Last week I packed my suitcase, moved to Berlin and started my first dev job at a small startup selling software for cash registers. It's official - I'm a fullstack dev!
It's been an overwhelming first week at work. Not only am I starting at a new company with new colleagues and company culture in a new city. I am also entering a new career and starting out as a complete freshman. I am just at the very start of gaining the professional experience to feel rooted and secure in my saddle. Let the journey begin!
A few things struck me:
1. I've never felt so exhausted in my life. Having not worked full time since April definitely shows its toll right now. Hopefully I'll adapt quickly.
2. I know more than I think. It's so surprising to see how my newly acquired coding skills are getting me through real life tasks. It's an awesome feeling to be able to actively contribute to a code base that a company uses to generate real money!
3. I know less than I think. Although I know in theory that I know nothing, it's something else to REALLY feel it in real life and encounter a technology that I don't understand.
4. Thank you, Flatiron, for giving me the confidence to approach everything that I do not know without fear, but with childlike curiosity and a genuine thirst to learn more! There were many potential moments where I could have lost it and panicked, but with the beginner's mindset every problem is just one more chance to discover something new.
5. This is not a surprise, but: Git is a b***! We're using a git version control app, which makes things easier to overlook. Nevertheless, the senior developer and I managed to really mess up a week's worth of code when merging on Friday evening. So, beware!
Apart from that, I am enjoying my stay in a nice hotel in the heart of Berlin, just a 20 min walk from Berlin's Brandenburger Tor. It's getting REALLY cold now, but we've had snow and the Christmas Markets are thriving. Berlin is a pretty city, see for yourselves:
One of the most popular Christmas Markets in Berlin at Gendarmen Markt
You know it - Berlin's famous Brandenburger Tor
German tradition - Weihnachtsbaeckerei, which means Christmas Bakery
So famous, that there is a children's German song about it: "In der Weihnachtsbaeckerei"
In this cloudy weather it looks gloomy and monstrous - Berliner Dom, which is Berlin's biggest church
Cool glass buildling along the Spree river
Reichstag with the glass dome - the meeting place of the German parliament
Vegan Living - a Vietnamese vegan restaurant
Don't eat the Pho Chay here. It has NOTHING to do with the original Pho. It tastes like lemongrass and is served with lettuce *cry*
Maybe the curry pho is a good alternative.
Sometimes you stumble over cool corners - Berlin Central Kino
