The core value of starting our blog “The Top People” was to talk more actively about the people who have brought about the change in this world with their efforts and wisdom. Keeping this goal in our minds, we came up with an idea to reach out to the ones with a “Can-Do Attitude” and a will to make difference.
This is our first interview in this regard with Muhammad Shahrukh Khan. Meet Shahrukh, he is a full-stack developer and JS enthusiast. Let’s talk to him and learn more about his experience and how he sees the world as a software engineer.
- Hi, Shahrukh!
Hello!
- How are you?
I am pretty good.
- One of our team members reached out to you for an interview. Is it a good time to talk to you?
Yes, sure!
- Okay, Shahrukh. Tell me a little bit about yourself?
Yea, so… I am a full-stack developer and JS enthusiast. I have experience of over 4 years in JavaScript in different technologies such as Angular, React, Vue, Meteor, Node, etc. I have worked with more than a dozen international clients from the US, UK, Estonia, Finland, Russia, UAE, & Switzerland. By profession, I am a team lead/senior software engineer and I keep bouncing between different JS technologies as per the client’s requirements.
- That sounds great. So, how happy you are with your career right now?
I would say I am pretty satisfied so far, as this career is always on a verge of progression. And by evaluating the past, I believe I have progressed a lot from being hired as an Intern, to an Associate Engineer, then Senior Engineer, and now a Team Lead. One has to keep in mind that this field is always evolving and there is no end to learning. So, to stay ahead of the curve, one must always invest time in discovering new technologies that seem to be trending.
- What brings you satisfaction as a developer?
Everyone has a different level of satisfaction career-wise & technology-wise. Some people find it more satisfying to grasp a new framework. Others get satisfaction in fixing smaller problems on day-to-day tasks. I would say my satisfaction lies between both of these. As on some days, getting through the mental barrier or the problem at hand is truly an exciting experience. Similarly, grasping a new framework has its own rewards and satisfaction.
- What are your career aspirations?
I believe our aspirations should be aligned with our satisfaction level. Promotions are a good example of reaching a point in your career to feel rewarded but they shouldn’t be the core aspirations of the career. As developers, we have our larger aspiration to make our mark in the industry – be it on a smaller scale like contributing to an open-source project or something far-fetched such as building new industry standards through self-made frameworks or launching a successful IT company. I would again say that these both are my career aspirations as I’d love to continue contributing to open-source projects and would like to invent some way to make lives easier through technology.
- Shahrukh, will you mind telling me how easy or difficult it was for you to get your first job as a developer?
Getting a job as a developer is pretty easy as far as you have realistic expectations. Starting off in any field as a true beginner, you have to keep in mind that the earning would be low but the learning will be higher. And it is also good to get this reality check at the start of your career that you will only progress according to your skills. By skills, I mean both technical and soft skills. So, for beginners out there, a key piece of advice, keep grinding unless you have mastered a particular technology or framework. Only after that, you can demand exceptionally for your skillset and you will be rewarded.
- If according to you it’s the skills that get you good pay and name then what do you think about getting degrees?
I’d really like to believe that degrees don’t matter. I believed this in my college years but having a degree in hand surely adds points to your resume. Although the IT field is all about skills and frequently you might see people on top without a degree but starting off as a newbie, it will certainly add value without any downsides, apart from student loans which you should avoid.
- Okay, so next is a pretty cliche question but here we go, where do you see yourself in five years?
I see myself doing what I do best – learning, unlearning, & relearning. As time goes on, many things that we know right now will become obsolete. So, we should keep this info back in our head that after a few years, we would need to learn something new from scratch. People who progress rapidly are continuous learners.
- What are some of your strengths as a developer?
One of my major strengths I would say is having a clear vision. Before diving deep into code a software engineer must know what needs to be created and what the end goal should look like. Having a clear vision of either the end goal or the nearest milestone can help you succeed in any scenario. For many senior-level engineers, the ends result is actually alive or painted from day one to which only modifications are being made on a daily basis. Having this clear picture has actually helped outside the realm of software development in my personal life as well.
- What are some of your weaknesses as a developer?
I guess, there comes a time where most of us who are good at our art would think that we are the only one good at this thing, or rather the best. This thinking often leads to a lack of asking help from fellow teammates, who are actually there to help you. I would say this was one of my greatest weaknesses and still might be to some extent. It is like a wrong concept of being a perfectionist and at the same time thriving to be perfect. In the real world, nothing is absolutely perfect, so it is always better to get a second opinion on things or an extra pair of hands if it is possible and needed.
- How do you keep up with the latest trends, advances, and programming languages in this field?
Well, that is a vague question. As programming language is something that most people highly ever change. They do however change libraries, frameworks, etc. I have no issue in jumping over new programming languages but for now, I am sticking to javascript, and quite possibly in the near future might get on board the blockchain wagon. Like most engineers, I also keep myself up to date with news on the technological trends around the world via blogs, informational youtube channels, and online forums such as StackOverflow. It is crucial to anticipate where the world is moving to on the tech side and get on board as early as possible.
- Okay, Shahrukh. That’s pretty much all we wanted to know. Just one last question, any advice you would want to give to the newcomers in your field?
I am not sure if this advice will be much appreciated but one thing that I learned early in my career is to have a “Can-Do Attitude”. This means being positive, calm, and thinking of strategic ways to get to a solution when everything seems chaotic. Be it related to the deadlines, deployment, or any work-related urgencies. Having a cool head and thinking intensively on the root cause of any problem helps in finding the solution, as contrary to thinking about the problem itself repeatedly.
- Thank you Shahrukh for making time for this interview and sharing your insights and experience with us. We wish you all the best in your career and future endeavors. Have a nice day!
Thanks for getting in touch. I hope some of these points would help newcomers in the field. B’bye!
Guys, that was Shahrukh for you. Just like Shahrukh, we hope we were able to give you some good insights on a career as a Full-Stack Developer and what it takes to makes a difference. Here is his LinkedIn profile if you want to follow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mskshahrukh/
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