The Three Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Two Years as an Engineer
I stopped myself from opportunities more than any job market ever did. Here's what actually changed that.
If I could go back and tell my younger self studying computer science three things, the third one would explain why most people never hit their actual potential. It's not the market. It's not luck. It's you.
I've been reflecting on my path from internship to two years of experience as a software engineer. This is what I'd tell myself then.
Your Surroundings Determine Your Speed
Who you spend time around matters more than you think. I'm not talking about motivation posters. I'm talking about concrete things: Are there networking events you could actually go to? Can you find people—seniors, juniors who've done what you want to do—and just... talk to them?
This looked like emailing a professor about their research. Asking a junior engineer how they landed their internship. Sending invitations to people one step ahead of you. Most of them said yes. The ones who didn't didn't matter.
You absorb what's around you. If you're around people building things, solving problems, pushing themselves technically and non-technically, you move faster. Period.
Stop Passively Consuming. Start Building.
Watching tutorials and lectures is comfortable. It feels like learning. It's not.
Real learning happened when I stopped watching and started doing. Built a project. Set up an AWS account and just... made something break and fixed it. Wrote the code, then looked up the concept I didn't understand. Not the other way around.
Here's the difference: I can watch someone explain a database connection, or I can set it up myself, see what actually happens when I call a method, understand why it breaks without the right code. When you learn in context—your context, your project—the concept sticks because you felt it.
This shift from passive to active isn't just "better learning." It's the difference between knowing something and owning it.
Your Biggest Enemy Is You
And this is the hard one.
I stopped myself from applying for internships. I didn't reach out to professors. I didn't ask questions on the job or ask for mentors because I thought people wouldn't like me, that I didn't belong, that I was an imposter. I debated with myself endlessly instead of just taking the first step.
I crippled myself with what-ifs before I even tried.
The thing is, there's no magic cure for this. It doesn't go away. It still happens to me. The shift isn't in the feeling—it's in what you do next.
The moment you think I should reach out, I should collaborate, I should ask this person, that's the moment you have to move. Not overthink it. Move. Send the email. Ask the question. Start the conversation. Get uncomfortable on purpose.
Because the alternative—staying safe, staying quiet, staying small—that's a choice too. And it's the most expensive one you can make.
The only person stopping you from your potential is you. The only way past it is action.