My last year at University - How I spent the time and what I learned from the experience?
My last year at University - How I spent the time and what I learned from the experience?
What are some of the things you can do to prepare yourself for the challenges in the years ahead?
For an Audio Summary, click the Play button below:
Back in July 2005, it was the last 1-1 with my manager David during the 11 week Software Development Internship when he offered me the full time role of Software Development Engineer on the Project team. And without even thinking about it, I knew a huge door of opportunity had just opened for me. I immediately accepted the offer and let David know that I will be glad to join the Project Team after I graduated from University of Toronto next summer. Looking back at it, years later I can now comprehend the huge impact this moment had on my life. I ended up spending the next two decades in this part of the world, working for two of the biggest tech companies of our time - Microsoft and Amazon. The journey that started with my internship is still going on, and with each new experience and challenge I have learnt an immense amount of wisdom from amazing people I met, wisdom about how to navigate your career in the Tech Industry.
After I completed my internship, I flew back to Toronto for a few days before flying back home to Kashmir to spend the rest of my summer with my family. They were excited to hear about all the fun stories about my internship at Microsoft. Above everyone else, my grandfather used to be the most expressive with how happy he was about all that I had accomplished. He would often talk to strangers and brag about his grandson working at Microsoft. I told my family stories about how all the interns at Microsoft that summer got invited to Bill Gates home and how I got to also see him and ask him a question.
“What are your thoughts about the role of software development vs other roles at Microsoft. How much of Microsoft’s success is as a direct consequence of its developers vs marketing“, I asked Bill Gates. “In order to make great products you need the effort of all disciplines. The role of Software Developers is crucial in the success of our company“, Bill Gates responded.
A few days after I had arrived in Kashmir, I got a call from a Microsoft recruiter to go over the details of my Full Time offer. I remember taking the call in a room with a pen and diary jotting down the details. I still have that diary and those initial offer details. It was an exciting moment. The verbal offer that David gave me during my last 1-1, was now more formally presented to me by a Microsoft Recruiter. I conveyed my acceptance of the offer over the phone with the recruiter and didn’t negotiate at all. I was happy and really excited to start my career. Having experienced the team culture over the summer at Microsoft Project, I couldn’t wait to get back next year and write code.
Once I started back at University of Toronto, I decided to pick as many courses related to Computer Engineering as possible. I remember taking on Computer Networking, Operating Systems, and a few other related classes. I was still going to graduate as an Electrical Engineer, but given I was about to start a career in software, I wanted to prepare for it by trying to maximize my experience with computer related courses.
For my design project, I joined a group of four classmates and decided to build an application for mobile hand held devices for doctors and caregivers at the hospital. We called it the Patient Pocket Care. This design project was the most interesting and relevant thing I did during my fourth year. We started out the project with Palm’s Pocket PC device. One of our teammate got us a few Palm devices from someone he knew at Palm, and was willing to sponsor our design work.
Making the conscious choice of spending time learning about computers and software during the fourth year helped me get a bit more familiar with programming and learn about a few advanced concepts.
Tip #1: During your college, maximize exposure to courses that would be relevant to your future career. Learning at college is different from learning on the job, you will miss the immersive experience.
During the fall semester, we tried but struggled to build a prototype. The development environment and support for Palm OS was very limited and didn’t help at all. As we were approaching the winter break, we had barely made any real progress. Given my experience during the summer internship with C# and .NET, I felt confident about switching strategies and building for Windows Mobile instead. My teammates didn’t have a choice either, given we only had one more semester left and had to deliver something. I partnered with one of my teammates (let’s call him Fahim) to build the entire mobile app together. I had partnered with Fahim before, during my third year on another project, for the Digital Logic class, where we built a game of maze on the Altera Board. That project had a bit of hardware challenges with custom remote controllers using circuit boards and push switches. This was a totally different collaboration, with no hardware involved.
This early experience taught me the value of pivots in software engineering and how past experiences and the right skills can help in unblocking projects. Within a couple of weeks, our application was up and running on the Visual Studio emulator, and we had convinced the other two teammates to drop the idea of building with Palm OS and focus squarely on the Windows Mobile experience. The second semester was a smooth ride with lots of feature polishing and writing the final design document and demo. The project was very well received and we successfully demonstrated a working application during our final demo.
Tip #2: When blocked on a project, evaluate alternative options and be open to pivots in strategy. Evaluate the skill set you bring to the table, and change course with confidence.
I will remember the time I spent at University of Toronto for the rest of my life. This was the first time I had left my hometown and ventured out into the world, all alone pursuing a career. Along the way I met a number of amazing friends and teachers. There were times when I felt lost and didn’t know what the future would bring. At the same time, with each struggle came a learning opportunity to build skills for the future.
The number one thing I would consider the University gave me was access to opportunity. The career defining walk that I took from the computer lab in the engineering department, to University College building where the career fair was happening, probably turned out to be that opportunity. Whether you are just starting out college, or have already completed studies, remember to keep looking out for opportunities and make the most of it. Even if you have a full time job already lined up after completing your studies, do not give up the desire to learn and prepare.
Tip #3: A professional career is a long journey where you will need to constantly learn and relearn skills to stay relevant. The only thing that will never come back is the time you spend, so spend it wisely.
As I wrapped up my final exams, I packed up and left my college dorm to spend a couple of days with a family in Toronto, who had helped me throughout my 4 years in Canada. This family provided me with the emotional support that I needed to survive the 4 years of college away from my home. I would often visit them during my winter breaks and weekends. They would also take me to a number of local community gatherings and events where I met a lot of people from our wider community in Toronto. They would treat me with kindness and always made me feel at home.
On my last day in Toronto, my friend came to pick me up from their home, as they were all at work, and dropped me to the airport. Before leaving their home, I left a letter on their dining table, thanking them for the immense contribution they made in making my time in Canada memorable and enjoyable.
“Life is a journey where you will meet countless number of people. When you meet and share your time with the ones that encourage and bless you with kindness, thank them and remember to pass down the same act of kindness to others in the future”