To New Graduate Engineers

Congratulations to all the new graduate engineers who have just joined the company.

You might be dreaming of creating amazing products by applying the knowledge you gained at universities or vocational schools. Your heart is likely full of anticipation, having discovered the joy of programming and being able to make a career out of it.

However, once you actually start working, I think you'll find yourself bewildered by the gap between ideal and reality.

Initially, Everyone is Disappointed

In the first few months after joining, you will surely feel some form of disappointment.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this."
"I thought I could do more interesting things."
"My skills aren't being utilized."

Feeling this way is a path that almost every new graduate engineer takes. This is because, as a newcomer, you aren't entrusted with major work yet.

Specifically, these kinds of days might be waiting for you:

• Writing unit tests
• Small bug fixes
• Maintaining documentation
• Small refactoring of existing code
• Helping seniors with their work

This example is actually on the better side because you are at least writing code.

You might feel, "I became an engineer to program, but I'm just reading documents all the time," "I'm only allowed to write code simpler than what I made as a student," or "This is just cleaning up the mess you guys were too lazy to write..."

However, whether you can overcome this period will greatly influence your future as an engineer.

Big Tasks Aren't Assigned Because There's No Trust

Why aren't you assigned big tasks?

It's simply because you don't have trust yet.

Think about it. Can a company entrust a project or feature development that is crucial to the business to someone who just joined? If it fails, it would be a huge loss for the company and the team. That's exactly why you start with small tasks.

You cannot entrust important work to someone without trust. This is likely the same for any profession, not just engineers.

Accumulating Results Turns into Trust

So, how can you gain trust?

The answer is simple. You have no choice but to accumulate results.

What are results? They are about delivering outcomes that exceed expectations for the tasks you are given. Specifically:

• Completing assigned tasks within the deadline
• Writing code with few bugs
• Creating easy-to-understand documentation
• Actively participating in team communication
• Appropriately reporting your work status

These might seem like mundane activities at first glance. However, the accumulation of these small results will gradually build trust in you.

There is Value Even in Tasks That Seem Like Chores

You might think "I'm just writing tests" or "I'm just maintaining documentation," but these tasks also have value.

For example, the task of writing tests:

• Provides an opportunity to deeply understand the product specifications
• Plays an important role in ensuring code quality
• Develops the ability to consider edge cases

Maintaining documentation:

• Helps you acquire the skill to verbalize your own understanding
• Becomes a help to other engineers
• Improves the visibility of the entire project

In this way, tasks that appear plain at first glance are actually important opportunities for growing as an engineer. Especially at the beginning, since teaching specifications one-on-one to new graduates is extremely difficult, these types of tasks are beneficial for both the new graduate and senior engineers as they are suitable for providing a broad understanding of the entire product.

The Moment Trust is Born

As you accumulate small results, one day you will suddenly be entrusted with slightly larger tasks.

"Shall we let you handle the implementation of this feature?"
"Could you investigate the cause of this bug?"

This is evidence that the trust in you is gradually taking shape. It is important not to miss this opportunity and to deliver 100% results here as well.

And those results will generate even more trust, leading to bigger and more interesting work. I believe this is the fundamental cycle for building a career as an engineer.

Misconceptions about Gaining Trust

I'll also write about a common misunderstanding here.

What is necessary to gain trust is ultimately results, not sucking up to your boss or seniors. Of course, building good relationships is important, but you cannot gain true trust through that alone.

Unfortunately, there may be bosses who evaluate based solely on relationships, but you cannot expect long-term growth in such an environment. Finding an environment that evaluates true ability is also an important element of career formation.

There will always be a matter of which boss you get assigned to and your compatibility with them. The "boss lottery" exists in every company.

That's fine as it is; the important thing is to think about how to navigate based on that and shape your own career.

Methods for Achieving Results

You might worry about specifically how to go about it even when told to "achieve results."

In reality, there is no universal answer to this. This is because the definition of "results" varies significantly depending on the team, company, and project you belong to.

However, as a general approach, the following are effective:

1. Understand team goals: Understand what the team you belong to is aiming for.
2. Clarify expectations: Clarify what your boss or seniors expect of you. Proceeding with work while expectations are vague can lead to unexpected deviations.
3. Enhance technical skills: Basic technical skills are essential. Continue learning outside of your daily work.
4. Hone communication skills: Beyond technical skills, the ability to convey your thoughts (especially the ability to output as text recently) and the ability to understand the opinions of others are also important.
5. Cultivate problem-solving skills: Develop the ability to think of solutions from your own perspective for given challenges.

These approaches are just examples for your reference.

By the way, from this perspective, learning about the company, organization, and business is important. Some people treat talks by executives or general business updates as if they were a school principal's assembly speech and don't listen, but that is completely wrong. It is like starting a game without reading the rules. Whether it is for understanding goals or expectations, as long as you are working as a company employee, it is vital to learn about the company, organization, and business.

Career Planning Lies Beyond Gaining Trust

Only when trust has been accumulated to a certain extent does the topic of "career planning" start to feel realistic.

Career planning is about thinking how to navigate your professional life. Whether to deepen your expertise, move into management, or aim for entrepreneurship. There are various options, but to consider them, you first need your own strengths and a track record of achievements.

If you look back on the results you have accumulated so far, there should be some kind of pattern. For example,

• You have achieved results especially in frontend development
• You have contributed especially to backend performance improvements
• You have demonstrated strength especially in resolving technical debt
• You have contributed especially to improving communication between teams

These areas you have "especially" worked on should become the axis of your career. On a resume you create when changing jobs, you will be writing about these specific areas where you have delivered results.

Being a Company Employee

Working as a company employee means living within a repeated cycle of accumulating results and gaining trust.

This is a truth that remains unchanged at any stage of your career if you choose to live as a company employee, not just during your time as a new graduate. Whether at a new company or on a new project, you always start from zero trust. Then, by accumulating results, you gain trust and step up to bigger and more interesting work.

If you feel that "it's boring because I'm not being given significant work," there is a possibility that you lack certain results and haven't gained trust yet. I believe it's important to reconfirm what is expected of you and steadily produce results (though, of course, there are cases where you might fail the team or boss lottery...).

Conclusion

In the first few years, you may feel frustrated because you can't do the work you imagined. However, instead of just enduring that period, try to be conscious of facing the tasks you've been given with sincerity and accumulating results one by one.

The accumulation of small results will eventually turn into great trust and should open the path to the career you desire.

And above all, cherish your daily small success stories. The joy of fixing a single bug, the moment you are thanked by a teammate, the sense of accomplishment when your code is reflected in production. I believe the accumulation of these experiences builds your pride and confidence as an engineer.

In a long professional life, your time as a new graduate is just the beginning. Without rushing, steadily, and above all, while having fun, please walk your path as an engineer.