Thanh Tran
“I first realized my interest in computing since high school. We were learning Pascal at the time. Next thing I know, I was chosen to compete in an IT contest and for my very first prize in life. Da Nang University of Science and Technology was my choice to pursue further in this field. But the truth? I didn’t have much chance for hands-on experience in the first two years of uni. I was eager to seek more real things, such as Robocon, with the whole competition and teamwork collaboration. My university specifically asked for both graduation thesis and internship certification, so I started to go for an internship from my 3rd year. Diving in a working environment when you’re still a student brings many advantages if you’re proactive enough. Because you’re allowed to make mistake. Ask, learn, practice, and repeat. Usually, once our probation performance is outstanding, people are likely to offer a full-time position because they take you as a good asset for the team. That opportunity happened to me. However, the study schedule was quite overloaded. I must postpone the internship to finish the schoolwork. 2 years later, I stepped out of university and got my first job as a fresher developer based in Da Nang.
My first project was a drag & drop application to resolve a problem in file transfer. I do realize it was my first official year of working, so I did my best to collect every piece of knowledge. From backend, frontend to foundation knowledge and soft skills. Each of them is still used until now. Then I got a project which required a relocation to Saigon, where I spent the next few months living as a local. There were too many open doors gradually showed up, enough for me to consider moving to SG to settle. I mean, if we don’t try and challenge ourselves when we’re still young, how can we surpass our limit and grow beyond it. Those first days in Saigon was really struggling. I just started to rearrange my whole life from step one. It’s a process of growing up from real experience, and worth all the way.
Somehow, I believe programming engineers should challenge themselves and deal with more than one programming language. It generates an overall view of how its advantages can be utilized on a certain problem. Hence, it helps us to come up with a solution more flexible and meticulously. Still, switching from one language to a new one means you have to accept an adjustment in income since you’ve started from a beginner level. That’s what happened when I switched from NodeJS and React to Golang. But it’s a good move, in fact, an opportunity cost to invest in what we truly want to master.”
