It all started with Java
2003-2008
And then I trapped in Electrical Engineering Education of State University of Jakarta for 4.5 years continueing the search my life path. Overall it was great time in campus. I met a lot great friends, nice lecturer and many new knowledges. I enjoy most of the courses, atrending the class, go to library, doing some research project, participate in some competitions, join cool extracurriculer club and also start to earn my own money. More story to come.
Life is only easy in movies and maybe the sims game. Real life often have much challenges. Money is not everything but only money that will make our stomach full and finance our education. My tuition fee was quite affordable even on standard of between 2003 - 2008. It was exactly 1.000.000 IDR. However arrive to that age I start to realize cannot rely to my mother anymore in financing my life. Start in the second year I became the freelance door to door student tutor.
Teaching is the easiest job for college student like me. First it is in line with my own college degree, at the end I supposed to be a teacher anyway. Second, I have my own passion in sharing my knowledge. Then I became freelance teacher for some years forward.
Back to school, I am still doing my activity like usual. Except I have to decrease my hanging out time, since I had several teaching schedule in a week in several student house. Sometime I woulf go home late and have to wake early morning again to go to campus. During my university time , mostly I keep commute from my parent home to campus which took averagely 2 hour one way.
In campus I encountered my old fascination with computer. In my major, beside studying low level concept like electrical engineering to microprocessor, there are several programming courses as well. And I was falling in live again. That was C programming course that made me turned to pink. I don't know why, writing line of codes, compiling and running it produced some output like a kind release some endrophin from my body, sense of enjoyment and fulfilment. Since that day, I never look back for looking what it is called passion.
Nearing the end of my university time, I became more heavily interacted with something callwd internet. But at that time it was still expensive. Broadband internet was still not common, wifi was never heard yet, most of the housing if needed still have to use dial up to connect to internet. Internet connection through phone had been existed but still not common. Only possible to use gprs and we only could browse to wap site which is almost useless. Even zuckerberg perhaps has not entered harvard yet, no twitter and most of the phone still Nokia.
In that era I was introduced with something called Java. It jargon is WORA which mean Write Once Run Anywhere. It is available in most platform from mobile phone, desktop to server. Luckily it has c like syntax. The challenge, Java introduced me to something called object oriented programming which took several years me for me to grasp its full concept.
The first time I used Java when I participated student contest in developing software for mobile platform. I built sms gateway to respond query of muslim praying time by using location parameter. At the end, even my thesis was something relate to Java which I wrote time attendence system using Java and RFID.
Fast forward, I had graduated on March 2008. De ja vu, like when I was in high school, I lost my path and don't know what I should be. Most of my friend go back to school and be a teacher. I respect teaching job, but at that time I want something else. Even though I have to end uo teaching in some stages of my life, it should to be a lecturer or professor in uni.
I remembered, I posted several job application using dead tree paper, envelope and stamp. I was submitting about 8 to 10 applications to different companies that posted job advertisement in news paper. Most of the vacancies that i applied for was management trainee or junior engineer. Very less that replied my application. Funny thing was some of management trainee vancancy that I applied, actually was forex tradeer recruitment. So I attend the process what they called interview but actually was forex training. At the end of 3rd day training we were asked to start to search investor. What?!!
I give up job searching use traditional way. Then I encountered some online job searching website. At that time the most famous in Indonesia was JobsDb. I derping arounf the website and don't know why I entering IT as industry that I look for. Later I saw so many job posting. Database Administrstor, Project Manager, sysadmin, web designer, php prorammer and Java developer were several open position available. Hey Java! I just realized there were quite many Java vacancy. I knew Java, at least I can program simple desktop apps.
Fast forward, I invited to several interviews. Software started to be a hype. Much people building company to answer demand of other company that need cool software. In same chains, software company need a cool software developer. Since cool software developer difficult to find, some company doesn't bother to recruit fresh graduate like me. Moreover I can show off to them at least I had created something. I got two job offers, both were junior java developer position. I took the one has more convenience location. The journey of Java developer in Java island start that day. It was, 15 July 2008, the first time I went to work. The office located in nice house (yes the office is in the house) in Kebayoran Baru Jakarta. The journey has not stop yet. Now I work in Singapore. Still with some Java codes, some sql script, deployment problem, some reporting and some design pattern. The exploler still looks some another nice beautiful and colder place. Maybe Finland and Norway? Who never know.
"Passion allows you to do what you love even without getting paid. So would you code java for free? Absolutely no! " :)
PS: I love you
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