Did Your Dots Connect?
Let’s start with the story. When I was in high school, I always wanted to be a computer engineer and I started my computer engineering education at the university in line with my wishes. The first day of school, Introductory Programming 101 course. The professor recommended a book at the end of the lecture and I focused on the few letters that came out of her mouth.
“Si”
I wrote down these two letters in my notebook. Then, when I searched for the book in bookstores and could not find it, I learned that had mentioned the programming language “C”. That was my first disappointment. I found neither my department nor my courses interesting. At the end of the first month, I called my father and said, “I want to drop out of school”. My father advised me to try for at least one semester, and I tried. I failed 5 out of 6 classes. I continued school. And at the end of the first year, I said to my father, “I’m leaving school”. My father told me that “you will see the main technical courses next year”... I did not like the education I received throughout my university life and I was not interested in software.
I finished school. When I finished university, I never thought that I would be happy by doing this job. I could not find a job for 6 months. That was my second disappointment.
I started my first job as a business analyst thinking I would not like writing code, it was a startup and we were working hard. Here I was so new and still so hopeless that I had delivered incomplete work many times. Again, one of those days, I felt very unsuccessful after that cried in the office toilet. That was my third disappointment.
As two Business analysts in the company, we were responsible for both analyzing and testing the business side. I hated testing because I did not see testing as my main responsibility. Since we had two different responsibilities, we could overlook a lot of things. One day, our managers advised us to try a way of working, where one of you is focused only on analysis and the other on tests. The test I hated to do was now my main responsibility. That was my fourth disappointment and I had many more disappointments afterward.
I know that there are people who feel unsuccessful because they do not like their school, they cannot find a job, they do not like their job. I know there are people who are hopeless with dozens of disappointments. That’s why I told my own story first. I understand you, very well. It’s not your fault that you feel like a failure. You just have to know what you need. I would like to share you the words of my favorite Google Testing Grouplet:
“ ... although you’ve read the books and heard the lectures, maybe you need a little more inspiration, tips, and prodding. And you need it to be in a place where when you see it, you can’t ignore it.”
Find your own Testing Grouplet, spend time with the people who support you. Just find what you need. Not everyone’s needs are the same. Do not say you tried the same way with others and failed. Find your own way. I’m sure you’ve looked at every toy you were given as a kid. Why did you stop doing that? Keep on. Look at the events from all angles, try and fail. Once you try and find it, you won’t mind your mistakes.
I know you are questioning yourself. Trust me, you have not failed. You just have to find your need and turn disappointments into opportunities. Why do you only look to the future and despair? Are you looking at your past? You can only find out what your next point will be by looking back. Your dots will converge, you have to believe it.
All the things I thought were disappointing were actually my points. Yes, I’m not the CEO of Apple, but I connected my dots. From someone who graduated from a school, she hated and never thought she could be happy in this profession, became an analyst because she did not want to write code, and hates testing; I became a happy test engineer who wrote code every day. Now, thanks to my job, I am happy, I am at home, I am healthy. I am satisfied with the work I do. The work I do benefits hundreds of thousands of people and I develop with the work I do. Thank you, dad!
While I want to end the article, the following words are shining in my mind with neon lights:
“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
If your hammer is your positive attitude, you may see everything as an opportunity rather than a negative situation.
Be positive and free yourself from negativity! You can see the changes in your life.
Thank you for reading and feel free to contact me.
Cheers!🤘🏻
