The skills I didn't know I was building

When people meet me today, they're usually surprised when I tell them I was a very shy teenager. They're even more surprised when I tell them I'm a Computer Science student. Communication didn't come naturally to me when I was younger. It was something I had to learn, and looking back, it became one of the most valuable skills I've ever developed.

At 17, I found myself working at a language school in Brazil. The only reason I got an interview was that I was already a student in the school and they needed someone to work in the café. At first, I thought this was just a simple “first job.” I could not have imagined that I would learn some of the skills from this position that were still being used after many years. About six weeks later, I received my first promotion. My attitude was to come to work every day, work hard, and be organized so that I could help everyone else in any way possible.

Over the next few years, I received several promotions. I was involved in administration, finance, and marketing, and eventually became an ESL instructor. They were all very different roles, but there was something common in all of them: I had been dealing with people all the time. Every day, I interact with students, parents, other teachers, colleagues, vendors, and managers. Very slowly, I gained confidence. In retrospect, I do not believe that my promotions have occurred just because of my hard work. I was probably trusted and appreciated for being willing to learn. Back then, however, I did not realize it was a skill development process.

Now, as a Computer Science student, I see those years in a completely different way. When I entered college, I assumed my abilities in tech would be most important to my future career. While I still believe that technical skill is of extreme importance, I have come to see that it is only one part of my overall skill set. I will be required to work with other individuals; therefore, I must learn to present my ideas to others and understand what they require, ask questions of others, and work collaboratively with them. My first job made it apparent to me that long before I realized I was going to study Computer Science. Oddly enough, I believe the skill that will aid in my development as a more effective software engineer has nothing to do with coding.