Being the new guy at work is always like being a character in an epic poem–even more so for a developer diving into exciting ongoing projects. The ancient Greeks wove tales of increasingly great feats, the charismatic hero starting from humble beginnings before adversity brings to bear all his genius, strength, and unbelievably good looks. Now zoom past the hero into the background of scene 5, somewhere between lines 115 and 116, where that village apprentice potter is trying to make heads or tales of the clay monstrosity he’s just amalgamated. Is it a vase? A decorative new-age bowtie? That guy right there is me, the new guy!
Starting at KEYSYS has been a pretty unforgettable experience. The small teams accomplish huge tasks at a brisk pace and the genius of our leads inspires me to always study how to do things more efficiently and scalable. Everyone has been nothing short of welcoming and helpful, imparting nuggets of wisdom that I hope to pass on to those that join in my wake. I present to you The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Coding Bay, 1st edition…heavily abridged.
1. The lights stay off in outer space: At KEYSYS we work in a beautiful office styled to look like a converted old fire station. The rooms and halls are spacious, the ceilings high, and every corner is well lit with ample overhead and natural lighting–except the coding bay. This little wing of the office is where the lights stay off, despite everything your doctor ever told you about using screens in the dark. How KEYSYS bio-engineered nocturnal developers is a keynote that will surely change the course of human evolution. In the meantime, I’ve stocked my cubicle with lamps totalling no less than 600 watts in equivalent brightness from LED bulbs. You think I’m joking.
2. You are never done learning: This is one no coding bay wanderer should ever forget. Nothing is more humbling than seeing the brilliant people at KEYSYS maneuver their way through obscure and dense problems. I’m constantly discovering new things–like how no one told me we have a huge communal stash of Cliff Bars and other snacks before today (thanks, Michael and Charles)!
3. Every challenge is a blessing: Being thrown into solving problems architected and iterated on by someone else comes with a very steep learning curve. After the carnage of researching, trial and error, and bursts of understanding clears, it’s easy to wonder how what you just did even worked. But the client is happy, and you’ve cut your teeth on one of countless challenges that you will overcome with the help of great team leads and client advocates. Every day at KEYSYS is growth.
