Static

Blog

About

I'm filling this blog with things that have helped me as I've grown as a software engineer and anything I find interesting. I was prompted to start this blog as I was studying for job interviews. I wanted to pull together the things I had learned into one central place that might help others down the road. And this isn't limited to the things I've studied: I want to catalog the good advice I've been given and the lessons I've learned through practice. I don't have plans to post at any regular cadence.

So Who Am I?

I don't know you yet, so I'm not giving out names or anything. I'm a software engineer who has mostly specialized in backend work. At previous jobs I've written in Java, Python, and C# and am currently picking up C++ at my new gig.

My History

Out of college I began developing software for a major tech company. It was okay and I liked the people. I would go back if the problem space was right, but I quickly decided it wasn't the right fit for the moment and I left.

I found myself at a large hedge fund known for transparency and deep self-reflection and I spent a few years there. It has been my best experience so far and I'm very grateful to have worked there. I found the most learnings from trying to look at myself objectively (still not great at that) and from trying to assess problems and disagreements systematically (somewhat better at this, ha).

After that, I decided I wanted to see what startup life was like so I joined a startup. After reading posts like this and this I've questioned how much I really want to take a bet on equity. My day-to-day began deviating from feature development and turned to infrastructure work. I realized that this new path was okay, but only if it was a conscious decision. It would be a mistake to slip into it without consciously weighing the pros and cons. I was very grateful to spend time learning about infrastructure, but decided to leave and find something more aligned with my long term goals.

Currently I'm at a FAANG shop and have been enjoying learning the new tool set and meeting great engineers. I don't have much to say about this experience yet other than it's been incredible so far and I'm very lucky to be here.

Other Than Code

Besides writing code, I'm into cars, painting, and traveling. I live in NYC and love to explore new neighborhoods. I'm constantly looking for new places to hang out and write code as well as adding to my growing list of favorite restaurants.

- Your Always Learning Engineer