For a lot of folks, today was the day many are going back to work for the first time since the holidays. It’s an odd time for many, with some experiencing what is called January Blues, while others are eager to get a head start on their goals. Last weekend, as I was preparing to return to work in many facets, I decided to reflect on my journey as a software engineer as I enter my 6th year in the industry. It hasn’t been a terribly long journey, but there have been plenty of trials and tribulations—with plenty of lessons to go with them. I’d like to take a moment to share them with you, as well as give myself a little window into how much I’ve grown over my time in the industry.

Risk is Good, Actually#

In my short career, I’ve already taken a fair number of risks. From leaving a stable job to work for a startup to co-founding my own startup, there’s been a hefty amount of uncertainty in my career that has bled into my personal life as well. The one thing I’ve learned through taking these risks is that, more often than not, it’s better to take the risks in the first place. Especially while I, and I’m sure many others, are still young and able to do so. While the road with startups is anything but smooth, there’s always an opportunity to learn and step out of your comfort zone. Through my experience working for a startup, I’ve been able to wear many hats as well as pick up new technologies I otherwise wouldn’t have had any motivation to do otherwise. My tech journey expanded tremendously due to having to tackle high level problems I barely understood at first. Being able to just put my head down and dive into new technologies, new techniques, and new methodologies has been invaluable experiences that I will carry with me for the rest of my career.

Now, working for a startup is one level of risk, but co-founding one is an entirely new form of risk I didn’t have the confidence to consider until recently. I became a solo developer co-founder early in 2025, and the journey has also been quite bumpy. When building a new product from scratch, especially as the only technical person on the team, it was a lot more stressful than I anticipated. Despite the added stress, the experience gained in 2025 and the experience I will gain in the coming months as the beta for our product rolls out will certainly be nothing less than extraordinary. The risk is immense overall, as the startup of course may not work out, but there’s hardly any room to grow in any way without a little risk.

Welcome Failure, but Be Deliberate#

It’s said in any endeavor that requires repetition and training that you must always be willing to fail before you can succeed. Of course, that’s true in tech. I’ve learned this the easy way and the hard way throughout my career. Failure is something that will happen to everyone and more often than you’d think. Perhaps you missed a bug that went to prod, you failed a programming test, or simply you just couldn’t figure out a problem without bringing in outside help. These can all be seen as unfortunate setbacks, but it’s important to always take some lesson away from these shortcomings.

Now, when I talk about being deliberate, this is something that is specific to my experience as a programmer and a trend that I’ve been seeing in the past few years—Especially with the rise of AI-assisted coding. A huge problem I had when starting out was that I focused too much on output rather than the quality of the code I was writing. I would try to get as many tasks done throughout the day, and usually finish much, if not all, of what I was assigned before the time expected. While this can be an achievement, it came with its own set of problems: The code came with many mistakes. Most of them minor, but sometimes major mistakes that made me go “How did I miss that?” The problem is that I was working far too fast than what was necessary and thus was outputting low-quality code that ended up needing to be refactored soon after anyway (sound familiar?). So, one of the biggest things I learned was to be deliberate with my approach to problems to ensure everything was done correctly the first time.

Certifications… Overrated?#

Okay, obviously not, but not everything requires a certification! I’ve attempted a few certifications early in my career and was unsuccessful. However, despite not having the official certification badge on my resume, what I learned while studying for those certifications, I still use daily. Even if you don’t plan on eventually taking the test to get fully certified, the studying process or the material itself is a treasure trough of information that will continue to be useful throughout your development career. Not only is the material valuable, but it is also often free for anyone to access at any time. Making it a perfect resource to not only get certified if you wish, but also to just learn about the various products important to you or your project(s). Though, I’d still recommend everyone try to get an AWS certification. The influence of these certifications will only continue to grow! (I’m attempting mine this year!)

So 2026…#

Entering 2026, I feel anxious, but hopeful. There’s a lot for me to look forward to in the short-term, and even more to look forward to in the long-term. I think it’s important for everyone to set goals for the year, month, or even day. Setting goals, for me, helps me stay grounded and focused on my tasks. Even if it’s something as simple as writing a blog post about your experiences, setting a goal and accomplishing it will make you better, even if just by a little bit!