Becoming a Software Engineer: How Itential Helped Transition My Career

Recently, someone asked me what made me want to become a software engineer and it got me reflecting on my journey to get here. It was a bit of a different path than most, so I wanted to share that experience with anyone who may be afraid of making a career transition.

In December of 2020, I graduated from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Computer Science. During my time in college, I interned for Cox Automotive as a software engineer intern where I focused on backend web development, learned how to write automation testing scripts, and utilized basic SQL queries. Though the internship only lasted three months, by the time it was over I knew I wanted to pursue a career in software.

As I was looking to make my pivot to software, I learned about Itential from a friend who is a current Itentialite. He shared how much he enjoyed the company culture and the people he worked with, the projects he worked on, and the skillset he was building. His positive experience caught my interest – Itential sounded like an excellent company to be a part of.

After expressing interest in Itential and learning that there were open opportunities, I was connected and given the opportunity to interview for a software engineering role! Throughout the interview process, I was able to speak with more Itentialites and learn not only more about what Itential does, but about their experiences working here too. It soon became clear to me that Itential is a company that fosters career growth and innovation, while also promoting a positive, interpersonal workplace that makes working here enjoyable.

After completing the interview process, I was ecstatic to receive an offer and the opportunity to start as an intern, with the goal of receiving an offer to join as a full-time software engineer by the end of the internship period. I majored in mechanical engineering and only minored in computer science, so it meant so much to me that Itential was giving me the opportunity to pivot my career to what I am passionate about: software.

Starting as an Intern

During my first six months at Itential, all the expectations I had before starting were not only met but exceeded. It’s not an exaggeration when I say I’ve learned something new every day. Even as an intern, I was already working on high-level projects and making direct impact on the company itself. And while I’m still getting comfortable with asking questions when I get stuck, it has been clear to me since day one that my co-workers and fellow Itentialites are always eager to extend a helping hand.

I began my journey with Itential as an intern and immediately started Itential’s four-week new hire training program. During the training, I learned about Itential’s role in the network automation market and was able to collaborate with other new hires over the training tickets. Other things I learned during the training include how to use the Itential Automation Platform (IAP), NodeJS and asynchronous coding, fundamentals of networking, and npm.

After completing my new hire training, I was assigned to the Pre-Built Adapters team. During my first week on the team, I created an adapter for VMware’s Vrealize Orchestrator which integrates IAP and VMWare to automate complex data center infrastructure tasks. This adapter can not only be used by any IAP user but also helps our Proof of Concept (PoC) team demo IAP’s capabilities.

As part of my internship, I also added a new feature to Itential’s Adapter Builder to have authentication configured from the command line as adapters are onboarded into IAP. This effectively simplifies the installation process for an adapter that any customer can quickly build themselves. I also developed a tool that manages Git hooks for a project and contributed to updating API specifications for current open source adapters. In between some of these projects, I assisted other teams with adapter troubleshooting and fixed minor adapter bugs.

My internship proved a great learning experience that set me up for a success as I transitioned to a full-time role.

My Transition to Full-Time

By the end of my internship, I was so happy to learn that I was being offered a full-time position on the Professional Services team, giving me the opportunity to continue exploring my passion in the tech industry. I had come to love working at Itential during my internship, and it certainly lived up to my friend’s experience. It was great to know that I could continue my career at a place I enjoy working as a full-time software engineer.

To prepare for when I joined my first Professional Services project, I worked on a mock project, which was put together by other new hires after they completed new hire training. The purpose of this project was to introduce examples of work and concepts that engineers on customer-related projects may come across. The mock project is just another example of how Itential sets up their new employees for success.

I’ve grown a lot since my start as a software engineer intern. The biggest reason that led me to accept the role is the promise of growth, as well as the passion and innovation found in the company. Not only have I been able to improve hard skills, such as learning how to write better and more efficient code, but I’ve also grown my soft skills, like how to better manage multiple projects at a time and how to ask questions when I hit any blockers.

I am so excited that I’ve landed at Itential to start my post-college career and am looking forward to what I’ll learn as I contribute to the company’s projects and goals. I can’t wait to see what future holds at Itential!

If you’re interested in joining our team of Itentialites, you can check out our full list of job openings here.