K's Journey from Construction Site to Java Developer
Background: Mr. K and the author, xiaoz, were classmates in elementary and middle school and are close friends. Mr. K has been working as a Java developer for two years. This article shares his life journey from the construction site to the IT industry.
Failed College Entrance Exam
During high school, he was obsessed with video games, spending most of his time in internet cafes, resulting in poor academic performance. In June 2012, he took the college entrance exam. As expected, his results were not ideal. With no intention of continuing his education, he followed his father to a construction site in Xi'an.
Arriving at the Construction Site
The first time he arrived at the construction site, it felt quite novel. He left at dawn and returned at dusk. Apart from eating, sleeping, and working, there were no other entertainment activities. He began to feel tired and bored. He was still young but didn't know where his path lay or what he wanted to do; it seemed life had lost its meaning.
The construction sites were not fixed; once a project ended, they moved to the next one, repeating this cycle of running around. He wanted to escape the construction site, but due to family and personal reasons, he had to grit his teeth and continue this lifestyle. After a year at the construction site, he finally made up his mind to return to Chengdu.
Back in Chengdu
After returning to Chengdu, he rested for two months before thinking about finding a job. Due to limitations in his education and skills, he was unclear about what he wanted to do or what kind of job he could find.
During this period, he worked as a telemarketer, the kind of person who receives various sales calls. The company would constantly brainwash and hype up the staff, but he only lasted three days before quitting.
He continued looking for a job and saw a recruitment ad with low requirements and decent pay. After receiving a call and going for an interview, he discovered it was actually a training institution that required payment for training. Unexpectedly, this turned out to be a turning point.
After listening to the introduction, he felt excited and made up his mind to learn a technical skill. He told his family about his plan, but most of them did not understand and strongly opposed it. He eventually had a big fight with his mother. Being stubborn, he moved out to rent a room with friends (seven people squeezed into a three-bedroom apartment).
Once he made a decision, he would see it through, even if no one understood his thoughts. However, the practical problem was that he had no income source and had to pay high training fees. Fortunately, the training institution helped him arrange a loan for his studies, giving him some breathing room. Thus, he embarked on the path of becoming a programmer.
He had classes three days a week, requiring him to study programming and consolidate his learning while also finding part-time jobs to cover rent and living expenses. To be honest, life was quite miserable.
Entering the IT Industry
He lived a life of finding part-time jobs, attending classes, and repaying loans for over half a year. In June 2014, through the school's introduction, he passed an interview and joined a company to work as a Java developer.
As a newcomer, he knew nothing and found it difficult to integrate into the project. There was so much to learn, but he gritted his teeth and got through it, solving most problems by searching online and asking seniors.
Small companies have their advantages, and big companies have their grandeur. Generally, the mindset of fresh graduates is that they have a great opportunity to learn and earn a salary simultaneously, so their expectations are not high.
The IT industry is notorious for overtime, and combined with his limited skills, he had to figure out many things on his own. Arriving home around 22:00 was common (the most memorable time was staying up all night at the company to meet a project deadline), and weekends were also mostly spent working.
During this period of crazy overtime, he grew significantly. However, he could not tolerate the long-term overtime state. When he told his boss he wanted to quit, the boss tried to persuade him to stay and offered a salary increase. He decided to stay.
Although his salary increased, it was only enough to repay the bank loan and cover basic living expenses, leaving his pockets empty every month. Through his own efforts and the support of friends, he finally paid off the loan and could finally relax. He could now say he didn't want to work overtime anymore and quit the company. (It's quite funny that he later returned to this company and is currently employed there.) (To be continued)