It all began on June 1st, Children’s Day, which wasn’t a public holiday in Romania back then. I vividly remember walking through the office door at 9:00 AM. My Team Lead, VT, already there, was playing childhood songs on her workstation. Little did I know, this opportunity would be the key to unlocking my version of the American Dream.
My initial job placed me in a tight-knit team of four, alongside a Team Lead, within a company of 15 employees in Romania. The entire workplace exuded a familial atmosphere as we worked on developing and supporting a Telecom Expense Management solution for a US-based firm. From the outset, I established a strong work ethic. I was commuting by metro with my lunch in hand, punctually arriving at 9:00 AM, and adhering to a lunch break at 12:00 PM (a practice I continue to uphold today).
My responsibilities extended to providing Level 2 and 3 Support. This included responding to helpdesk tickets, assisting clients in configuring the application, and fixing defects in both backend and frontend parts of the application. However, my first real challenge emerged in the form of an alien language: Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), used by the application to import invoice details. This was a domain I tried to avoid at all costs, significantly influencing my daily routine.
Each day commenced with a quick scan of Helpdesk tickets, a task approached with a mix of urgency and trepidation. I aimed to swiftly assign tickets that didn’t involve EDI-related requests, a domain that, at the time, instilled a deep sense of fear within me. Looking back now, it amuses me to recall attempting to access the Helpdesk system from home before leaving, hoping to sidestep such requests. VT assigned me a workstation (an IBM desktop computer) next to a colleague primarily dealing with EDI requests, increasing the pressure to master this unfamiliar territory.
Despite the pressure, I set a clear target: to build my Java programming skills. My focus was directed toward comprehending the intricacies of the monolithic application — a task not devoid of trepidation either. I vividly remember the fear when I first encountered the size of the application. It seemed overwhelming. The code, unlike anything seen during my time in university, added an extra layer of uncertainty. Upon checking out the project from VSS and expanding the application folder, I was in shock. I found myself repeatedly thinking: “It’s far more complex and challenging than I ever imagined! I don’t believe I will ever make it in IT.“
As I reflect on those early days, navigating the challenges of helpdesk tickets, coding, and the enigmatic EDI, the fear of the unknown loomed large. The size of the monolith and the unconventional nature of the code left me uncertain, questioning if I could ever succeed in unraveling its complexities. However, I pressed on, armed with a clear target and a well-established routine. These became my tools to face and overcome the early days’ fear.