Graduation and Beyond

So, it came to the end of the 12 weeks in the classroom. I remember we all turned up on the final day to “It’s The Final Countdown” blasting from the speakers. It was a tradition for the staff to play that particular song whenever a class graduated, which I knew as I had already witnessed two graduations. But this one was different; this one was mine.

It was an exciting time because that was it, and we had finished with the classroom. We had survived.

Or at least, that’s what I thought at the time.

Spoiler alert: I was wrong.

The strange feeling came from the two groups which were graduating that day. The first group contained those individuals who had jobs and took the course as part of their apprenticeship. The second group consisted of people who had paid to participate in the 12-week course to learn how to code and, hopefully, find a job.

I was part of the first group. So I finished that graduation at 3 pm on a Friday, and 9 am on Monday I was walking into the office. My first ever developer job.

Did I feel prepared for the workplace? My automatic response to that question would be yes. However, it would only be yes because this was a career change for me, and I had had several jobs before this. I knew what to expect from a standard ‘first day in the office’.

But if you were to ask me: Did I feel prepared for my first day as a Software Developer? No. Not at all.

Though it feels like years ago since I graduated from university, I guess I probably had the same anxiety then. I left a situation where someone was directing my learning and going somewhere where I had to be independent and contribute to a company.

As I left that graduation, I can not say I would contribute anything of value to an established software company. Honestly, I was still questioning why the company had even hired me. Was it a trick?

People would tell me that what I was feeling was called imposter syndrome. I had earned my role at the company, and I would continue learning in the workplace, and that that was the reason behind being an ‘apprentice’. But, I’ll be honest, I was questioning my sanity at how I had reached that point that whole weekend.

So that’s enough for today. Come back tomorrow to find out how I got on my first day, and how I felt about my first ever role as a Software Developer.