I recently wrapped up the main story of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt after spending over 150 hours. The last quest, called “Something Ends, Something Begins”, gave me the idea for this blog’s title, though I deliberately flipped it to the past tense. Because right now, I look back and I see exactly what began three years ago, and today, I know that something ends. But as for the moment, something begins? That part of the map is still unexplored fog.

Something Began

In spring 2023, I started my first-ever job as a software engineer at ADP. I didn’t know much about the company, so I did some quick research before my interview to answer questions like “Why do you want to work at ADP?” I remember being asked that, but I can’t recall my answer. Whatever I said must have worked, since I got the job.

During my first few months, I mostly kept to myself. I didn’t talk much and focused on learning as much as possible. One of my managers, who really understood the business, ran helpful “know your business” sessions where he explained the domain, products, clients, and how everything worked behind the scenes. Those sessions gave me a clearer view of the bigger picture, helped me make better choices, and supported my growth. I’ll always be grateful for that.

Epic Engineers

I joined a brand-new team, mostly made up of other newcomers with different levels of experience. Our manager called us “Epic Engineers” and asked in the group chat if anyone had a better name, but since no one did, it stuck. The name often made us laugh and joke about ourselves, which helped lighten the mood. I think that was his goal.

This is where I met some of my closest friends. Growing up, I mostly kept to myself, and they unintentionally helped me come out of my shell. I always looked forward to our lunch breaks, where we would often end up discussing nothing interesting, but it was interesting. I’m truly grateful for these friendships, and I know we’ll stay in touch.

Origin

As I learned more about the business and products, I got to work on some interesting projects. One of them was an onboarding platform called “Origin.” I sometimes wondered if it was fate that I ended up working on a project with that name.

They called it “Origin” since it was the first point of interaction between clients and ADP’s compliance products. As a result, first impressions mattered a lot. We collaborated closely with user experience and accessibility teams, halfway across the globe, to get the product right. I also helped integrate it with ADP payroll systems and Workday, enabling clients to use existing data rather than re-enter it. This involved legacy systems, unstructured data, and various integration patterns requiring us to build something fault-tolerant and maintainable. It taught me a great deal about architecture, design, and collaboration.

good first issue

I was assigned a Jira ticket to work on, the very first ticket in fact. I clearly remember the ticket ID, it was COSOSC-5665, and its description read:

Currently, the UI allows multiple users with the same email address. There is a JavaScript validation, but it can be bypassed by altering the first user’s email. Please ensure to put a server-side check.

I was a bit confused at first. I realized that if I could just fix the client-side validation, the issue would be resolved. What was the need for a server-side check? So I reached out to one of the senior engineers with my question. He explained to me that the need for a server-side check is because client-side validation can be bypassed using tools like Postman or browser dev tools. It was an eye-opener. I knew that my time here would be fun.

Over the years, I ended up raising more than 200 pull requests; each PR had a story, each taught me something, and each was a step forward in my journey as a software engineer.

Something Ended

As I write this, my time at ADP is coming to an end. I received an offer letter a day after completing 500 days of pedaling to work, and that felt like a good sign to move on. I have been doing this for three and a half years and am currently on day 540. Only time will tell if I’ll be able to keep up the habit at my next job. I am definitely going to miss one particular security guard, who always greeted me with a smile and a nod, on my way in and out. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

I feel thankful I chose software engineering because I was into computers as a kid. But this appreciation is sometimes accompanied by sadness, because this industry necessitates pursuing new opportunities to advance one’s career, and leaving such a meaningful environment has been difficult.

I’m grateful to my managers for trusting me with these opportunities. I’m also thankful for the great friends I’ve made here. I wish I’d had more time with all of you, especially the new joiners I didn’t get to know well. If I could offer any advice, it would be to keep learning, stay curious, and take chances, even if they scare you a little. Ask for help when you need it and help others along the way. You never know what you might discover or who you might inspire.