. However, through my first few months I learned in much greater detail about the nuts and bolts of .NET, Postgres, and React, which has led me to a better understanding of the best practices when working with these frameworks.
For the first few sprints, I was focused on finding work with which I was already comfortable so I could build some confidence in my ability to work in our codebase. Soon after I began, though, I realized that the only way to expand my comfort zone would be to step out of it. With some encouragement from my manager, I began to seek out work with which I did not feel comfortable in an effort to expand my breadth of knowledge. With this shift in focus, I did find myself spending more time asking questions, seeking out information, and trying new things, as I wasn’t immediately equipped to solve these new problems. Of course, I always came away with better knowledge and information that would equip me to solve similar problems in the future.
My best advice to someone working as a software engineer for the first time and trying to get up to speed with their team would be to seek out work with which you aren’t comfortable! The only way to learn is to try something new, and your team is there to help you if you have questions. As long as your manager supports it, step out of your comfort zone and try something that requires you to ask for help.
